Grabbing her phone, Nahla texted her sister back.
Nahla:
I’ll be able to take Dad to his appointment.
The reply was almost instantaneous.
Sissy:
Thanks, sissy! I owe you big!
Nahla rolled her eyes but smiled. She loved her baby sister something serious. She just hated when Nia teamed up with their brother to cut her out of shit. Nia was right about one thing, though.
Shedidowe Nahla.
Cannon glancedat Nahla as they pulled up to her father’s house. He noticed that she had gotten increasingly quiet the closer they got to their destination. She hadn’t really spoken much about her relationship with her father, but his marine and security background made him somewhat of an expert in reading body language. Nahla was stressed, and he wanted to know why. Just as he was about to ask her what was wrong, her phone rang.
She glanced at it and rolled her eyes.
“Another blocked number.”
Cannon hadn’t been able to trace the calls, and he was convinced they were coming from a prepaid phone. He wanted her to get a new phone number, but she insisted that this was impossible because of her job.
Once he had the car in park, she turned to him. With wide eyes that showed the same tenseness he noticed in her jawline, she asked, “Can wenottell my father that you’re my bodyguard?”
Deciding it wasn’t the time to pry, he nodded and asked, “What should we tell ’em then? That I’m your co-worker?”
She raised her brows, likely because she was surprised that he just went with it.
Shaking her head, she said, “No. My daddy hates my job, and bringing a co-worker along to his doctor’s visit won’t do anything but piss him off. What about my boyfriend?” He watched as she held her breath, waiting for his answer.
“You don’t think a boyfriend he knew nothin’ about will piss him off even more?”
Nahla chuckled then sighed. “I doubt it. My father couldn’t care less about my personal life, and he would never expect me to share details about it with him.”
Noticing a hint of sadness in her eyes when she said that, Cannon agreed quickly, not wanting her to lean into whatever was making her sad.
“I’m ya boyfriend then. Come on,” he said.
“Wait! You don’t have to go to the door with me.”
Cannon waved her off.
“You ain’t ’bout to have your pops thinkin’ I’m a shitty boyfriend who can’t even walk you to the door. Hold on.”
With that, he exited the vehicle and rounded it to open her door. He extended a hand toward her, and she accepted it with a soft smile. As she stepped out of the truck with his assistance, he wondered whether she felt something whenever they touched, or if it was just him.
Once she was out of the car, he decided to take full advantage of this boyfriend shit. Still holding her hand, he pulled her closer as they walked to the front door of her father’s home. Once theyapproached it, Nahla typed a four-digit code into the keypad on the door, it clicked, and she opened it.
As they stepped inside, Nahla called out, “Daddy! You about ready?”
They walked further into the foyer but stopped just before they made it to the living room.
“I’m ready,” they heard her father say. Moments later, he appeared in the hallway and slowly made his way to them.
Nahla’s father may have been having health issues, but you wouldn’t really know that from his outer appearance. He was a tall, lean man with low-cut, peppered gray hair on his head and chin. He was moving a little slower than average, but he was walking without any assistance.
“Hey, sweetheart,” he said once he made it to them. He reached out and pulled his daughter into his side with one arm, but his eyes were on Cannon.
