Page 50 of A Texas Hero

He squatted on his haunches near the fire. “You talk to your father?”

“Yes,” she said, sitting cross-legged beside him. “He finally told me the truth, and suddenly everything makes sense. Another unhinged football fan. It’s something we’ve been through before as a family. I remember those days clearly, being chauffeured to and from school, a bodyguard always on standby.”

“That must be especially tough for a child.”

“It’s no way to live but I got used to it. Like I said, after a while they were like family.”

“And your father. You’re not worried about him?”

“Of course I am, but I know he’s well protected. It’s something he needs to learn, apparently. How not to worry about me.”

“Yeah, not sure a parent ever does that. Least of all the father of a daughter. My father had four, so I’ve seen it firsthand.”

Zoey studied him through narrowed eyes. “Riiight. You’re the one who got away with everything while they were probably interrogated about every move they made.”

“Maybe not every move, but close.” Archer winced. “I admit there’s a double standard with my father’s generation.”

“I understand not wanting to know what I do in my personal life,” Zoey said. “Like me. I definitely don’t want to know about any of the women he dates. There’s no shortage of women interested in my father, both young and old.”

“I can imagine.”

“A few months ago, there was a woman.”

“Yeah?”

“I didn’t like her much but I decided I might be being unfair. It’s not like me to dislike someone. It was the last time I went up to see him. We don’t talk about her. I don’t want to know what they do together in my mother’s house.”

Archer heard the sharpness in that sentence, which didn’t sound like the Zoey he’d come to know. Apparently, there was at least one person who wasn’t the recipient of her kindness, but he could understand why not.

“It’s got to be hard, seeing him move on.”

“Oh, he never will. The women come and go. My mother will always be his true love, his number one. Forever and ever.”

Archer chose his words carefully. “And…you think that’s fair to him?”

“Maybe not, but you can’t change the truth. No woman will ever match up to my mother, mark my words.”

“I don’t doubt it, but maybe he could find someone who would make him really happy.”

Zoey gave him an “Are you for real?” look, swiveling her neck and chuckling.

“It’s a thought.” He shrugged. “Don’t you want your father to be happy and find love again…someday?”

“Looks like the fire’s died down. Time for marshmallows!” Zoey exclaimed, jumping to her feet.

Great way to avoid answering the question, he’d give her that. She ran into the kitchen and came back with a bag of marshmallows and what looked like shish kebab skewers. He took a couple and started spearing marshmallows. There was a trick to this and he had it down to a science.

Zoey, on the other hand, like a true-blue Texan, put the marshmallow so close to the fire it burst into flames.

“What did I do wrong?”

“Haven’t you done this before?”

“Well…a long time ago. It shouldn’t come as a shock to you that we didn’t do much real camping as a family.”

“Don’t tell me the bodyguards did it for you.”

“Ha, ha. But you and I are actually christening this fireplace. It’s my first time in the new house.”