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“Dad? Wait. He’s... That’s your dad?” Raquel stammered.

“Hello, princess.” Her father turned to face her, his arms spread wide and a wicked grin on his face. “Did you miss me?” Bell ran into her father’s embrace. The worry and fear swamping her ability to think in coherent thoughts evaporated as he proceeded to swing her around until she got dizzy. She tapped him on the shoulder, and he immediately put her down, holding her steady until she got her legs underneath her. In the past, he’d do it till she puked, which pissed her mom off.

“What are you doing here?” Nothing smelled better than her father, Rapier Dryer, nor could anything calm her down with just one inhale. A mix of outdoors, masculine spice, and a hint of dark, bitter chocolate.

“I got some business to take care of in town. But first, I wanted to stop by and see my girls, especially after you called me sounding upset. Is Spawn here?”

She giggled at her father’s nickname for Zoe. Her sister would tell anybody who listened she hated it, but secretly Zoe loved it.

“Spawn?” Raquel piped up.

“Zoe,” she replied.

Raquel frowned. “Zoe’s with Rocky.”

Her father stiffened at Raquel’s announcement. Crap, Bell was going to have to smooth out his ruffled mane. Later, she’d have to lay down some ground rules. Like not telling parents where their children were, especially overprotective parents like Rapier Dryer.

“Who the fuck is Rocky?” her father demanded, stepping into the house.

“Her boyfriend.” Bell flattened out the front of her skirt.

Rapier’s gaze locked with hers. “What?”

“Some say mate. Zoe hasn’t confirmed it, though.” Bell cleared her throat. “Anyway, she’s not here.”

“Boyfriend? Mate?” Her father growled, a sure sign he’d blow his top.

She turned to Raquel. “You should leave. Like now.” Gently, she began to push the girl from the room.

“I’m not leaving. Your dad is hot. Like panty-dropping hot.” She elbowed past Bell, reentering the room.

“Bell!” Her father roared.Holy hell, people across the campus must’ve heard that!

“Does he know about Christoph and Jackson?” Raquel attempted to whisper, but her father had amazing hearing, and she knew he’d hear it.

“Who the fuck is that, and what the fuck don’t I know?” The lion lurked just below the surface with her father. He peered out through her dad’s eyes staring a hole through Bell as she tried to gather her courage to tell him the truth. “What the fuck is going on Bell?”

She cringed. When her father started dropping multi f-bombs in one sentence, it meant only one thing. He was pissed. “Daddy.” Without any fear, she walked to her father and laid her hand on his forearm.

“Don’t fucking Daddy me, princess,” he yelled. “I blame your mother. I didn’t want you girls going so far away. But she insisted. Said you both need to learn to spread your fucking wings and fly. Like you’re a fucking butterfly or bird. Youbothshould have stayed your assess home in Apache County. We have an excellent fucking school!”

“Neither of us wanted to go to Apache County College,” Bell blurted then covered her mouth.

“Don’t fucking remind me,” he spat, sitting down on her beat-up, old couch. Any second, he’d start to rub the nape of his neck. Sure enough, he did, and Bell bit the inside of her cheek so as not to smile. No use pissing him off even more. “Have you and your sister been keeping shit from me?”

Never able to lie to her father, she looked him in the eye before she answered. “Yes. Several things.”

“If you tell me you’re pregnant, I’m killing someone. I swear it!”

“I’m not pregnant.” To get pregnant, she had to have unprotected sex in estrus, and that hadn’t happened yet. “I can’t speak for Zoe, though.”

He growled again, only this time longer and louder.

“I mean. I’m sure Zoe isn’t pregnant, either.”Please don’t be pregnant, Zoe!

“Do you need a minute?” Bell peered up at him. “A beer maybe?”

“I need fucking twenty-four hours to digest all this shit. But looks like that won’t be happening anytime soon. Get over here.” He patted the seat next to him. “Sit down and start talking.”