Page 126 of Protected By West
She saw him wince at her words, but he didn't argue.
He didn't try to quibble.
He just nodded.
"Trace? I've got your discharge papers and- Uh, hey there, Chief."
"West?"
She saw Weston in the hallway and the way he stopped so fast it looked like he walked into a wall. "Chief."
Weston turned his head, and she knew the moment his eyes found hers.
He smiled and as turbulent as her thoughts were, she melted a little at the look.
Yeah, she was totally gone for this man.
"I think we need to have a talk, Ranger Cooper."
West's expression was a mix of worry and resignation. "Yes, sir. I believe we do."
Tracy bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. She didn’t want to sound hysterical, but she knew it could be a real possibility given everything that had happened in the last few hours.
“My dau- Tracy,” her dad corrected himself, "was involved in a situation today. The last thing I ever wanted to happen was for my job to touch her life like this."
She heard the haunted tone in her dad's voice, and it struck an odd chord in her heart. Is that how he saw it?
She didn't know what to think.
"It looks like she's well enough to be released." Her dad looked in her direction. "Let me know when you want to talk. I'll be there."
Tracy looked at Weston.
They were gathering at his house on the weekend with his family and the team. As much as her instinct said to invite her dad, she wasn't sure if that would work well with everyone else.
Weston smiled at her and leaned in, whispering in her ear. "What if you invite your dad to the house on Saturday for breakfast. We can both talk to him then. If he wants to stay for lunch... or if you want to have him there, he can stay. Up to you, babe."
She turned her head for a soft kiss. "I love it when you call me babe," she grinned at him before turning back to her dad.
It tickled her a little to see him look a little flustered. "You better be treating her right, West."
Tracy touched Weston's chest, smiling at him and then her father. "He's great. His team pulled my fat out of the fryer today. I know it's his job, but it felt really good to have a boyfriend with muscle behind him. A whole bunch of it."
Seamus nodded and this time there was more than a hint of humor in his gaze.
He was still the dad who walked away when she was a child, but there might be something moving forward that they could work on.
"Would you be free for breakfast on Saturday? At Weston's house?"
Her dad looked a little green in the gills. "Breakfast at Weston's? Does that mean you're... staying at his house?"
"I'm an adult. Have been for quite some time. And yes, I'll be staying at his house on Friday, just like he stays over at mine a few days a week. And yes, we're having s-"
"I'll be there on Saturday morning. Let me know when it's safe to show up. I'm glad you're okay, Tracy." He took a step away and then turned back to look at her. "I know I was a shit father, but I... I never stopped loving you."
Tracy felt like the air was sucked out of her lungs in that moment.
She opened her mouth to speak but couldn't seem to make a sound.
