Page 11 of D*cked By Daddy

“Not at all. Your dad wants me to do what I want, which basically means he has zero input.” I laugh. “It’s nice to talk to someone who cares. And as far as flowers go, I found this girl who does bouquets with crystals in them, like quartz and amethyst and stuff. They’re gorgeous. So I’m getting a few of those. One for me and one for you and my mom. They’re made with dried flowers, so you can keep them after if you want.”

“I love that!”

“What are you two talking about?” Nick calls from behind us.

“Wedding stuff!” Charlotte says over her shoulder. “Things I hear you don’t care about!”

“That is not true!” he laughs. “I care deeply about anything that makes her happy.” Charlotte makes a fake gagging noise, making me laugh.

“Are you bringing anyone?” I ask her, testing the waters to see what her plans are. I know she’s planning on traveling for a while after the wedding, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have someone that would be waiting back home for her.

“Nah,” she says, dismissing me. “I’ve got a lot of travel coming up, and it seems silly to get involved with a girl when I’ll just have to leave her for a year.” She shrugs.

“She could always go with you,” I tell her. “Or just fly out to visit you and experience life with you. But I get it. Maybe you’ll meet some hot European girl.” I wag my eyebrows at her.

“Or maybe someone a little older.” She smirks at her dad over her shoulders. “Take after Holly here.”

“I don’t need nor do I want to hear about this,” Nick groans.

“Why?” Charlotte asks. “You were hounding poor Henry all evening about the girl in his life.”

“She has a point!” I call out.

“And if we could all just maybe leave me out of this conversation,” Henry says. “That would be great. But I’m with Charlotte on this one. Older women are hot.”

We joke around for a little bit longer until we all kind of fall into a comfortable silence. All we can hear out here is Scout panting and the wind blowing through the trees. And after a couple of hours hiking, the trail circles back to where we parked.

I pour a bottle of water into a collapsible water bowl for Scout, and he laps it up. I sit on the ground next to him, far more out of shape than I thought. I retie my hair up into a better bun and let the autumn breeze try to cool me off.

“Hey, you,” Nick says, crouching down next to me. “Gonna make it?”

I give him a playful shove, and he falls onto his ass.

“I should be asking you that,” I tease. “I think I heard your joints popping every few minutes back there.”

Henry overhears and starts laughing while Nick clutches his chest in mock outrage. I laugh and grunt as I crawl up off the ground. Scout is flopped over on the ground, panting while he watches all of us with interest.

“You did great,” I say, petting his belly. “Barely pulled, no barking at squirrels, and did all your business off trail.”

“Please tell me we’re getting dinner?” Henry asks us, leaning against the car.

“We have steaks to grill,” Nick answers.

“Fuck. Yes.”

“Language, Henry,” Nick groans.

I just laugh and kiss Nick on the cheek before helping Scout get situated in the car so that Henry and Charlotte can sit around him. We make our way home, tired and hungry but happy.

“Can I ask you a question?” I lean against the porch railing next to Henry. He’s grilling the steaks while his sister is occupied getting a shower and his dad is preparing the side dishes inside. I wanted to take some time to talk with just Henry since I didn’t really get any one-on-one time with him on the hike.

“Of course.” He smiles over at me and closes the top of the grill, giving me his full attention. He looks so much like his dad. They have the same eyes and the same dimple, and Henry is tall, like really tall. I’m sure he has girls swooning over him back at college.

“How annoying is it when your dad won’t shut up about your friend?”

We both laugh.

“Yeah, Dad has always loved Emmy.” He looks out into the woods, thinking about what he wants to say next. “We grew up together, and I swear she spent more time at our house than she did her own. Granted, she didn’t really get along with her parents, so I think Dad sort of became her second home.”

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