broke into a run, bursting out of the restaurant and chasing Brian back to his truck. He’d have ripped the man out of it had he not hit the automatic locks.
Kace smacked the window three times with the heel of his palm. If he’d broken it, he’d have cut his hand to ribbons but would have pulled Brian through the shattered glass and wiped the parking lot with him. Shit like this got a man sent to jail for a time, but he was so far beyond caring.
The truck rumbled to life.
“You like beating women?” Kace snapped, hitting the window again.
The tires sprayed gravel as Brian took off.
“Breathe in her fucking direction again,” Kace yelled after him. “I fucking dare you!”
Kace stood in the parking lot until he couldn’t see the truck anymore. He struggled to get his breathing back under control, his heart to slow down, and his fists to unclench. Situation dealt with, he went back into the restaurant. What few patrons there were at this time of day stared after him, but he didn’t care. He made his way back to Iris and slid back into the booth across from her.
Iris had the baby in her lap, and her eyes were huge. “Did you hurt your hand?”
“Nope.” Picking up his fork, he started eating. “This is good.” The silence was growing heavy again, and he needed something to help him get back to normal.
Stammering a little, Iris finally said, “Thank you, Daddy.”
It was an old honorific. One she’d had no right to use in a very long time, and they both knew it, but he didn’t bother to correct her. He just pointed to her plate.
“I’d like to see you finish at least half of that before we leave. You need to eat.”
That’s who he was, and whether either of them had any right to claim that kind of relationship between them, he couldn’t stop being the man he was at his core any more than he could turn back the clock and make himself fall in love with her. Certain things just had to stay in the past, and as Georgia had obviously done, he needed to move forward.
He was tired of living alone.
Chapter Seven
She got the job.
Georgia was so happy and excited, she all but bounced in the driver’s seat all the way back to Solstice Springs. Which was strange from the minute she realized that’s where she was heading. It wasn’t exactly on the way, and really, what point was there in going back to share her good news with her emergency mechanic?
Ridiculous.
Beyond ridiculous, yet he was the first person she thought about when she left her interview, the first person she thought of when she got the confirmation call from Human Resources two hours later, and the constant shadow who occupied her thoughts as she’d spent the day touring Santa Fe with her cousin, looking at what housing was available to rent.
“I’m so excited you’re moving down here!” Her cousin cried, giving her a hug right before she drove off for home.
To be honest, Georgia was, too. She was at the beginning of a grand, new adventure, something so wonderful, it couldn’t help but turn her life around. As much as she hated moving, she was ready for it.
Ten miles down the road, she saw a small white house with a for-rent sign in the yard, which got her thinking about Daddy again. The best new part about her job was that it could be done remotely. If she only had to drive into work every couple of weeks, she didn’t need to live in Santa Fe.
The next thing she knew, she was at the forty-eight-mile marker and taking the turnoff to Solstice Springs. She was going back to Daddy. The excitement inside her blossomed and swelled. She couldn’t wait to tell him her good news.
By the time she pulled into town, it was almost dark, but Dad’s Garage was still open. His head poked out from around the propped hood of his current project when she pulled into the driveway. Her nipples tingled as they looked at one another, and that funny spark of heat blossomed in the pit of her stomach, just like it had the first time she’d seen him.
Shifting into park, she switched off the engine and careful of her booted foot, climbed out as he sauntered out to meet her. Careful with her weight, she hobbled to meet him and was in such a good mood, she didn’t