Page 20 of Thanksgiving Daddy's Girl
But she does need to get away from it all for a little while. Needs to unplug, recharge, and reconnect with herself from time to time. Thankfully, she’s not nearly as stubborn and pigheaded about it as her dad used to be. She recognizes the need for boundaries. The need to step back and have a little reset.
“A safari on the Serengeti sounds nice,” she says.
“But?”
“What but?” she says with a laugh.
“I hear a but in your voice,” I say. “What’s going on in that head of yours.”
“Oh, you’re playing psychologist now?”
I laugh. “Even shrinks need shrinks.”
“That is true.”
“So, you want to lay on the couch and tell me what’s going on?”
She turns those hazel eyes to me, gnawing on her bottom lip. I take her hand and give it a gentle squeeze.
“What’s going on, love?”
“I’m just not sure how much time I’m going to be able to take off,” she says.
“No? Why not?”
She takes my hand and lays it against her belly, her eyes wide and uncertain. As the implication sinks into my brain, my mouth falls open.
“You—you’re—you’renot?”
“I am,” she says.
Shooting to my feet, I scoop her up and spin her around. Maeve squeals with laughter and clings to me tightly. I give her a long, passionate kiss then set her down. She turns her face up to me.
“So… you’re okay with this?” she asks.
“I’m more than okay with it, love. I’m bloody ecstatic,” I tell her. “There is nobody I’d rather have a family with than you.”
“There better not be anybody else you’re having a family with.”
I laugh. “Well, there was this one lass?—”
“Shut up,” she says, cutting me off with a kiss.
She pulls back and we stare into each other’s eyes for a long moment, a river of love flowing between us so deep, I could lose myself in it. Capsize in it. And it would feel glorious.
“So… we’re really doing this,” she says.
“We’re really doing this.”
She breaks into a wide smile, relief etched into her features. “I was so worried you weren’t going to be happy about this.”
“I couldn’t be happier,” I tell her. “Or more grateful.”
She pulls back and looks at me again. “I haven’t even told my dad that he’s going to be a grandfather yet. Should we call him?”
“I’ve got a better idea.”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
