Page 40 of Wild Hearts

"I can check on the cabins. See if there's anything that needs to be done."

Dakota grinned. "Or you could ask Addison if she has any plans?"

"We just saw her yesterday." And it was under the guise of spending time with Dakota. It wasn't supposed to be a date, even if it felt like one.

"You two looked close last night."

"We used to go ice-skating a lot."

"That's so sweet."

"Is Christopher in your class at school?"

"Not in my academic classes. But he's in one of my other classes."

"Are you two friends?"

She shrugged. "I just met him. He seems nice enough."

"What about that girl last night? Allie, was it?"

"Yeah, she seems nice too. I just don't know if it will be the same when I see her in school. We'll see."

Dakota was cautious. It wasn't a bad thing, but I didn't want her to hold herself back from opportunities.

"I got an email from the school about open gym this spring for volleyball. Should I sign you up?"

Dakota nodded. "That would be great. Thanks, Dad."

"We haven't talked about that, but I wanted to let you knowthat I really like that you call me Dad. Not that you have to. I know I haven't been there for you like that before."

"You're here now. That's what matters."

Dakota was a great kid. I was so lucky to have her in my life. If I didn't know about her, I'd still be working in the military, avoiding moving on with my life. I wouldn't have met anyone, wouldn't have settled down, and wouldn't even have considered having children. But now, everything had changed.

I was making a home for myself, getting to know my family again, and open to the possibility of convincing Addison we should give us another chance.

"You and Addison seem good together."

"We were until I broke things off." I was an idiot. But at the same time, I wasn't sure how we'd manage to continue our relationship long distance. "Maybe it was the wrong time for us."

Dakota got up and carried her plate to the sink. "And now it's the right time."

"Can you place it in the dishwasher?" I asked her. I liked things to be neat, and I wanted her to develop good habits.

"Sorry. I thought it was full."

"I'm going to get a magnet that says clean or dirty so it's clearer." At Dakota's eye roll, I said, "I know; I'm a bit of a neat freak. It's hard not to be, the way I lived in the military. Order made a lot of things run smoother, and a lot of times it meant life or death. And I know that's not the case here, but I also think it's good for you to help keep the house clean."

Dakota nodded. "Makes sense. Do I get an allowance then?"

"Did your mom give you an allowance?"

"She said that we should both help out. No one should get paid for helping out family and picking up after ourselves."

I sighed in relief. That would be an easy directive to follow, and I liked the idea of continuing with something her mom had started. "I agree."

Her nose wrinkled. "Maybe I shouldn't be so honest."

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