Texas Daddy

Stomping off from her dad had been a bad choice. Her whole leg throbbed, and it was her own fault. Yeah, that’s her, a living, breathing, limping example of pride cometh before the fall.

The shopping cart pulled to the left again. She growled and yanked it back. Great, she had a lame basket too.

“Nikki?”

She dropped her head before plastering a smile on her face and turning to Adrian. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were stalking me.”

“Maybe you do know better, and you’re onto me.” His heart-melting smile was highlighted by a wink.

She glared at him. Did she look like the kind that invited flirting? Most of the men in her life didn’t even try.

He dared to lean in closer and grinned. “Do you need help? What are you getting?”

“I’m just getting some painkillers, almond milk and orange juice. But I’ve got it.”

“Daddy! Look, they have a new horse book. Can I get it too?” A beautiful girl of about ten hobbled over on crutches, her long dark hair trying to crawl out of a French braid.

Nikki froze. Her gut twisted. Adrian’s daughter.

“Mia, this is Nikki Bergmann. She’s the long-lost oldest Bergmann sister. We went to school together. Nikki, my daughter, Mia.”

“Oh, you saved Swift. She’s so sweet. Thank you for giving her to my dad. I promise to take good care of her and you can come see her anytime. So you went to school with my dad. Did you know my mom?”

Adrian cut his daughter a glare. “Mia.”

“Sorry. Daddy says you have a brace too.” The girl looked at her leg in confusion. “Did they let you take it off?”

She watched Adrian walk the short distance to the cooler at the end of the aisle. He was a man now with a man’s filled-out frame, but he still had the I-own-the-world swagger that seemed to be in all bull riders. It was hard to believe he gave it up for his daughter. She glanced at Mia. Did he have regrets? Obviously Charlotte, Mia’s mother, was a banned subject.

The silence didn’t deter the young girl. “I just got my cast off, and Tuesday I have my first day in full therapy. I have a rod and screws holding my leg together. Are you in physical therapy?”

She was as talkative as her dad. Nikki blinked a few times to clear her thoughts. “I’ll be there at sixteen hundred hours.”

Adrian tossed a bottle of orange juice and a carton of unsweetened almond milk in her cart as he laughed. “For us civilians, we need to translate.” He rolled his eyes up as he counted on his fingers. He looked back at them with a grin. “Four o’clock, right?”

The girl’s face lit up. “Yay! We can be workout buddies. Daddy said you’re an adventure guide in the Grand Canyon and you were in the navy. That sounds really cool. I broke my leg in three places being drug by a horse in the arena. I hit my head, so I don’t remember any of it, but Daddy saw everything.” The same gold flecks her father had now flashed in her young eyes.

“Mia.” Adrian looked as if he had lost some color to his dark skin and his eyebrows had a deep crease between them. He did not share Mia’s excitement over the story of her accident.

Leaning closer to her, Mia whispered, “Daddy’s having a harder time dealing with my injury than I am.”

“Sorry, she thinks everyone wants to hear her life story.”

“Wonder who she got that from?” She winked at Adrian. He actually blushed. Without thought, laughter—good honest laughter—bubbled forth. It surprised her at first. She didn’t laugh often—not much to laugh about.

Mia didn’t seem to notice her dad’s discomfort. “Did you fall while climbing cliffs, or smash against a rock in the white-water rapids? I’ve seen shows about it.”

“No, just a boring car wreck.” She smiled at Mia. “I busted my ACL and damaged my meniscus.”

“Oh no. Is everyone okay?” Her small hand went to her chest.

“Yeah. I got the worst of it. A guy on his cell phone T-boned us. As the passenger, I took the main hit.” That wasn’t the only hit she took that day. She shifted her weight, trying to take the pressure off her hurt knee.

“Why aren’t you wearing a brace?” The concerned look on Mia’s face mirrored Adrian’s. The child undeniably had more of her dad in her than her mom. All she remembered of Charlotte was the girl liked wearing black and never smiled—not at her, anyway. She couldn’t picture Adrian being with a girl like that.

Since he apparently didn’t have a cart, Adrian just threw some fresh carrots, corn on the cob and spinach in hers. He also had a giant supply of painkillers and a bottle of water. “She was doing stuff she shouldn’t be doing and now she’s in pain and might have hurt her knee all over again. We had to cut her brace off so she could walk.” He opened the painkillers and held three gel tablets out to her. “Why don’t you take a few of these now. You look as if you won’t be standing much longer.”

“I’m fine.” She wanted to refuse the meds he offered her, but she knew he was right. She had waited too long and now the pain was overwhelming. Without the cart she wouldn’t be standing. She took them from his hand and slammed them back without the water he offered. “Thanks.”

With a gentle nudge, he turned her cart to the front of the old store. “Let’s get you checked out and drive you home. You need to elevate and ice that knee. No more walking.”

Mia sighed. “Sorry he’s so bossy. He says that all the time to me. Daddy thinks ice cures everything. Tío says it’s from his bull-riding days. Ice it, wrap it and get back in the saddle.” The little girl dropped her voice to mimic her father.

“Except you will not be getting back in the saddle—not on a barrel racer, anyway.”

The smaller version of Adrian crossed her arms and tightened her mouth, but she didn’t say anything. There was trouble in paradise.

“Hey, Nikki.” George came from the back, carrying something wrapped in white butcher paper.

The brothers still looked a great deal alike, but she never understood how people got them confused. Adrian was leaner and better looking. She always thought so, anyway.

George smiled. “Good to see you. How’s the knee?” They did have the same smile, but George’s didn’t make her feel weak.

“She’s in pain and needs to get off her feet. We’re checking out then taking her home.” Adrian moved her cart slowly to the checkout. Another difference: George wasn’t as bossy as his twin.

“Great, you’re joining us for dinner. Good thing I decided to pick up a couple of extra steaks.”

Adrian placed the items on the worn laminate counter and smiled at Vickie as she started ringing them up. “Not our house. We’re taking her to her home.”

“Nikki, you should come over and let us pamper you. My grilled steaks and corn on the cob is famous, and Adrian tosses a mean spinach salad.”

Vickie chuckled as she put the unhusked corn in a bag. “It’s true. No one passes up an opportunity for George’s grilling.” She picked up the pills and started putting them in the bag too.

“No, those are mine.” Reaching for them, Nikki winced as the pain shot through her body. “I’m paying for those.”

Adrian’s hand balanced her. “Careful. Just put it on my tab.” He looked at George. “Get the bags. I’m taking her to the truck.”

“Your daughter’s right. You’re bossy.” Biting down on the inside of her cheeks, she let Adrian lead her out the door. As they approached the steps, she wanted to cry. There was no way she was going to make it.

Without warning, her feet left the ground and Adrian had her cradled in his arms like a big giant baby. “I can walk.”

“Right. I knew you were going to say that, which is why I didn’t bother to ask. I’ve never seen someone so stubborn about being in pain, and I used to hang out with bull riders. You’re much easier to carry without a bike attached to you.”

A group of boys walked by, and all the girls giggled.

“Adrian, you finally catch a girlfriend?” one of the boys yelled out.

Another followed up. “He found one that wasn’t fast enough.” The boys laughed at their own stupid jokes.

Adrian shook his head and gave her a half grin before turning back to the boys. “Seth, make yourself useful and open my back door.”

“Yes, sir.” The lanky kid ran past them and stood next to the door.

He looked familiar, but she couldn’t place him. Adrian eased her into the back seat and turned her so her legs stretched out.

“Seth!” The kid was already back on the sidewalk when Adrian yelled at him. “I forgot to tell your mom that Dr. Rankin had to reschedule. Next month the horse-club meeting needs to be moved to the seventeenth. Go ask your mom to send an email out to all the members. She’s just inside.”

“Yes, sir.” The kid smiled.

Her throat went dry as a face from her past flashed across her mind. “Was that Tommy and Vickie’s son?”

He pulled the seat belt around so she could buckle it. “Yep. He’s about twelve. It’s been a bit rough on him, but he’s a good kid.”

“Rough? Because of the divorce? Seth looks like his father.”

“Yeah, he does. The divorce was bad enough, but then... Tommy’s in jail.”

“Tommy Miller?” She blinked. The world turned upside down. He had been the golden boy. Everyone loved him. She had loved him, until he used her and... “Why?”

“Domestic violence. The worst part was Seth was the one to call 911 and had to step between his father and Vickie. Tommy threatened her with a gun.” He closed the door.

Numb. Her brain was numb.

Mia opened the other passenger door and crawled up into the bench seat. “Are you going to eat with us?”

“No, Mia. She needs to go home.”

Nikki looked up at Adrian. Their eyes met in the mirror. “Please.” She wanted to say more, but if she uttered another word she would start to cry.

One quick nod, and he turned the key. George got in the front and handed her a small bag. “Sure you don’t want to join us? We have plenty.”

Adrian backed the truck out. “She needs to go home and get some rest. I think her day’s been long enough.”

Sometimes being bossy was a good thing. Nikki closed her eyes, thankful that Adrian understood on some level that she needed to hide. At this rate, she shouldn’t venture out of her father’s house ever again. Not until it was time to leave Clear Water, anyway.

Chapter Three

Hiding in the corner—well, actually a closet—Nikki sat on an odd chair that had been left behind. Her father wanted her to meet with Adrian and George as they did an appraisal of the remodel. She knew he was trying to get her out of the house and involved in the family business. She would have said no, but she was starting to get a little stir-crazy.

Now she regretted the decision to come to the lumberyard. At least George would be here. She just didn’t want to spend any more time alone with Adrian.

From the dark cubby, she could see through several open doors to the front area. Built in 1884, parts of the store had seen better days. Some of the interior walls had been torn down sometime in the twenties or thirties to make the front half one big room. Rumor had it they used it for dancing, but she couldn’t imagine anyone in her father’s family hosting community dances. Eight columns supported the stamped tin ceiling, and a raised platform gave credence to the live music gatherings. The back part of the space had been living quarters.

The ornate door that she remembered always being locked now leaned against the wall. A heavy carved chair with a strange back elevated above the others in a sea of forgotten chairs. The different styles stood as evidence of each decade that marched through the rooms. It looked as if generations of Bergmanns never threw anything away.

Over the years, her father stood firm that the cost to repair the upstairs of the historic building had been out of financial reach. Money needed to be spent wisely on the areas where customers traveled. Which meant the above and below were left untouched. The basement was used as storage for the business, but the upper floor looked like a graveyard of the forgotten.

Footsteps on the narrow staircase to her left stopped her thoughts. One pair of boots slowly moved closer to her. Only one?

Please, let it be George. He didn’t ask her questions or make her uncomfortable.

The man on the stairs came into view. He had his back to her. Her stomach dropped with a heavy thud. It was Adrian.

Worn fitted Levi’s jeans, boots and a blue button-up shirt tucked neatly had him looking all business with a pair of work gloves in his back pocket. The silver Stetson was not the same one he’d worn when he hauled her out of the rain.

He wasn’t much taller than she remembered. But he had filled out. In a very nice way. Too nice for her comfort.

Hands on his hips, he arched back and studied the ceiling. He moved through the doors to the front of the room and stopped at one of the large ten-foot windows.

She had a perfect view as he gently ran his fingers along the wood trim then dropped to the floor and thoughtfully traced the baseboards.

He muttered some words she couldn’t hear then turned his attention to the broken laminate tiles in the floor. Slowly, he pried one of the squares up and touched the flooring he found underneath. He caressed the building as if comforting and reassuring hurt feelings.

Standing, he turned her way. His eyes went wide for a second, and then he smiled at her. “Well, Ms. Bergmann, what a pleasure to find you hiding up here.” In a few steps, he stood in front of her. The morning sun flooded through the windows behind him. The light made it hard to see the details of his face.

Why did she feel guilty for watching him? “I’m not hiding. Daddy asked me to meet you and George here.” Standing over her, he seemed taller than six foot. Using the arm of the chair, she got herself to her feet. “He wanted to make sure you didn’t get any crazy ideas of making a grand statement with the remodel. He’s still not sure he wants to waste the money on this part of the building.” She looked to the back stairway. Maybe George got stopped downstairs by one of her sisters. “Where’s your partner?”

“My partner needed to finish up another job and sent me. My specialty is uncovering the beauty in old buildings. I can keep it as simple or as complicated as you want it.”

“Simple. I... We... I mean, he, my father, wants to keep it simple.”

“What about your sisters? They gave me a long list of ideas, and every time they saw me they added more.” He crossed his arms over his chest, and his shirt stretched across lean hard muscles. She looked toward the door, not wanting to remember how comforting it felt to be held by those arms. He had just been helping someone in trouble. He hadn’t meant anything by it.

“My sisters are great with ideas, but Daddy’s the money man.”

He nodded as his eyes scanned the room. “What about you? What part are you playing?”

“Not any. I’m just a temporary guest who plans to move on as soon as I can.”

His attention came back to her and he paused until they made eye contact. “That’s a shame.”

Now, why did her insides have to get all gooey? Ugh, she had the worst taste in men. He was a bull rider. Maybe a retired one, but still, they were all adrenaline junkies and thought they were some kind of gift to the women of the planet. It must have to do with the arrogance of thinking they could ride a two-thousand-pound animal made of muscle. She had enough issues without dating a risk taker, and he had a kid. That made him off-limits.

Stay on topic, Nikki girl. You’re here to talk about the building. “So what do you think? Can it be made into usable space at a reasonable price?”

He ran his fingertips along the decorative cuts on the unhinged door. “My guess from the designs cut into the wood is that this door was brought over from Europe, maybe Germany. This is one solid piece of wood, not small pieces glued on. It’s beautiful.” His gaze cut across the room. “I had no clue there was such a big pulley up here. The wheel is at least eight feet wide. It’s amazing.”

She could see the appreciation in his eyes.

He waved her to follow him. “Come here.”

Without waiting, he moved to a moldy part of the wall that had started to crumble. He took the work gloves from his back pocket. With them on, he carefully lifted a corner of the drywall and pulled. It gave way under the pressure, and he moved back.

With a gleam he looked at her, waiting for her reaction. He acted as if he was sharing a found treasure.

Looking at the exposed stone wall then back at him, she waited.

“This is incredible and a pretty easy fix.” He stepped over the new debris and laid his palm on the stone-and-plaster wall. “Come here.”

Carefully she stepped around the rubble and touched the wall.

“Do you feel that? That’s a building that has provided shelter and a living for over one hundred and thirty years. It’s been covered and hidden away.” He gazed at the wall, his hand pressing against it as if listening for a heartbeat. He looked at her and smiled. “Do you feel it?”

The cool stone seemed to have a life all its own. “So you want to take the Sheetrock down and expose the stone.”

He nodded. “It was probably added in the sixties trying to make the room look more modern. The fifties and sixties did a great deal of damage to these old places.”

Their hands were close. Would he tear down her walls and expose the truth she had hidden? He wouldn’t be as excited at what he found there. She feared the damage went too deep.

His rich, warm eyes searched her face. Oh no, he looked as if he might kiss her. His breath was warm and had a faint smell of citrus, like he just ate an orange. They now stood less than an inch apart.

She blinked. She didn’t move away from him, and that scared her most. She actually leaned in.

“Hello!”

“Hello!” The greeting’s echo came from the back stairs as her twin sisters emerged. Each holding a cup of coffee.

In the same motion, Adrian and she turned away from the wall, away from each other, and faced her sisters. She glared at them. “I thought y’all were running the store while Daddy went to Uvalde.”

“Oh, Sammi has it under control—”

“She’s been asking for more responsibility—”

“And we are so excited about what Adrian is going to do up here—”

“Adrian, can you see this as a quaint teahouse with mix-matched chairs and sofas? Lots of books and—”

“There are less than four hundred people in Clear Water, and only three like hot tea. Daddy will not go for a tearoom.” Rolling her eyes, Danica turned to Adrian. “I think it should be more practical, maybe a dual purpose. A nice place where people can meet, maybe even have small receptions and parties.”

Jackie gave an identical eye roll. “That is soooo practical, Dani.”

Nikki rubbed her leg. Her head started to throb. Not much changed with her sisters. She should have never agreed to leave the house, to meet with Adrian. The almost kiss was too close for comfort. She took a deep breath and tried to figure out a way to leave.

* * *

Adrian lowered his head to hide his grin. He hoped he and his twin didn’t sound like this. Maybe it was a sister thing. But he didn’t think they would appreciate his humor at their expense.

All three sisters were tall, almost his height, so they had to be at least five-nine. Nikki was the tallest. The twins had long strawberry blond hair, Danica’s in a fancy braid down her back with a few strands curled around her face. When she had first dropped out of college and came home to have her twins, everyone tried setting them up, but all he could think about when he was around her was her older sister Nikki.

It wasn’t right to think about one sister when having dinner with the other. So they became good friends.

Danica pointed to Nikki. “She gave me another idea. We could expand the business to camping, hunting and outdoor adventure stuff like the business she wanted to buy at the Grand Canyon.”

“What? How did I get drawn into this? I’m not staying.” Nikki gave her sister a heated glare as she rubbed her leg. They weren’t listening to her. “Why would you think that? I still plan on going through with that once I’m completely healed.”

“I think it’s a perfect plan. With that jerk of a boyfriend causing your injury, and then taking half of your money, you need family around you. It’d take less funding to start your business in Clear Water. Your dreams can happen here and we can help.”

Nikki froze. He watched for any movement, but it looked as if she had stopped breathing.

Adrian went to her side and touched her shoulder. He made sure not to stand too close. The smell of ivory soap had never been so dangerous to his sanity. “Where are your crutches? You need to get off your leg.”

He knew she had to be hurting when she allowed him to guide her to one of the antique chairs. It didn’t take a genius to figure out she hated showing any weakness, and her sister just put her business out there like it was nothing. They probably saw her troubles as a blessing that brought her home.

Family was like that, manipulating a situation to get you to do what they thought was best. All from love, but it still burned for someone as independent as Nikki. All he could do for her was change the topic.

“This chair looks like another antique from Europe. My best guess without research is it’s a prayer chair from France. Has it always been here?”

The twins both shrugged.

“There is so much history in this building. Your family history.” Adrian stepped past Nikki and went deeper into the space. The morning sun cast the colors of a high stained-glass window across the room. Purples, blues and greens danced on the old plaster-and-stone wall, creating a feeling of peace, like they were surrounded by water. It had not been touched by so-called modern improvements.

Nikki turned her face to the light and closed her eyes. The reflection from the antique stained glass touched her features with color. He stopped breathing. An irresistible mix of strength and femininity made up the curves of her face. He needed to pull himself together. That kiss had been too close. What had he been thinking?

The twins crowded the door. “What do you think it is?”

Adrian took his eyes off Nikki, and blinked at her sisters a couple of times before realizing they had not been reading his thoughts. “I think it might’ve been a prayer room.”

“A prayer room?” A hushed whisper couldn’t hide their curiosity and awe.

“I’ve never heard such a thing. Why wouldn’t Dad—”

“Why is Samantha alone with a line of customers?” Mr. Bergmann’s voice caused them all to jump like kids caught stealing cookies.

Jackie had her hand on her chest. “Really, Daddy? Did you have to scare us?”

“It’s your guilty conscience, not me. I told y’all to stay away while Adrian was doing the appraisal. I don’t want your fancy ideas to interfere with his bid.”

“Daddy, there is so much cool family stuff up here. I’m excited about what we’ll find.” Jackie stepped closer to her father. At six-five, he towered over his daughter. None of them appeared the slightest bit intimidated. He glanced back at Nikki. Boredom stamped her face, but his gut told him it was an act.

“We are not here to dig up old history. Danica, what are you doing here? Mondays you’re at the animal sanctuary. You.” Mr. Bergmann looked at Jackie. “You should be downstairs helping your little sister. Someone wants more information about those new chalk paints of yours.”

“Daddy, this isn’t just family history, but even more important information about what was going on in the area and state.” Jackie served on every committee in the area that had anything to do with local and Texas history.

“No. If we remodel that’s fine, but that’s the end of it. It’s not becoming a museum for people to stomp around.”

Jackie started to say something else, but Danica took her sister’s hand. “It’s okay. We’re here about the room.” With her arm around her sister, she smiled at their father. “We’ve waited so long for this, Daddy, and Nikki doesn’t even really care about the room one way or another.” She squeezed Jackie around the waist.