Texas Daddy

Their hands were close. Would he tear down her walls and expose the truth she had hidden? He wouldn’t be as excited at what he found there. She feared the damage went too deep.

His rich, warm eyes searched her face. Oh no, he looked as if he might kiss her. His breath was warm and had a faint smell of citrus, like he just ate an orange. They now stood less than an inch apart.

She blinked. She didn’t move away from him, and that scared her most. She actually leaned in.

“Hello!”

“Hello!” The greeting’s echo came from the back stairs as her twin sisters emerged. Each holding a cup of coffee.

In the same motion, Adrian and she turned away from the wall, away from each other, and faced her sisters. She glared at them. “I thought y’all were running the store while Daddy went to Uvalde.”

“Oh, Sammi has it under control—”

“She’s been asking for more responsibility—”

“And we are so excited about what Adrian is going to do up here—”

“Adrian, can you see this as a quaint teahouse with mix-matched chairs and sofas? Lots of books and—”

“There are less than four hundred people in Clear Water, and only three like hot tea. Daddy will not go for a tearoom.” Rolling her eyes, Danica turned to Adrian. “I think it should be more practical, maybe a dual purpose. A nice place where people can meet, maybe even have small receptions and parties.”

Jackie gave an identical eye roll. “That is soooo practical, Dani.”

Nikki rubbed her leg. Her head started to throb. Not much changed with her sisters. She should have never agreed to leave the house, to meet with Adrian. The almost kiss was too close for comfort. She took a deep breath and tried to figure out a way to leave.

* * *

Adrian lowered his head to hide his grin. He hoped he and his twin didn’t sound like this. Maybe it was a sister thing. But he didn’t think they would appreciate his humor at their expense.

All three sisters were tall, almost his height, so they had to be at least five-nine. Nikki was the tallest. The twins had long strawberry blond hair, Danica’s in a fancy braid down her back with a few strands curled around her face. When she had first dropped out of college and came home to have her twins, everyone tried setting them up, but all he could think about when he was around her was her older sister Nikki.

It wasn’t right to think about one sister when having dinner with the other. So they became good friends.

Danica pointed to Nikki. “She gave me another idea. We could expand the business to camping, hunting and outdoor adventure stuff like the business she wanted to buy at the Grand Canyon.”

“What? How did I get drawn into this? I’m not staying.” Nikki gave her sister a heated glare as she rubbed her leg. They weren’t listening to her. “Why would you think that? I still plan on going through with that once I’m completely healed.”

“I think it’s a perfect plan. With that jerk of a boyfriend causing your injury, and then taking half of your money, you need family around you. It’d take less funding to start your business in Clear Water. Your dreams can happen here and we can help.”

Nikki froze. He watched for any movement, but it looked as if she had stopped breathing.

Adrian went to her side and touched her shoulder. He made sure not to stand too close. The smell of ivory soap had never been so dangerous to his sanity. “Where are your crutches? You need to get off your leg.”

He knew she had to be hurting when she allowed him to guide her to one of the antique chairs. It didn’t take a genius to figure out she hated showing any weakness, and her sister just put her business out there like it was nothing. They probably saw her troubles as a blessing that brought her home.

Family was like that, manipulating a situation to get you to do what they thought was best. All from love, but it still burned for someone as independent as Nikki. All he could do for her was change the topic.

“This chair looks like another antique from Europe. My best guess without research is it’s a prayer chair from France. Has it always been here?”

The twins both shrugged.

“There is so much history in this building. Your family history.” Adrian stepped past Nikki and went deeper into the space. The morning sun cast the colors of a high stained-glass window across the room. Purples, blues and greens danced on the old plaster-and-stone wall, creating a feeling of peace, like they were surrounded by water. It had not been touched by so-called modern improvements.

Nikki turned her face to the light and closed her eyes. The reflection from the antique stained glass touched her features with color. He stopped breathing. An irresistible mix of strength and femininity made up the curves of her face. He needed to pull himself together. That kiss had been too close. What had he been thinking?

The twins crowded the door. “What do you think it is?”

Adrian took his eyes off Nikki, and blinked at her sisters a couple of times before realizing they had not been reading his thoughts. “I think it might’ve been a prayer room.”

“A prayer room?” A hushed whisper couldn’t hide their curiosity and awe.

“I’ve never heard such a thing. Why wouldn’t Dad—”

“Why is Samantha alone with a line of customers?” Mr. Bergmann’s voice caused them all to jump like kids caught stealing cookies.

Jackie had her hand on her chest. “Really, Daddy? Did you have to scare us?”

“It’s your guilty conscience, not me. I told y’all to stay away while Adrian was doing the appraisal. I don’t want your fancy ideas to interfere with his bid.”

“Daddy, there is so much cool family stuff up here. I’m excited about what we’ll find.” Jackie stepped closer to her father. At six-five, he towered over his daughter. None of them appeared the slightest bit intimidated. He glanced back at Nikki. Boredom stamped her face, but his gut told him it was an act.

“We are not here to dig up old history. Danica, what are you doing here? Mondays you’re at the animal sanctuary. You.” Mr. Bergmann looked at Jackie. “You should be downstairs helping your little sister. Someone wants more information about those new chalk paints of yours.”

“Daddy, this isn’t just family history, but even more important information about what was going on in the area and state.” Jackie served on every committee in the area that had anything to do with local and Texas history.

“No. If we remodel that’s fine, but that’s the end of it. It’s not becoming a museum for people to stomp around.”

Jackie started to say something else, but Danica took her sister’s hand. “It’s okay. We’re here about the room.” With her arm around her sister, she smiled at their father. “We’ve waited so long for this, Daddy, and Nikki doesn’t even really care about the room one way or another.” She squeezed Jackie around the waist.

“She’s right. We’re excited about the possibilities of this room. It was our idea to call Adrian. We should be here.” Jackie stated her case one more time, but it didn’t help.

Mr. Bergmann crossed his arms and glared. “Which is why I’m putting her in charge. She will make sure the job gets done without wasting money on extravagant ideas. Go or I’ll send Adrian away and it’ll just stay the way it is right now without even hearing a bid.”

With matching sighs, the two women headed down the stairs. He turned back to Nikki and Adrian. He was a tall man with thick dark hair that was sprinkled with silver. He didn’t look old enough to have four grown daughters, but there was a sadness in the lines of his face that proved his life had not been an easy one. “Nikki, you look like you’re in pain. Do you need to go home? Adrian can come back later. We don’t have to do this now.”

She stood and smiled at him. “No, I’m good. I just forgot how overwhelming the twins can be when they’re together.”

He snorted. “Welcome to my life. I think it’s about time someone got married around here and added a male point of view.”

Adrian knew neither of the twins was dating anyone. Danica had mentioned Nikki’s boyfriend, but it didn’t sound like they were still together or that he was a good guy. He really wanted to know, but couldn’t figure out a way to ask without it getting awkward. The silence after that statement made the air heavy.

“Mr. Bergmann, let me show you the walls.” Heading back to the exposed stone, he knew the lumberyard owner wouldn’t be as moved by sentiment as his daughter.

Nikki followed. “Adrian said this would be one of the easiest parts, and it’d get rid of possible mold.”

The tall man nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been worried about the mold after that last big storm.”

“Truthfully, the biggest areas of expense will be the floor and the windows. They’ll have to be custom-made, and to restore the trim I would want to use as much of the original wood as possible. To match it can take time. The wood floor might be tricky too. We really won’t know how much damage we’re dealing with until we remove the tiles. I’ll have to get an asbestos report.”