Page 102 of Before You Can Blink
In disbelief, I asked, “Y-you want to bring her home? For good?”
Mac tucked his hands into his pockets. “If she’s agreeable. I’ve kept this pretty close to the vest, and for all I know, it could all blow up in my face.”
Knowing this young man loved my daughter was one thing, but seeing it in action was almost enough to have him winning me over entirely.
And that’s why I couldn’t, in good conscience, doom him to the life I’d found myself in.
“Listen, Mac,” I began, and his eyes snapped up at my tone, panic swimming in their brown depths. “Ranching’s a hard life. You can’t honestly tell me that, with your resources, you couldn’t find something else to do for work.”
“Well,” he hedged. “If I’m being honest, I did stop by the fire station and speak to Chief Jones.”
Damn, he was really determined to leave the city behind and get his hands dirty one way or another.
“But there’s a lot of training involved, and it’s all dependent on me passing a physical. So I wanted to make sure I had a backup plan.” The corner of his lips hitched up as he joked, “And I was kinda hoping to call in a favor, seeing as how I’m dating the owner’s daughter.”
Shoving off the wall, I stepped closer. “If firefighting falls through, I’m sure we could find something around here for you to do if we look hard enough.”
His eyes lit up. “Really?”
“Really.” I extended my hand. “Welcome to the family, son.”
We shook, and his words came out in a rush. “I can’t thank you enough, Jett.”
In all honesty, I was the one who owed him a debt of gratitude for finding a way to bring my baby girl home—for good—after all these years.
As far as I was concerned, the man was my personal hero. But I’d keep that little bit of information to myself.
Chapter 24
Jett
Age 53
May
“Stupidfuckingtie,”Imuttered under my breath. After a dozen attempts, I still couldn’t get the damn thing knotted properly, and frustration had me sweating through my dress shirt.
The bedroom door unlatched behind me, but my eyes remained fixed on the standing mirror as I tried again in vain to make the silk cooperate.
“How’s it going in here?” Daisy asked, coming into view through the reflective surface.
“Terrible,” I huffed out before turning around. I yanked the loose end of the tie from around my neck. “Remind me why I’m tying a noose around my neck again?” I hadn’t even worn a tie at my own wedding.
The tiniest smirk curved on my wife’s lips as she carefully eased the fabric from my hand and looped it through my collar before working to secure it into a knot. “Because”—her eyes remained focused on her task—“our daughter is getting married today and you want to look your best for her.”
“Doesn’t mean I have to like it.” I swallowed as she tightened the knot so that it came to rest at the base of my throat.
“There,” Daisy said softly, her palms skimming down my chest as she admired her handiwork.
Grimacing, I tugged it away from my neck. “Feels like I’m being strangled.”
“You only have to wear it for the ceremony and until we’re done with pictures. Then you can burn it for all I care.”
I grunted. “It’s a good thing I love her.”
She let out a shaky breath, her eyes growing glassy. “Wait until you see her.”
If Daisy was this emotional, I was sunk. Even if by all outward appearances it seemed like I was the stoic one, I’d had a soft spot in my heart for Aspen since the day she was born.
