Page 77 of What I Should Have Felt

She giggled again. “It was perfect. You guys all showed up like some action heroes in a movie, and then it became beautifully hilarious. But your daughter hasn’t stopped talking about it since, and Becca certainly slunk away like a scared bully.”

I shook my head and glanced at the dress shoes on my feet. “I just wanted to help Azelie.”

“And you did. Now, get out there. She said she’s about finished with her makeup, so I need to help her with her dress.” Colette sighed and steppedaway from me.

I met her gaze as it shifted from one of admiration to almost desperation. Her eyes widened, and the lines deepened in her face. It was an almost innocent fear that tensed her entire body up.

And while what I should have felt was something less calming, maybe anger or rage, it filled me with the control that came before every mission. I placed my palms against her cheeks and lifted her chin. “I’ve got her. Okay? Everything will be fine, I promise.”

She chewed on her bottom lip and nodded slowly. With a stiff swallow, she inhaled deeply and patted the outside of her thigh. “Thank you for the gift. Mikey’s been giving me tips,” she quietly said.

“They’re idiots, but trust them. They’ve kept me alive all these years,” I replied with a smile.

Her brows stitched together, forming two red lines between them. “What are you talking about?”

Slowly, I let my hands drop from her face and brushed a curl behind her ear. “Cher,” I admonished, and she rolled her eyes.

“Right, sorry. I think I’m still processing the fact that you’ve literally been in life-or-death situations. Frequently. And slightly by your own choice, too. You know what, I should get upset that you faked being hurt when I stabbed you.” She suddenly shoved her hands on her hips as I threw my head back and laughed.

“I love you. Go help our daughter get in her dress. I’ve got a date to go on.” I winked, adjusted my tie, and quickly pecked her lips.

She giggled as I walked out of the room, directly into whoops, hollering, and whistles that I’d expected from those dumbasses who had never seen me in a suit until now.

Chapter 33

FORD

Azelie slipped her hand into my offered elbow as we walked up the stairs toward the high school. “How’d things go with Cory, by the way?” I asked.

She rolled her eyes, though her cheeks turned a shade of pink as she grabbed the skirt of her emerald dress to avoid stepping on it with her matching heels. “Good. We talked things through and…” She swung her narrowed gaze my way. “You know what, you don’t need details. That’s between me and him.”

I grinned to myself as my fourteen, almost fifteen-year-old daughter took another step beside me. “All right, well, only kissing. Got it? I don’t need to become a grandpa the same month I found out I’m also—”

“Oh. My. Gosh. Stop!” she squealed as the pink in her face deepened to a dark crimson shade, highlighting the freckles she’d inherited.

“If he tries anything more, just remember that I am well-versed in ways to hide a bodyand—”

“SERIOUSLY!” she shrieked and dropped her hand from my elbow. Her heels clicked against the cement as she hustled toward the brick building a few steps in front of me. I simply watched her for a moment as she put space between us. One second in the eternity of time where everything was…normal. I had a woman waiting at home, while I was taking our daughter on her first daddy/daughter date.

My family was safe. Everyone I cared about was here. I knew it was temporary, but at least I had this moment. This was exactly what I’d been fighting for my entire life. The only way my soul was going to be saved was by this. Despite the chill that swept up my spine, knowing that death and destruction were a mere next set of orders and deployment away, at least right now, there was warmth blazing at the walls of my heart.

“Are you coming?” Azelie stated, turning around. Her hair was pulled up into a bun sitting at the base of her neck. Each usually frenzied curl perfectly gelled into place with makeup brushed upon lashes that were as long as her mom’s. Lipstick highlighted the cherry red of her hair, while the emerald ball gown with off-the-shoulder sleeves accentuated the beautiful gold necklace that I also recognized was Colette’s.

But it was her eyes that made me stare for just a moment longer. She wasn’t wearing her contacts, and the two different colors blazed brightly back at me. Eyes just like mine. For this split in time, my weary bones rested.

“Coming,” I said with another smile and marched over to her.

She tucked her hand back in my elbow as we rounded the corner and merged with other students and their parents, all dressed nicely for an evening out that offered reprieve from the burdens of life.

“You look very pretty, by the way,” I quietly said as we reached the double doors and I held one open for her.

She smiled and passed beneath the balloon arch that invited us toward the gym where music already bumped beneath the floorboards. “You’ve said that a few times now,” she replied when I caught up with her. I nodded at a mom and her son who pushed past us. “But I like hearing it, so thank you.”

“All I ask is for one dance before you go twirling off with your boyfriend, all right?” I tipped my head her way with a grin as we followed the line of people toward the metal doors that were latched open.

“We are not boyfriend-girlfriend, gosh. You’re worse than Mom.” She pursed her lips but tucked her polished nails a little tighter into my arm. “Of course you get at least one dance,” she quickly added as I gestured for her to enter first.

Swirling multicolored lights danced around the dim gymnasium. The basketball hoops on either side of the courts were pulled up and out of the way, replaced by a DJ stage with black curtains for a backdrop on one side, and a photographer with the school colors for the backdrop on the other side. The bleachers were tucked away, making room for a table of treats and a punch bowl that was most likely spiked on one long side, while a few small tables and chairs lined the other.

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