Page 75 of Call it Reckless

“We won’t be long, kiddo,” I assured her.

“Yeah, sure.” She skipped back to the kitchen, and I knew she wasn’t really upset. In fact, she looked happy and content to be here. Buddy looked between us and Lex, then trotted after her.

“The teen years are going to be fun,” I muttered.

“Oh, I don’t think you need to worry. She’s an amazing young woman. She just wants to be included.” She looked over her shoulder, then pulled me into her grandfather’s study. “What’s wrong, Reid?”

I shook my head and pulled her into my arms, feeling the tension begin to leave my body as she wrapped her arms around me. I rested my forehead on the top of her head, breathing in the floral scent of her shampoo.

“I got a call for a case I’m working on,” I mumbled into her hair. “That’s why they called me in, even though I’m technically off duty.”

“What kind of case?”

“I wish I knew. I thought it might be a meth lab hidden up in the woods. We found a couple of dogs. One didn’t make it. The other reminded me a bit of Buddy.”

She pulled her head away from my chest to look up at me. “Meth? Oh, god, Reid. That’s scary. And how awful about the dogs. What can I do?”

“You’re doing it,” I said, already letting the images fade from my mind’s eye and replacing them with pictures of her. “Thanks for watching Lex. And thanks for, you know, being here for me.”

“I’m glad to do it. Both.”

“Bristol, I…” I shook my head. This wasn’t the right time to tell her about my growing feelings for her. Instead, I brushed my knuckles down her cheek. She tilted her face to meet mine, and our lips connected. It wasn’t the passionate kind that made me want to rip her clothes off. Instead, it was sweet and gentle—the kind that made me want to take my time making love to her where I’d fall apart in her arms, knowing she’d put me back together in one piece.

But that wasn’t meant to be.

“Dad? Are you coming? Dinner’s ready.” Lex’s voice shouted from across the house.

“Not the way I wish I could,” I mumbled against her lips, shifting enough to make sure she felt my arousal.

She snorted. “Is that all you think about?”

I just winked at her and grinned. She wasn’t ready to know everything I was beginning to think about when it came to her.

“Reid,” she called when I turned to find Lexi.

I’d never heard hesitancy from her before. I swiveled back to face her, concern puckering my brow.

“Before you go in there, Lexi told me something tonight I think you should know.”

That made me curious. “What was that?”

“She thinks you won’t do any of the outdoor stuff you used to because you want her to be more like her mom, who didn’t enjoy those things. She doesn’t want to say anything, but she misses it. She misses that time with you.”

I felt a pit develop in my stomach. “She told you that?”

“Yes.”

She repeated the gist of her conversation to me. “I hope I didn’t overstep.”

I rubbed a hand through my hair. “No. No, you didn’t, but shit. I really screwed up. I didn’t mean for her to think she couldn’t enjoy those things, too. I only wanted that balance for her, you know?”

Her hands slipped back around my waist. “You’re an amazing dad, Reid. Looking back, it’s what my dad tried to do for me. It makes me sad that I spent so many years resenting it.”

“I don’t want Lex to resent me.”

“She doesn’t, but if you need an idea how to make sure she knows you don’t mind doing those things together, I have one.”

I arched an eyebrow.

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