The taps turned off, and Sawyer left the bathroom, the door clanging against the stopper. “Oops, sorry!”
“It’s all right; that’s what the door stoppers for.” Alaric grinned, looking down to start dishing out the pizza. Cheese and pineapple for Sawyer, and meat lovers for him. “Which one do you want?” he asked, cocking a brow at me.
“I’ll take a big slice of meat, lover.” I winked.
He chuckled, piling it onto a plate and handing it to me. “You can have my meat later if you stay.” He murmured, his voice audible to only me.
“That can be arranged,” I said, smiling as I took the plate from him and motioned for Sawyer’s. He passed it to me, his smile growing even warmer, and his eyes followed me while I crossed over to the dining room. Sawyer was perched in a chair, waiting impatiently for her pizza.
I set the plates down on the table as someone knocked on the door. Tig started barking, and I looked at Alaric with confusion. He frowned, equally perplexed. Setting his plate down, he left to answer it.
The door opened, and I froze, hearing my father’s voice. “Where is she?”
Moving down the hallway, I glanced from Alaric to my dad. “Dad, hey. What um, what brings you here?”
My father’s expression was anything but amused. His stormy eyes shifted from me to Alaric and back again, a slight tick in his jaw and his immediate smile tell-tale signs that he wasn’t thrilled with me. “I could ask you the same thing.”
“Well,” I said, drawing out the word and looking at Alaric for assurance. He nodded, doing that ridiculous eye-smile thing that made butterflies swoop low in my belly every time, without fail. “We’re together, so. Um. I’m here for moral support and pizza?”
Dad’s eyes moved from me to Alaric, assessing him without warmth. “This is the first time I’ve heard about it.”
Sawyer’s voice called from the dining room. “Hello! I’m all alone in here!”
“Why don’t you come in for a bit, Russell? No sense in talking this out on the porch.” My father was thrown off by Alaric’s invitation, and the astonishment meant I had a slight advantage. He stepped inside, Alaric closing the door behind him.
“Daddy! I’m thirsty!” Sawyer called again.
Alaric sent an apologetic look to my father and went to tend to his daughter, leaving Dad and me alone in the hallway.
The expression my father gave me was full of disappointment. He hadn’t looked at me that way since he caught me trying to sneak back into my bedroom, drunk as a skunk at seventeen.
“Dad, we planned on telling you soon, but the current situation…” I trailed off, looking over my shoulder. I could hear the refrigerator opening and closing and Alaric’s deep, gentle voice as he spoke to his daughter.
Dad exhaled, nodding slowly, trying to reign in his reaction. My father was prone to act first and think later, so I appreciated the attempt. He scratched at the back of his head, mulling it over.
I pressed my lips together, tilting my head, detesting the silent route he was going for. “Well, why areyouhere?”
“To check on my employee,” Dad responded gruffly, following me down the hallway. He glanced darkly at Alaric, who was placing a glass of milk on the table in front of Sawyer.
Alaric looked up when we entered the kitchen, and I was thankful that he didn’t appear intimidated or bothered at all by my father’s presence. He set the glass of milk down in front of Sawyer.
“Hi, Boss Man!” She waved, recognizing my father from the barbeque. His gruff expression softened some, and he smiled lightly at her. I let out an inaudible sigh of relief.
“Hello, Sawyer, how are you?” my dad said.
“I’m good! I meeted my sister!”
“Met,” Alaric corrected distractedly, grinning down ruefully at her before shifting his attention to my father.
Dad cleared his throat, lifted his chin a little, and leveled Alaric with a look that would have made most men tuck tail and run. “So.” The single-syllable word held so much power.
“Sawyer will be staying with me until her mom recovers from her surgery,” Alaric responded, keeping his gaze respectfully on my father while absently tweaking the tip of Sawyer’s nose, making her giggle, before she moved away from the table. “I wasn’t able to find a daycare position for her this late into the summer, but my mom is coming Friday to help out.”
I hesitated, knowing how much my dad needed him in the shop this week. I could see him warring with it, with what to do. My father was a family man through and through, but he was also a businessman.
“Take the rest of the week off,” Dad said after a loaded minute. His eyes went from me to Alaric, and he smiled tightly. “Be in the office Monday at seven, ready to work harder than you’ve ever worked before.”
Alaric nodded, and Dad turned to leave. But he inclined his head when Alaric spoke, his voice low enough for only the three of us to hear.
