Texas Daddy

“Maybe you do know better, and you’re onto me.” His heart-melting smile was highlighted by a wink.

She glared at him. Did she look like the kind that invited flirting? Most of the men in her life didn’t even try.

He dared to lean in closer and grinned. “Do you need help? What are you getting?”

“I’m just getting some painkillers, almond milk and orange juice. But I’ve got it.”

“Daddy! Look, they have a new horse book. Can I get it too?” A beautiful girl of about ten hobbled over on crutches, her long dark hair trying to crawl out of a French braid.

Nikki froze. Her gut twisted. Adrian’s daughter.

“Mia, this is Nikki Bergmann. She’s the long-lost oldest Bergmann sister. We went to school together. Nikki, my daughter, Mia.”

“Oh, you saved Swift. She’s so sweet. Thank you for giving her to my dad. I promise to take good care of her and you can come see her anytime. So you went to school with my dad. Did you know my mom?”

Adrian cut his daughter a glare. “Mia.”

“Sorry. Daddy says you have a brace too.” The girl looked at her leg in confusion. “Did they let you take it off?”

She watched Adrian walk the short distance to the cooler at the end of the aisle. He was a man now with a man’s filled-out frame, but he still had the I-own-the-world swagger that seemed to be in all bull riders. It was hard to believe he gave it up for his daughter. She glanced at Mia. Did he have regrets? Obviously Charlotte, Mia’s mother, was a banned subject.

The silence didn’t deter the young girl. “I just got my cast off, and Tuesday I have my first day in full therapy. I have a rod and screws holding my leg together. Are you in physical therapy?”

She was as talkative as her dad. Nikki blinked a few times to clear her thoughts. “I’ll be there at sixteen hundred hours.”

Adrian tossed a bottle of orange juice and a carton of unsweetened almond milk in her cart as he laughed. “For us civilians, we need to translate.” He rolled his eyes up as he counted on his fingers. He looked back at them with a grin. “Four o’clock, right?”

The girl’s face lit up. “Yay! We can be workout buddies. Daddy said you’re an adventure guide in the Grand Canyon and you were in the navy. That sounds really cool. I broke my leg in three places being drug by a horse in the arena. I hit my head, so I don’t remember any of it, but Daddy saw everything.” The same gold flecks her father had now flashed in her young eyes.

“Mia.” Adrian looked as if he had lost some color to his dark skin and his eyebrows had a deep crease between them. He did not share Mia’s excitement over the story of her accident.

Leaning closer to her, Mia whispered, “Daddy’s having a harder time dealing with my injury than I am.”

“Sorry, she thinks everyone wants to hear her life story.”

“Wonder who she got that from?” She winked at Adrian. He actually blushed. Without thought, laughter—good honest laughter—bubbled forth. It surprised her at first. She didn’t laugh often—not much to laugh about.

Mia didn’t seem to notice her dad’s discomfort. “Did you fall while climbing cliffs, or smash against a rock in the white-water rapids? I’ve seen shows about it.”

“No, just a boring car wreck.” She smiled at Mia. “I busted my ACL and damaged my meniscus.”

“Oh no. Is everyone okay?” Her small hand went to her chest.

“Yeah. I got the worst of it. A guy on his cell phone T-boned us. As the passenger, I took the main hit.” That wasn’t the only hit she took that day. She shifted her weight, trying to take the pressure off her hurt knee.

“Why aren’t you wearing a brace?” The concerned look on Mia’s face mirrored Adrian’s. The child undeniably had more of her dad in her than her mom. All she remembered of Charlotte was the girl liked wearing black and never smiled—not at her, anyway. She couldn’t picture Adrian being with a girl like that.

Since he apparently didn’t have a cart, Adrian just threw some fresh carrots, corn on the cob and spinach in hers. He also had a giant supply of painkillers and a bottle of water. “She was doing stuff she shouldn’t be doing and now she’s in pain and might have hurt her knee all over again. We had to cut her brace off so she could walk.” He opened the painkillers and held three gel tablets out to her. “Why don’t you take a few of these now. You look as if you won’t be standing much longer.”

“I’m fine.” She wanted to refuse the meds he offered her, but she knew he was right. She had waited too long and now the pain was overwhelming. Without the cart she wouldn’t be standing. She took them from his hand and slammed them back without the water he offered. “Thanks.”

With a gentle nudge, he turned her cart to the front of the old store. “Let’s get you checked out and drive you home. You need to elevate and ice that knee. No more walking.”

Mia sighed. “Sorry he’s so bossy. He says that all the time to me. Daddy thinks ice cures everything. Tío says it’s from his bull-riding days. Ice it, wrap it and get back in the saddle.” The little girl dropped her voice to mimic her father.

“Except you will not be getting back in the saddle—not on a barrel racer, anyway.”

The smaller version of Adrian crossed her arms and tightened her mouth, but she didn’t say anything. There was trouble in paradise.

“Hey, Nikki.” George came from the back, carrying something wrapped in white butcher paper.

The brothers still looked a great deal alike, but she never understood how people got them confused. Adrian was leaner and better looking. She always thought so, anyway.

George smiled. “Good to see you. How’s the knee?” They did have the same smile, but George’s didn’t make her feel weak.

“She’s in pain and needs to get off her feet. We’re checking out then taking her home.” Adrian moved her cart slowly to the checkout. Another difference: George wasn’t as bossy as his twin.

“Great, you’re joining us for dinner. Good thing I decided to pick up a couple of extra steaks.”

Adrian placed the items on the worn laminate counter and smiled at Vickie as she started ringing them up. “Not our house. We’re taking her to her home.”

“Nikki, you should come over and let us pamper you. My grilled steaks and corn on the cob is famous, and Adrian tosses a mean spinach salad.”

Vickie chuckled as she put the unhusked corn in a bag. “It’s true. No one passes up an opportunity for George’s grilling.” She picked up the pills and started putting them in the bag too.

“No, those are mine.” Reaching for them, Nikki winced as the pain shot through her body. “I’m paying for those.”

Adrian’s hand balanced her. “Careful. Just put it on my tab.” He looked at George. “Get the bags. I’m taking her to the truck.”

“Your daughter’s right. You’re bossy.” Biting down on the inside of her cheeks, she let Adrian lead her out the door. As they approached the steps, she wanted to cry. There was no way she was going to make it.

Without warning, her feet left the ground and Adrian had her cradled in his arms like a big giant baby. “I can walk.”

“Right. I knew you were going to say that, which is why I didn’t bother to ask. I’ve never seen someone so stubborn about being in pain, and I used to hang out with bull riders. You’re much easier to carry without a bike attached to you.”

A group of boys walked by, and all the girls giggled.

“Adrian, you finally catch a girlfriend?” one of the boys yelled out.

Another followed up. “He found one that wasn’t fast enough.” The boys laughed at their own stupid jokes.

Adrian shook his head and gave her a half grin before turning back to the boys. “Seth, make yourself useful and open my back door.”

“Yes, sir.” The lanky kid ran past them and stood next to the door.

He looked familiar, but she couldn’t place him. Adrian eased her into the back seat and turned her so her legs stretched out.

“Seth!” The kid was already back on the sidewalk when Adrian yelled at him. “I forgot to tell your mom that Dr. Rankin had to reschedule. Next month the horse-club meeting needs to be moved to the seventeenth. Go ask your mom to send an email out to all the members. She’s just inside.”