Page 127 of Protected By West
Her dad smiled at her and then walked away down the hallway.
Tracy turned toward West, lifting her face up to look at him. She still didn't have the words to say what she was thinking.
She wondered if she'd have them before Saturday.
Weston leaned in and placed a kiss on her forehead and then folded her into his arms.
"Don't think this has to be fixed in a few days, babe. I don't think your dad is expecting it. I know you're not. Let's just take this one day... uh, one Saturday at a time. Okay?"
She nodded and felt more weight lift off of her shoulders. "Okay."
The nurse brought the wheelchair in and gave Tracy a big grin. "Are you ready to get the hell out of here? I've told your ride to go around to the side entrance to avoid the press."
Tracy looked up at Weston. "Was this your request?"
His grin was a little mischievous. "Fox is our getaway driver."
Tracy gave him one more hug and kissed his cheek because she'd wait to kiss him for real back home. "I love the way you think, Hotstuff."
Weston turned his head when the nurse giggled. "Did you hear that? She called me Hotstuff."
Tracy shared a knowing look with the nurse.
"Men," they both said at the same time.
CHAPTER 23
WEST
That night when he had Tracy cuddled up beside him in bed, he took her hand in his and let out a breath.
"I lied to you."
She turned her head slightly, frowning at him.
"Not in words, but I didn't tell you that I knew your dad. At first, I didn't put the obvious TWO and TWO together and get the 'duh' FOUR. But when I think of your dad, it's usually as Chief. It was only after I started spending more time with you that I started to see it. The similarities."
"Similarities?" She frowned a little and drew back from him, looking at his face. "Like what?"
"Your expressions. You haven't seen it, but your dad has similar expressions like you. You have his eyes, too." He smiled a little, unsure if she'd think it was funny. "Not that I've spent much time staring into your dad's eyes..." He felt the grimace on his face. "Saying it out loud sounds... feels odd."
She nodded and snorted out a little laugh. "It kind of sounds weird. I mean... maybe we can just say my eyes are the same color?"
Weston's grimace deepened and he felt his cheeks go hot. "Yeah. Let's stick with that."
"So..." she sighed a little and settled in against his side. "What can you tell me about my dad?"
Weston told her stories and answered her questions, being as open as he could when it came to stories from work and as honest as the day was long when answering questions of a personal nature. He gave her everything he could about her father because it wasn't just what she needed, but it was also because he was never going to leave things unsaid between them again.
He'd learned his lesson.
And it wasn't a lesson he'd ever forget.
It was late into the evening when the questions stopped coming and he felt Tracy fall off into sleep.
Weston tucked her into bed leaving one of her legs free since she was going to do it anyway and he didn't want her to kick around too much. He just wanted her to rest.
When he laid himself down beside her, she turned into his side, and he felt her even breaths across his skin.
