Page 22 of Too Close To Call

I slap my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing out loud. Being careful the chair doesn’t squeak, I get up and inch towards the door.

“Hang on, you lost me there. Who is Ariel and why would her bathing suit be at the beach?”

Daisy giggles. “No, silly. Ariel is a mermaid that lives under the sea except when she’s with her prince. Then she lives in a castle and has legs.”

“Daisy, are you sh… teasing me?”

Daisy’s laugh is like music to my ears. I knew Case wouldn’t take his anger with me out on her. In fact, I will go so far as to think that, given time, they could become good friends.

“Ariel isn’t real. She’s a cartoon,” Daisy corrects. I can see her rolling her eyes.

“Whew. You had me worried there for a minute. And what about her bathing suit?”

“The top of her bathing suit is made of sea shells. Mommy says we can find them on the sand.”

“Have you never been to the beach before?”

“No. Never. Mommy says we’re going when she gets time off. Have you ever seen the shells in the sand and have you ever played in the water?”

“I’ve lived here my whole life, so yeah; I have done those things. I even know the places to find the best shells.”

“My daddy has a boat at the lake and he pulls me on a float. My brothers are too little to do that yet. But Mommy says the ocean is a lot bigger than Lake Norman.”

Case chuckles. “Yeah, it’s a whole lot bigger. You really should spend a part of every day at the beach while you’re here.”

About now, my precious and devious daughter is pushing her bottom lip out and pulling her sad puppy dog eyes trick. I know her ploys. I also know how well they work. I’m curious to see how Case handles this.

“Maybe soon Mommy can take me.”

About now Case is probably sweating and wondering how to make her happy again. Then I grin when I hear, “My house is right on the beach. Why don’t you and your mom come over on Saturday? All you have to do is walk out the back door and you can find all the Ariel tops you want.”

Daisy’s chair rubs on the floor as she jumps to her feet and, if I’m right, she’s going in for a hug fest. “Really? You can go swimming whenever you want?”

I peek around the doorjamb and…score! I was correct again.

Case looks positively in pain as he hugs Daisy and pats her awkwardly on the back. “I can. Hey, we can even put some hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill for dinner. Do you like those?”

Daisy leans back and asks, “Are they cow burgers or plant-based burgers?”

I bite down hard on my bottom lip to keep the laugh in and duck back against the wall. I don’t have to see it to know that Daisy’s nose turns up at that word. She isn’t a fan of healthy alternatives.

“Kid, you crack me up sometimes. I mean real meat hamburgers. The hotdogs are questionable, but they’re good.”

Daisy sighs heavily and my parenting style leaves me wondering about many things.

“I don’t think Mommy will like that.”

“You leave your mom to me.”

Axel walks in and needs Case in the shop. I blow out the breath I’ve been holding and a huge smile forms on my face.

Case Murphy, you don’t know it, but you are falling in love with my daughter.

CHAPTER 9

CASE

“I guess we should go,” Tori says as she brushes Daisy’s hair back from her sun-kissed face.

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