Ellie drew in a sharp breath and whispered, “That little bastard.”
“That’s why you hit Paul?”
Hearing Gunner’s voice, I spun around. Colt, Gunner and my father were all standing at the front door. Not being able to read Colt’s expression, I mouthed, are you all right?
Something moved across Colt’s face. I’d seen that look before. It was the same look he had when he made love to me for the first time earlier today. My knees wobbled and I almost reached out for something to steady myself. Gunner stood in front of Colt, blocking my view of him. “Colt, is that what happened between you and Paul Hines?”
“Yeah, the bastard deserved more than just a punch.”
My father’s eyes were burning with anger. What did they talk about outside? What if he told Colt to stay away from me?
“It’s a damn good thing I didn’t know about this when it happened,” my father said.
Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I looked at my father.
“Daddy?” I wasn’t even sure why I called out to my father like I did. Questioning him, as if he could read the questions in my mind.
Giving me a slight grin, he looked around. “Take a deep breath, baby girl, everything is okay. Shall we go get that pizza before it gets too late?”
My mother reached for my hand and gave it a light squeeze. Pulling my eyes from my father, I attempted to smile. “Um . . . sure. Antonio’s?”
Ellie flashed me a sweet smile as she walked by and over to Colt. Slipping her arm around his, she began to talk. “So, I want to hear all about how school is going this semester. Will you drive with your father and I over to the pizza place?”
I took a step back as my mother walked toward the front door behind Ellie. “Lauren, you can drive with your father and I. I hardly got to see you at all the last three days.
Oh God. They were separating us. Why? Shaking my head, I pulled my hand from hers. “What’s going on? Why did you take Colt outside, Daddy? Why is everyone acting so strange?”
My father looked at me and smiled. “Everything is fine, Lauren. Colt’s parents’ just want to spend time with him like we want to spend time with you, darling. Everything is okay.”
My blue eyes found Colt’s. He quickly made his way over to me and placed his hands on my shoulders. The warmth of his touch calmed me instantly and I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He moved his lips to my ears. “I promise you, sweetheart. Everything is fine. I love you, Lauren.”
Pulling his head back just enough to look at me, I whispered, “Okay. I love you too, Colt.”
Kissing me softly on the cheek, Colt made his way out the door, followed by his parents and my mother. Giving my father a fake smile, I walked toward the kitchen. “I better get my purse so I—”
Taking my hand, my father stopped me. “Lauren Ashley, stop for one second and look at me.”
For some reason, I was afraid to turn around and look at my own father. I wasn’t sure why. It was so quiet I could hear my heart beating in my ears. Slowly turning around, I looked up into my father’s eyes. He gazed back upon me with nothing but love. “I simply asked him to take care of you.” My father’s voice cracked and he quickly cleared it before he continued talking. “Protect you, because you are the most important thing in the world to me. My heart belonged to you the moment I first looked into your eyes. You are my life, Lauren. It’s hard for me to just give that to someone else, even if that someone else is like a son to me.”
My lower lip trembled as I listened to my father talk. His mouth rose in a half smile as he looked at me. “Seeing the two of you on the dance floor earlier this morning, I saw something change. The way Colt looked at you is the way I see Gunner look at Ellie.” Glancing to the floor, he barely spoke above a whisper. “I hope it’s the way people see me look at your mother.”
My heart hammered in my chest. To hear my father say that Colt looked at me like he looked at my mother brought tears to my eyes. “Daddy,” I whispered as I threw myself into his arms. He held me tight as I cried. “Daddy, I’m so scared.”
“Why, baby girl? Please tell me why.”
“Is it possible to realize in one day how powerful your love is for someone? Daddy, my heart aches for him to just hold me in his arms. His touch calmed me down almost in an instant just now.”
I wasn’t sure this was what my father wanted to hear from my lips, but it was true. Colt’s touch had calmed my nerves and that scared me.