Unbreak My Heart (Strawberry Inn Book #4)

Chapter 7

DALTON

“The pizza was really good, Daddy!” Katie stopped at my seat at the table after putting her plate into the sink. She rubbed her stomach in an exaggerated motion. “I am STUFFED!”

I pulled her in a little closer and kissed the top of her head, “I’m glad you liked it, little girl. I hope you aren’t too full because Miss Elizabeth and Eva brought over a cheesecake to share.”

“Cheesecake is my favorite,” Eva shared with the group.

“I’ll never be too full for dessert, Daddy!”

“That’s what I thought.” I matched her grin with one of my own. “Maybe we should let our dinner settle just a bit so we don’t get a tummy ache.”

The girls frowned at me. It is almost as if they knew that big ole’ pouty lips and puppy dog eyes were my kryptonite. I was thankful that I had a backup or that I was going to be dishing out that dessert sooner than planned. “I think the both of you know that waiting for dessert is the better idea.” Elizabeth raised a knowing eyebrow at Eva and Katie. The girls both giggled, knowing they were caught in the act.

“Can we at least watch a movie while we wait for dessert time? Please, please, pretty please!” Katie gave the same puppy dog eyes but little did she know I was going to suggest that anyway. Sometimes I just needed her to think I was doing her a favor.

“That sounds like a much better alternative. Grab some blankets from the closet before you take Eva to your room and the two of you can make a snuggly place on your bed.”

The girls streaked down the hallway, stopping by the closet as I had instructed them. I was close behind them, moving as quickly as I could without my crutches and my leg in this stupid brace. I couldn’t wait to get rid of it and feel a sense of normalcy again. I considered asking Elizabeth what she thought of the idea, but I didn’t want to bring up work stuff while we were together. I knew our friendship was walking a line between patient and medical professional. I needed to do my best to keep our friendship and the time we spent in physical therapy separate.

The girls worked on building the most comfortable blanket fort bed, their words, not mine, while I found a kid-friendly movie for them to watch in Katie’s room. I even turned on her desk lap and turned off the overhead light to create more of an ambiance for them. They’ll be good for a while. When I returned to the other room, Elizabeth was no longer sitting at the kitchen table, but instead looking at the pictures on our bookshelf. A lump in my throat formed when I noticed that she was holding a picture from my wedding day.

“I didn’t mean to be nosey,” she quickly put the frame back in its place once she realized that I was back in the room. I shook my head and joined her at the spot, picking the same picture back up. 

I hardly recognize the man looking back at me in this picture. He was so young, just out of high school. We would have married sooner, but we both agreed we wanted to be able to drink during our pre-wedding parties and at the reception. Brandi had aged a lot better than I had. That tightness in my chest returned as I wondered what she’d look like now, seven years later. 

“You don’t have to apologize, Elizabeth. If I didn’t want people to see the pictures, I wouldn’t display them.”

“That’s Katie’s mom.” She wasn’t asking me, but rather making a statement. It was obvious to anybody who had ever met Brandi. Katie was her mini-me in every way except for her eyes. While Brandi has light brown, maybe bordering on hazel eyes, Katie has my blue ones.

“This is Brandi. You’re right, she’s Katie’s mom,” I sighed and put the picture down. “I know where this is going, so we can go ahead and just get into it rather than pussyfooting around.”