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happy.
 No, she admitted.  But I will be.
The air settled thickly in the silence that fell between them.
Finally, in another uncharacteristic move, he shifted on his feet.  What happened
between you and Wilde after I left Key West?
 Dad&  She sighed. Okay, so change wouldn t be easy, especially not for someone like
her father. She had a feeling this was the first of many similar conversations.  I thought
we just discussed this. What happened is none of your business.
 No, I think it is. He motioned to her car.  Get in.
 Why?
 I have a story to tell you.
She stared at him for a moment. She wanted to stand her ground and demand he
explain himself, but the coolness inside her car beckoned. She slid behind the wheel,
waited until he walked around the hood and slid into the passenger seat. Then she
turned to him, suspicion making her voice sharper than she d planned.  What kind of story
exactly?
Sighing, he pulled off his cover and rubbed a hand over his hairless head. Libby had
always liked his baldness. He used to bend over as he tucked her in every night so she
could kiss the crown of his head. The memory made her smile inwardly. If there was one
constant in her life, it was her father s love.
Tension knotted her muscles, but she didn t speak again until they both settled into
their seats and started cooling down under the blast of the a/c. Then she turned to him.
 What story?
 It s the story, he began without meeting her gaze,  of a father trying to protect his
daughter. Of him taking it a step too far when she fell in love with a man he thought
unworthy of her.
Libby sucked in a breath.  Oh my God, Dad. What did you do to Jude? Is he okay?
He flinched as if her words had slapped him across the face.  He s fine. Back home,
working with his brothers. I wouldn t hurt him and it shames me that you think I would.
 I don t! At least I just The way you said  She pressed her lips together and took
a second to gather her wits.  What did you mean by that?
 I was talking about the past.
Her stomach sank into her toes.  When?
 Jude came to our house one day eight years ago in full uniform, even saluted when he
saw me. He d come to ask me for my blessing to marry you.
 He what? She could picture it so clearly, Jude walking into the lion s den in full dress
uniform. Saluting her father. Asking his question& and getting shot down.  You told him
he didn t have your blessing, didn t you?
Misery and shame radiated off him as he shook his head.  I didn t want you marrying a
Marine.
 How could you?
He finally met her gaze and in his eyes she saw his shame, but also a kind of
desperation she d never seen before.  Elizabeth, do you have any idea what I put your
mother through every time I left for a tour? Neither of us wanted that for you. I didn t
want to take the risk you d end up a young, heartbroken widow. Or, God forbid, a young
widow with young children to care for. I wanted you to finish school, make a career for
yourself.
Tears blurred her vision and she blinked them furiously back.  Who says I wouldn t
have?
 Statistics.
She shook her head in disbelief.  What about what I wanted?
 It wasn t a consideration, he admitted.  It s my job to protect you.
Funny, Jude once said those exact same words to her.
 Dad&  But she couldn t yell at him. He was obviously already aware of his mistake so
what would yelling accomplish?  Oh, Daddy.
 A day later, I found out he d already proposed to you before he ever came to ask my
permission. He hung his head.  It was not one of my proudest moments. I had this ugly
idea of your future embedded in my mind and I thought I had to stop it, so I tracked Jude
down, roughed him up a little, threatened to ruin his career, his life, to poison you against
him while he was overseas. That last bit broke him. You should know he would have
endured all of the rest, would have put up with me making him miserable for the rest of
his life, but the thought of returning home to find out you hated him that broke him.
You ve indulged him?
The surprise in Jude s voice at that realization suddenly made a lot more sense. For
years, he d thought her father had absolute sway over her. What must have gone through
his head when he found out that wasn t the case?
I m a fucking idiot.
Oh, he wasn t the only one in this situation. She punched her father s shoulder as hard
as she could. His head snapped up in surprise and his eyes flashed anger followed by
hurt.
 That was for ruining the best thing I ever had! It wasn t until he reached over and
folded her in his arms that she realized she was crying freely. He rocked her as he had in
her childhood when soothing her from a nightmare. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]