want them.”
“Then get your girly butt up, kiddo.”
Brittany grinned at him. “I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you, too.”
She scrambled out of bed. “Give me five minutes.”
“Sure thing.”
Her bathroom door slammed shut.
He returned to the kitchen where he heated the griddle, then stirred the batter. Brittany was growing up. She was a senior this year and even if she went to the University of Washington, she would be living in a dorm, so this was her last year at home. The time had gone by too fast.
Brittany walked into the kitchen just as he slid the cooked pancakes onto a plate. She kissed his cheek, then settled into a chair.
“The game was great last night,” she said. “The team is pulling it together. You’re going to have a kick-ass season, Dad.”
He eyed her. “Ass” was one of those borderline words. He decided not to start the morning with a fight.
“We’ll see how it goes. We’re focused on each game as it comes.”
“All you have to do is win the next game and the play-offs take care of themselves,” she said, repeating what he’d said a hundred times.
He laughed. “What are you doing today?”
“A bunch of us are meeting up around eleven-thirty. We’re going to lunch and an early movie. Then back here to finish up the homework I didn’t get done before the game yesterday.” She wrinkled her nose. “I have two more pages on my paper. It’s not due for another week, but I want it done. There’s a party at Michelle’s house, which you already know about. You talked to her mother on Thursday.”
“I remember.”
“So we’ll go to that. Tomorrow I want to work on my college admission essays.”
Hawk listened as she detailed her plan. As the words washed over him, he found himself thinking more about how much she’d changed in the past few years.
She was everything he could have wanted.
Popular, a good student, caring, responsible. He wanted to take all the credit, but he knew Serena had laid the foundation. She’d been the perfect mother. After she’d died, he’d done his best to fill in the gaps. Apparently he’d managed to do a pretty good job.
“Things okay with Raoul?” he asked.
She chewed a mouthful of pancakes, then swallowed. “Sure. We’re fine.”
“You seemed pretty tight last night after the game. You’re not taking things too far, are you?”
Brittany ducked her head. “Daddy, jeez. Get personal much?”
“You’re my daughter. I worry about you. You’re nearly eighteen. You’ve been dating Raoul for a while now. Do I have to kill him or not?”
“Not!” She shuddered. “This is humiliating. I won’t talk about this with you, mostly because there’s nothing to talk about. We’re not doing…that. It’s too soon.”
“Okay.” He kept his voice casual, but inside he was doing the happy dance. She’d said exactly what he wanted to hear.
If he had his way, his daughter wouldn’t have sex until she got married…around age thirty-five. But that wasn’t realistic. While he liked Raoul, he was wary. It wasn’t personal—he wouldn’t totally trust any teenage kid with his daughter. So he would do what he could to keep her safe and hope for the best.
He ate his own pancakes, remembering that when he’d been Brittany’s age, he and Serena had been doing it for nearly a year. They’d tried to be careful, but passion had often overridden common sense. Brittany had been the result. What had seemed like a disaster had turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to him. He’d been lucky and he knew it.
Speaking of luck…He remembered the previous evening and kissing Nicole. There was an activity he could get behind in a big way. She wasn’t going to be easy, which was fine with him. He was more than up for the challenge.
NICOLE CONFIRMED the deliveries for the upcoming week, then shut down her computer. Once the rush for Saturday-morning pastries was over, there was a lull until the cake order pickups started. They were usually done by lunchtime. The bakery closed in the afternoon. She was often done by noon. Today she’d finished early because she’d forced herself to only think about work. It was either that or endlessly relive kissing Hawk. While it might seem like a great way to waste time, she knew he was nothing but trouble and she would be smart to avoid him, even in her thoughts.
Maggie knocked on her open door. “There’s a bunch of high school kids out front.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just what I said. They came in a few minutes ago, ordered coffee and pastries. Now they’re just sitting there, talking. Like we’re a hangout. We’ve never been a hangout.”
“Are they causing any trouble?”
“No. They’re real polite. It’s just weird.”
Nicole had to agree with her. “Let me see what’s going on,” she said.
She walked to the front of the store. Sure enough most of the tables were full of teenagers laughing and talking. They were a little loud, but not doing anything she could object to. She was about to turn away, when she recognized one of the girls. A pretty blonde in shorts and a T-shirt who smiled and waved.
“Hi,” the girl said. “I’m Brittany. We met last night.”
“Raoul’s girlfriend.” Hawk’s daughter—a fact that was still hard to believe.
“Right. We’re waiting until he gets off work, then we’re all going to lunch and a movie.”
“Sounds like fun.” Nicole glanced at the clock. It was quarter to twelve. “I’ll go tell him you’re here so he can finish up. It should only be a couple of minutes.”
“Thanks, but he doesn’t have to hurry. We’re having fun. Your Danish are incredible.”
Nicole patted her hip. “Tell me about it.”
She returned behind the counter where Maggie waited. “You know them?” her employee asked.
“I met a couple of them last night at the football game.”
Maggie had worked at the bakery for years. She and Nicole were friends, so a simple questioning look got the point across.
“I don’t know what I was doing at a high school football game,” Nicole admitted. “Raoul plays. He asked me to go. I wanted to be supportive. He introduced me to Brittany, his girlfriend. She’s a cheerleader.”
Maggie started laughing.
Nicole
