Fate (Steel Brothers Saga #13) - Helen Hardt Page 0,48
a little gruff,” I said to Daphne after I’d spent the last hour showing her some of the ranch. “Don’t let him scare you.”
Her eyes widened. “Scare me?”
“Maybe not the right word. He might not seem overly friendly at first, but that’s just who he is.”
“Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“No, it’s just me. My mom was in a car accident when I was a toddler. She had really bad internal bleeding, and the doctors did a total hysterectomy to save her life.”
“Oh!” Daphne clasped her hand to her mouth. “How awful. I’m sorry.”
“It was hard for her but good for me.” I smiled. “I don’t have to share this place with anyone. I’m the sole heir.”
She swatted me on the arm. “I’m serious.”
“I know. Having a brother or sister would have been nice. My father especially never got over it. It changed him.”
My mother had been driving, so as far as my father was concerned, the accident had been her fault. Once she’d recovered, he started using her for a punching bag, but I didn’t want to lay that on Daphne quite yet. She was so sweet and angelic. She shouldn’t have to deal with something so horrible. By the time I was sixteen, my muscles were bigger, and they were younger than my father’s, so I’d put a stop to it. I’d been worried about living outside the home for college, but my father never touched my mother again.
Instead, he ignored her, treated her like a cow patty on his shoe.
I wasn’t sure which was worse.
“I’m so sorry,” Daphne said.
“Don’t be,” I said. “I’m his only child, so he was hard on me, but I’m more than ready to take over this place when it’s time.”
“You’re so young yet.”
“Like I said, he was hard on me.”
“And your mother?”
“What do you mean?”
“Is she…okay?”
A loaded question. Physically, yes, she was okay. Emotionally? She held her own, but she’d been beaten down for years by my father. When I was fifteen, I tried to get her to leave. Said I’d go with her, and I’d take care of her. But she wouldn’t. She said marriage vows meant something to her, and she would stand by her commitment. Then she got a dreamy look in her eye and said she and my father had been happy once, and one day, she felt sure, they would be again.
It hadn’t happened yet as far as I could see.
Again, when I hit sixteen, I’d stopped the abuse—the physical abuse, anyway.
But when I was seventeen, she lost it and had to be hospitalized for several months.
She was better now. She got through her days and had hobbies that gave her joy. Her greenhouse, for one. She loved flowers, especially tulips.
Still, though, her relationship with my father was icy. The tension was palpable when they were in the same room.
Part of me was glad she was gone this weekend. Daphne would be spared any unpleasant interaction between my parents. My father would be polite to her, in his own way. He’d be glad to see me move on from Wendy. He never liked her, always thought she had some kind of ulterior motive.
If he only knew…
If things didn’t go well today, he would know. I’d go to my father for help.
The mouthwatering smell of burgers wafted in from the kitchen. I took Daphne’s hand. “She’s okay. Come on. Lunchtime.”
Belinda set the plate of burgers on the table. “Hot off the grill,” she said. “Where’s your father?”
“I have no idea.”
Then the door slammed, and my father’s cowboy boot footfalls clomped through the corridor.
Dad was home.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Daphne
Mr. Steel was a big man. He was the same height as Brad and only slightly broader, but something about his presence filled the room.
“Hey, Dad,” Brad said. “This is Daphne Wade. Daphne, my father, George Steel.”
Mr. Steel didn’t smile but held out his hand. “Daphne.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Steel.” I took his hand. It was big and rough and calloused. A lot like Brad’s, only more so. And his grip didn’t seem nearly as friendly. “Thank you for opening your home to me.”
He nodded. “Happy to.”
His attitude negated his words. Brad had said he was gruff, so I decided to go with the flow.
“It’s a nice day,” Mr. Steel said. “Let’s eat outside, Belinda. I’m going to wash up.”
“Of course. I’ll set it up.”
“Can I help you with anything?” I asked her.
“Aren’t you a dear? Yes, take this plate of lettuce, tomatoes, and onion. I’ve got the burgers.”