Happily Ever After Collection - Melanie Moreland Page 0,69
stood, looming over me, pushing me back into the pillow. “She’s fine.”
“Where?” I groaned, needing to know how close she was. I wanted to see her, make sure she was okay.
“She’s sleeping.”
“Please,” I begged, fighting the darkness. “I need… I love…”
And I was gone again.
The next time I woke up, I wasn’t alone in bed. Curled beside me was my girl, her hand clutching my gown, head on my chest. One arm was wrapped in tensor bandages, and I could see bruises forming on her pale skin. My arm was around her, holding her close. The pain in my head was less but still there. Grimacing, I nuzzled the top of her head.
“Laura,” I whispered. “Sweet girl.”
“She refused to leave again.”
I looked up at Hank, who was watching us with narrowed eyes.
“She’s stubborn.”
A small smirk appeared on his lips. “Like her mother.”
“Like her father as well.”
I cleared my throat and gratefully accepted the water Hank offered me, taking several sips before handing him the glass.
He leaned back in his chair. “She may be thinking by staying there, she’s protecting you.”
“Do I need protection, Hank?”
“You have something you want to tell me, Jackson?”
“I’m in love with your daughter.”
“And?”
“She loves me.”
“How long?”
I hesitated, wondering how much to say.
“How long, Jackson?”
“I’ve been in love with her since the first day she arrived.”
“You’ve lied to me all this time?”
“I tried to fight it, Hank. We tried. I stayed away from her as long as I was able to—I even tried to make her hate me. But…we love each other.”
“Yet you hid it.”
“We were worried about your reaction. You yourself told me no one was good enough for her—that she was off-limits to everyone. Remember? I tried to respect that, I tried to fight it.” I brushed my hair off my forehead in an impatient gesture, ignoring the pain that simple action caused. “I didn’t know what else to do. She’s everything to me, Hank. She completes me. It’s as if I’ve been waiting all my life to find her.
“We had decided to tell you—” I indicated my supine form “—then this happened.”
He didn’t say anything for a minute, and I used the time to look down at Laura. Her long eyelashes rested on her cheek as she slumbered, a slight frown on her full lips. I traced her mouth with my finger, smiling when her lips formed into a pout and she kissed the tip. I sighed heavily, trying to find more strength to keep talking. I was exhausted.
I looked up to see Hank watching us. “I know I’m not what you had in mind for her. I’m not rich. I can’t provide her with all the luxuries she deserves. And I’m older than she is.”
“I don’t care if you’re rich—it’s how you treat her that’s important. But you are older. A lot older,” he grumbled.
“You said it yourself the other day. Age has nothing to do with how well a relationship works. Or does that only apply when you choose to allow it?” I challenged him.
He glared at me for a moment.
“You’ve said yourself she’s an old soul. She’s perfect for me. We mesh so well.
“I’ll do anything I need to do in order to make her happy…in order to keep her.” I sucked in a deep breath. “Including leaving the company, if that’s what you want.”
“You’d do that?”
“Yes.”
“You saved her life. You risked your own life to save hers.”
“I’d do it again—a hundred times over.”
A glimmer of a smile appeared on his face. “I can’t go through that a hundred times.”
“Maybe we need to ban her from the work sites, then.”
“I’ll let you tell her,” he chuckled.
“Do I still have a job?”
He scrubbed his face. “Jackson, when I tell you to give everyone the day off for doing a good job, do I include you in that statement?”
“Not usually.”
“When I tell you to kick everyone’s ass because we’re behind schedule, are you part of that ass-kicking?”
“No.”
“When I said off-limits to everyone…I wasn’t necessarily including you either.”
“You weren’t?”
He shook his head. “I have a confession to make. I can’t tell you how often I thought the two of you would make a great team. How many times I wished she’d find someone just like you to be part of her life. Someone strong and caring.”
“That’s not what you said,” I pointed out.
“I know. I thought the age difference was too much and you working in the same company wasn’t a good idea. I hated the thought that if things didn’t work, I’d have