Ryan's Love - C.A. Harms Page 0,13

I couldn’t ignore.

Men from Montana were definitely nothing like the men I was used to.

Chapter Seven

Ryan

“I was gonna go down by the docks with Charlie,” Olivia pouted when I told her to climb up in the truck. “Dad!” She stomped her foot to gain my attention when I didn’t answer.

Charlie Whitfield. Just the name made my blood boil. He was seventeen, and he was interested in my fifteen-year-old daughter. That shit didn’t sit well with me; in fact, it pissed me off. I was a teenage boy once, and I know where the mind of a seventeen-year-old boy wanders 90 percent of the time.

Knowing my Olivia starred in some of that boy’s fantasies made me sick to my stomach. I’d had thoughts of putting the fear of God into him—a fear that involved my shotgun and a dark, deserted road.

“You’re not being fair,” she mumbled as she climbed up into the cab of my truck.

“I’m your dad, Liv, it’s my job to be unfair.”

I chuckled as she continued to complain throughout the entire drive into town. If I had to be the bad guy, I would happily take that role. If it meant protecting my daughter’s virtue, I was more than happy to have her think I was being a difficult jerk. One day she would look back and love me for saving her from actions she would have regretted.

Pulling into town, I couldn’t stop myself from glancing to the bakery at the left side of the road and grinning as I remembered walking in to find Amber dancing to the loud, girly music.

“What are you smiling about? Do you think it’s funny that you’re ruining my plans?”

I shifted my stare to my grumpy daughter. The scowl on her face only made me laugh, which of course only fueled the already tense situation.

“This is not funny, Dad. You’re being unreasonable,” she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. Lips pressed firmly together and nostrils flared in anger, she turned away from me and stared out the passenger-side window.

The moment I pulled in to the parking space in the center of town and placed the truck in park, she got out and darted for the one person she thought could save her.

“Gran, will you please tell your son how ridiculous he’s being?”

I chuckled as I walked toward my mother. My dad was sitting in a lawn chair at her side, hiding his grin beneath his hand. He had always told me, “One day, your time will come when I can sit back and watch your child drive you crazy.”

“Ryan, what are you doing to this poor girl?” My mother said, playing the I’ll fix this card.

“Ain’t doing nothing,” I stated as I took a seat at my father’s side and pulled a beer from the cooler between us.

“He won’t let me go to the docks with Charlie,” Olivia whined, looking up at my mom with her big doe eyes. “All my friends are going, but he won’t let me go. I’m gonna be the only one that can’t go. That is so embarrassing.”

“Ryan, you need to cut the reins a little bit. If you don’t, she’ll rebel,” my dad said just beneath his hand, low enough only I could hear.

“I remember a time when you’d run off every chance you got to those docks,” my mother pushed a little harder, pulling Olivia closer to her side.

“Not helping, Mom.” I lifted the beer to my lips and took a big swallow. I remember the docks very well. It was the first place I kissed Claire. It was also where Claire and I first experienced the pleasures our bodies created when we became one.

I shuddered at the thought of Olivia taking those same risks. “Nope.” I shook my head, and my dad’s chuckle grew deeper. “No docks.”

Olivia huffed and threw her hands up in the air. “You make me so mad sometimes.” She stomped her foot.

“Enough, Liv,” I warned, and she narrowed her eyes at me. Now she was going overboard, and her fit was grating on my nerves.

“Why don’t we take a walk, honey?” My mother said, attempting to alleviate the stress of the moment. “The bakery is open again.”

My heart felt like it jumped in my chest at the mention of Amber’s place. “Between you and me, the new owner may have her grandmother beat in the baking department.”

I watched as my mother dragged Olivia off toward the bakery, my heart pounding in my chest with each step they took. I