for years to come . . . and she would have no recourse but to realize that she deserved every sly look and whispered comment.
She was deep in thought when she spied a shadow at the door. For a split second, her heart leapt to her throat. Then she recognized the slightly slumped posture.
And the black hat that was always slightly skewed.
Her father had come to visit.
Chapter 24
“Perhaps Perry and I could have come to an agreement after a time. Perhaps I could have learned to adjust to his restlessness and Perry could have learned to like who he was.”
FRANNIE EICHER
Just as the door slowly opened, Jack bounded down the stairs like an overeager Doberman. “Hold it right there!” he barked.
Her father practically jumped out of his skin.
And Frannie felt as if she was about to both laugh and cry all at the same time. “Thank you for your diligence, Jack, but this man is okay, I think. He’s my father.”
Jack backed down, but his expression still looked like he was ready to do harm. “All right, but remember, I need to check everyone who enters, Frannie.”
“I won’t forget.”
Her father glared at Jack. “Who are you? Frannie’s doorman?”
“I’m just a guest.”
“Harrumph. More like yet another fancy detective, I’d say.”
“Daed, this is Jack. He’ll be staying here for a few days, to make sure everything here is safe and gut.”
“Hard to imagine that you need such a person, Frannie.”
“We can’t be too careful,” Jack said.
“Perhaps.” To Jack’s credit, he stood tall and proud as her father looked him over like he was an awkward suitor who didn’t stand a chance.
Frannie looped her hand around her father’s elbow and tugged. “Come on, Daed, I have cinnamon rolls fresh from the oven on the counter. Come have one.”
As she’d expected, her father’s interest peaked. “Any good?”
“They’re terrific, the best I’ve ever had,” Jack said.
“That’s probably not saying much,” her father retorted.
Frannie hid a smile as she once again led an uneasy man into her kitchen for sustenance.
This was turning into a mighty interesting day.
After serving him both a treat and a cup of coffee, she joined her father at the kitchen table and got to business.
“Why did you come over, Daed?”
“I wanted to check on you, of course.”
That would make sense if he’d done that before. But he never was one to pay her visits. Well, not unless she was in the hospital, she amended to herself. “I’m feeling better.”
“You still look a mess, daughter. You look tired, too. Have you been sleeping?”
Of course not. “Some.”
More gently, he asked, “When do you get your stitches out and the rest of the bandages off?”
Self-consciously, she touched the bandages still covering her brow. “In a week or two. I’ll look at my checkout sheet. There are follow-up appointments.”
“Still can’t believe one glass bowl did so much damage to ya.”
Frannie knew that rather quiet comment was her father’s way of worrying. “God makes everything happen for a reason,” she soothed, hoping to calm his fears. “Perhaps one day I’ll understand why I had to go through this.”
“I’ve never understood why the Lord plans things like he does,” he said, each word coming out slowly. Almost haltingly. “I’ve accepted His will, but I have to say I never understood why He took your mother so many years before me. It ain’t been easy, living in that house without her.”
Frannie noticed that he was disappointed about being left behind more than her mother leaving earth early. The wording hurt a little, though she’d always known in her heart that her father truly resented making due without her mother’s calm nature by his side. “I guess you’ll have to ask when you get to heaven,” she said lightly.
Almost as soon as she said the quip, though, she wished she could take it back. That was just the type of comment her father hated. He took his faith seriously. And he took her mother’s death to heart, too.
But to Frannie’s surprise, he smiled slightly. “You can bet your last dollar that I’ll do that. I’ve got quite a few questions for Saint Peter when I get to heaven.”
Thinking about her father’s surprising comments, she was happy to sit quietly as he contentedly ate two cinnamon rolls and leisurely sipped his cup of coffee. As always, sitting with her father brought a sense of calm to her soul. She loved him without reservation, and knew that he felt the same way. Even though she didn’t always do what he wished or