But Violet didn't play the same games as the other women I knew. She'd acted like a businesswoman - because she was. She'd also apologized first. And the way she'd done it? Nervous, like she was honestly worried that we couldn't make up? Yeah. I kinda liked that. Maybe I shouldn't, but it felt good.
Now I just had to make sure she didn't regret it, because I owed her one. Just the fact that she'd invited Faith over left me in her debt, but it was so much more than that. She sounded like she honestly wanted to get to know my baby girl. When she'd said I seemed like a good dad? Yeah. There just weren't words to describe that feeling. I'd spent my entire life trying to be the father my daughter deserved, and someone had finally noticed. Not Faith. Of course not her. She'd just assume all dads were like me until she got a whole lot older. But Vera's granddaughter? Violet had been raised by the closest thing to a perfect example I could think of. For her to say I wasn't screwing this up? Yep. I was on cloud nine.
The grin was still on my face when I pulled up beside Meredith's trailer. Oddly, her car was gone, but she knew I was supposed to pick up Faith. She'd told me to, so where the hell was she? The euphoria of my meeting with Violet began to dim as I turned off my truck and stepped out. Hoping I was wrong, I jogged up the stairs and knocked. A moment later, the door cracked open.
Brody, Meredith's fiancé, stood there with his shirt off, glaring at me. The guy wasn't impressive. I knew all Meredith saw in the asshole was that he owned his own place - what little there was of it - and liked her being a stay-at-home wife. She'd basically said as much the last time we'd argued. Not that I did much with her besides that. Meredith was convinced that if she hadn't gotten pregnant in high school, her life would have been a whole lot different, and it felt like every year she resented it a little more. Granted, she also acted like she hadn't been a willing participant when Faith had been conceived.
"What do you want?" Brody grumbled, pulling my attention back to the present.
I jerked my chin toward the end of the trailer. "Got a date with a young lady."
"Don't think so." The jerk tried to push the door closed, but I stuck my foot in.
"Meredith asked me to pick her up." I lifted a brow, waiting for Brody's next move.
The guy sighed, but pulled the door open a little further. Still not enough to invite me in. "Well, she's out with her bridesmaids looking at wedding dresses. No need to put you out. Faith's fine here with me."
"And I'm taking her riding." Then I raised my voice a little. "Hey, cupcake? You ready to go, or what?"
"Daddy!"
That girlish squeal proved that my daughter had been looking forward to this. She sounded excited, not melodramatic. I just crossed my arms and waited. I had no idea what Meredith was trying to pull this time, but I knew exactly how to get around it. She wanted the child support I paid. I wanted time with my girl. She wouldn't get one without giving me the other, and if she thought I'd just back off? Not happening.
I might not have much, but I'd give it all up for my little brat. I certainly wasn't going to just back out of the picture now that Meredith and Brody were getting married. They could be the happiest couple in the world and that man still wasn't Faith's dad.Iwas. If my ex-girlfriend thought it was something I was trying to get out of, well, then she was dumber than I thought.
Silently, the two of us stood there. The animosity was thick enough to cut. I didn't care that Meredith was marrying Brody. I simply hated that some stranger got to spend more time with my daughter than I did. Even worse, my little girl didn't have much nice to say about the guy. Granted, until she was about eight, she kept hoping her mom and I would get married. In a few more weeks, that dream was going to be completely dead.
Eventually, Faith jerked the door out of Brody's hand and rushed out. She barely even acknowledged the guy, but she smiled at me. "I'm ready."
"Bathing suit?" I asked.
She nodded her head as hard as she could. "And riding boots. Mom said she's not going to be back until like eleven, so I can stay out with you until then."
I pointed to the truck, the pair of us heading that way. Maybe we didn't say bye to Brody, but I would claim it was an accident if I got called on it. I also wasn't going to give the guy any more leverage than my ex already had. I waited not only until we got in the truck, but until we were buckled in and pulling out of the drive before I broke the bad news.
"Honey, I still have to feed the cows at sundown. That means you have two options. We either take you back..."
"No, Dad..." she whined.
I nodded. "Or you can sit in the truck while I finish up, and maybe we can go get dinner afterwards." I could see her smile growing, but wanted to make sure she understood. "Faith, that's two hours of doing almost nothing."
She twisted to look at me. "Maybe I can play with your phone?"
"And do what?"
Her shrug was a little too innocent. "I dunno. I'm sure you have a few games on there."
Ok, so maybe I did, but I had a funny feeling she wouldn't be playing solitaire. "Don't have Facebook, though."
"Dad! It's a free app!"
Yeah. I'd seen that one coming. "Why, you got a boyfriend on there or something?"
She jerked her head to look out the window. "No."
"Maybe a cute boy friended you?"
This time, it was softer. "No."
