Page 5 of Reclaiming his Honor
He went to the playground, his heart in his hands. His oldest daughter was getting married, and he had no idea. When he got close enough for her to hear him, he called, “Hi, baby-girl.”
Her head came up fast, tears streaking her face. “Daddy?”
He opened his arms and she ran to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, just as she had when she was little.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I’ve been looking for you and your mom for years. What are the odds I’d find you on your wedding day?” He released her. His face hurt from smiling with such intense joy. This was his firstborn, his baby, his girl. “Your mama’s looking for you. Why do I get the feeling you’re hiding back here?”
“Because I am. I can’t go through with this.”
Mac gestured for her to have a seat on the swing, while he took the one next to her. “Tell me all about it.”
She told him of her childhood memories of his relationship with Ellie, how they’d seemed so happy. “Was that all in my imagination?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No. I loved your mother. We were happy together for a long time before things went bad. And that was all my fault, by the way. I came back from that last tour with the SEALs feeling sorry for myself. I was mad as hell at the world.”
Thinking back on it, it seemed like he was a different person now than he had been back then. “In my infinite wisdom, I figured, ‘I’ll show you. I’ll hurt me.’ And that’s what I did. But I didn’t just hurt myself. I hurt your mother, and you, and your brother and sister, all at the same time.”
“Marshall likes to drink. That’s the man I’m supposed to marry in…” She checked her watch, “less than an hour now.” She shook her head, the corners of her mouth pulling down hard. “He got completely bombed at his bachelor party.”
“That’s not uncommon, you know.”
She didn’t answer, and he added, more seriously, “Is he an alcoholic, Shonda?”
She shrugged. “How can I know the answer to that?”
“You would know. There’s no hiding it. You lived with one.”
“Then no. Not yet, he isn’t. But what if he becomes one?”
“What if he gets hit by a car, or drops dead of a heart attack at thirty-four?. Bad things happen all the time. You can’t plan for them. You can’t live your life trying to protect yourself from things that may never happen. You need to go for what you want. Love the people you love, make the most of every day you’re given. But most of all, don’t let your messed up dad screw with your head and ruin your feelings for the man you love.”
Shonda swung by him, leaning her head against the chains. “What if I’m scared?”
“We’re all scared. Hell, I’m scared of what your mama’s going to say when she sees me here, but you don’t see me running away, do you?”
She smiled. “She doesn’t know?”
“Not yet. She was hollering for you from the church steps just now. I figured I’d come out here and see what was going on with you before I subjected myself to the kind of reception I’m expecting.”
His small attempt at a joke was rewarded with a smile from his daughter. “She’s going to be pissed.”
“Maybe I should wait until after the ceremony.” He took out a pair of sunglasses and put them on. “I can just hang out in the back of the church.”
She agreed that might be best. “I’d ask you to walk me down the aisle, but I already asked someone else.”
“I understand.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek. “You make a beautiful bride.”
“Thanks, Daddy.” She squeezed his hand and headed inside.
CHAPTER5
True to his word, Mac watched the ceremony from afar, unable to hear the words he knew were being spoken. To have and to hold. To honor and cherish. ‘Till death do us part.
I’ve missed so damn much.
Shonda was an awkward teenager when he’d seen her last. A tear ran down his cheek. Ellie had been his sole focus all this time. He knew now, it was because thinking about the children was too much to bear. He watched his daughter kiss her new husband, and hoped Marshall was a good man who would treat her right, not like her old man had done. “You take care of her,” he said under his breath.
