“She's a friend, and someone I hope will always be so, and you’ll have to believe me when I say there's nothing more to it than that.”
“Shame.” He sighed. “You look like someone who’d treat my girl like a princess, and she needs that now. She's been hurt bad, and her mother and I should have realized what was going on before that bastard nearly destroyed her. We should have done more to protect her, but I was too weak to see or do anything about it. Then it was too late. My wife is a dominant woman, and I allowed her to be that way. Lying here has made me realize my mistakes, Brad.”
Brad knew death made people face up to stuff, but he wasn't overly comfortable hearing the confessions of a man he didn't know, the father of the woman he’d had the best sex of his life with. A woman who intrigued him way more than she should.
“Mr. Reynolds—”
“I'm sure you don't want to hear any of this, but the thing is, Brad—” He had a coughing fit then, and Brad eased him upright and gently rubbed his back before lowering him to the pillows once more.
“I heard about him, her ex,” Brad said, not knowing what else to say.
“If I had the strength I'd go to that prison and shoot him dead, but I wouldn't make it out of the door.”
“If I'm ever passing, I'll do it for you.”
“Be grateful.” Mr. Reynolds flashed him a weak smile, and Brad saw more of his daughter.
“I don't know all the details, as it was not long after that I started to go downhill, but I've seen the shadows in my girl’s eyes, and I'm her father, I should be able to chase them away, or at least make her feel safe.”
“She has friends, Harvey, who look out for her.” Brad doubted the man knew about Brian Delray’s calls to his daughter.
His sigh shook his body.
“And for that I will be forever grateful. They’re good people, Brad, and I can never thank them enough for looking after my girl when her mother and I did not.”
“They seem really tight.”
“You have friends like that, Brad?”
He nodded, and the heavy feeling settled in his chest again as he thought about Mark.
“One just died.”
“I’m sorry for your loss then. Nothing worse than losing someone close.”
“There isn’t.”
“It hurts.”
“And then some,” Brad added.
“You never get over it, Brad, but it gets easier given time. You need to talk about him, your friend, so his memory stays strong.”
“I’m not much of a talker, Harvey.”
“It helps with the healing, son. Give it a try.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Can I add something, Brad?”
He nodded.
“I want to say that if things change between you and my daughter, that you have my blessing.”
“How can you say that when you don’t know me? Your daughter doesn’t even know me, for that matter.” This day was spiraling out of his control.
“Son, you walked into this house not knowing what you would find and picked me up off the floor without hesitation. Not many people would do that.”
