Steal My Magnolia (Love at First Sight #3) - Karla Sorensen Page 0,17

on our facial expressions. The mental eye roll I just executed would've gone down in record books.

But I kept my face smooth, kept it even, and I slid the paper across the counter so that he could reach it. "This is for you."

He made no move to pick it up. In fact, he didn't so much as glance at it. His eyes stayed on my face, and I knew he was trying to search out what I was doing. I might've inherited a few things from Momma, but my poker face came straight from J.T. MacIntyre.

"What is that?" he asked.

I didn't answer, simply held his gaze steadily. His cheek clenched when I didn't blink. But then again, neither did he.

"Magnolia," he said quietly, "why don't you just tell me what this is about because I don't like that look in your eye."

"Please just read it, Daddy. I could've waited to give that to you tomorrow at the office, but I decided that this would be best."

He slicked his tongue over his teeth. How he knew with surety that whatever was on that paper was something he didn't want to read, I had no idea.

The slider connected to the sprawling deck slid open, the only thing that could've broken our stalemate. Daddy's gaze landed, unerringly, onto my mother. It always did when she entered a room.

"Magnolia," she greeted quietly. "Wasn't expecting you tonight."

"Hi, Momma."

If anyone truly questioned whether my father was born without a soul, all they had to do was spend five minutes in my parents' company. It wasn't until Tucker broke up with me that I started studying my parents as carefully as I was now. I'd always taken their relationship for granted, but in the wake of my only long-term relationship ending, I saw them in a different light.

The way my daddy looked at my momma when she walked into a room was how I wanted a man to look at me. I wanted him to feel a peace so deep that it settled him down to his core when he simply shared space with me. That was what my daddy looked like right now.

And even though my mother had a quieter nature about her, she was the same way with him.

They were magnets, drawn together simply because they couldn't not be.

She walked over to Daddy, slid a hand up his chest, and kissed his cheek. He wrapped an arm around her and set his nose against her temple, drawing in a deep breath. I glanced down at the counter, feeling like an intruder on this quiet moment between them.

"What's that?" Momma asked, reaching for the paper.

I held my breath and found Daddy's gaze. "Something for Daddy."

She handed him the paper without a single glance because it wasn't in her nature to pry if we didn't ask her to.

The muscle along his jaw jumped, and he finally reached out to take the paper from her hands. He gave it a quick glance, and I held my breath.

"What the hell?" he whispered. His eyes, wide and confused, jerked up to mine. "Is this a joke?"

The paper floated to the counter, and before she picked it up, my momma's eyes moved from me to Daddy and back again.

"It's quite serious," I told him. I lifted my chin, but my insides were vibrating dangerously. The reality of quitting the job he'd given me, and the security it provided, was far scarier now that he was actually looking at the words I'd typed. I felt like a kettle set to boil without a way for the steam to escape. The water boiled and bubbled inside with nowhere to go.

"You're quitting?" he thundered.

Momma set her hand on his arm, her eyes still on the paper. Only briefly did she lift them to me, and they gave away nothing. If there was anyone in the world who could handle him, it was her, but maybe because I was ready to boil over myself, I didn't want her to. I wanted to handle this myself, without interference.

"I'm giving you my notice," I corrected. "For the next two weeks, I'll help transition Marcia to handle my duties as she's more than capable."

Marcia had worked in the Chamber office a solid ten years longer than I had, and she would take over the reins seamlessly. Not only that, but she wasn't afraid of Daddy, and that was invaluable.

"It's not Marcia's job to manage my office." He flung his hands out. "How can you do this to me,