Page 21 of Craving Francesca

“Fuck,” I barked, spinning to face him.

“Jumpy?” he asked with a laugh.

“I wasn’t payin’ attention.”

“Saw that. What’s goin’ on?”

“How’d you know Mom was it for you?”

Dad jerked back. “You got a woman?”

“Nope.”

He looked at me closely. “Uh-huh.”

“I don’t.”

“Right. Feels like I always knew, but if I had to pinpoint it, maybe it was when she took one look at this ugly mug and told me to stop bein’ a pussy, that the scar wasn’t that bad.”

I let out a choked laugh. Long before I was born my dad had been shot, and the scar bisected his face. I didn’t even notice it because it had always been there, but to say that it wasn’t that bad was not at all true. People had stared at him my entire life. He’d always had women throwing themselves at him, too, though, so maybe it was subjective.

“You’ll know,” my dad said, leaning against the car door. “When you don’t want to be without her. Not just physically. If you can’t imagine a future without her in it? That’s it.”

“Good to know.”

“You sure you got nothin’ to tell me?”

“Nothin’ to report,” I confirmed, climbing out of the car. The day was almost over, and I doubted I’d get much done anyway.

“If you want to settle down with someone, you better start lookin’,” Dad advised as we headed for the clubhouse. “You’re getting’ old as fuck.”

I laughed. “You sound like Ma.”

“She’s losin’ patience,” he joked, pulling out a cigarette.

“Thought she made you quit?”

“I don’t smoke at the house. Everywhere else is fair game.”

“That makes absolutely no sense.”

“Mind your own business,” he grumbled. “Your sister’s comin’ to dinner tonight if you wanna eat with us.”

“Harper’s in town?” My little sister traveled something like three hundred days of the year. Trying to pin her down was damn near impossible.

“For a week.” Dad nodded. “Practically a fuckin’ vacation.”

“Ma must be stoked.”

“She’s beside herself,” he replied, grinning.

“I’ll come for dinner.”

“She’s gonna shit herself,” he mused, pulling open the door. “Both her babies home at once.”

“You act like it never happens.” I paused inside, letting my eyes adjust to the gloom. The main room of the clubhouse was never very bright, but on days when the sun was out, it was really noticeable how dark it was inside. “We were there last month.”

Dad scoffed. “You hearin’ yourself right now?”

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