Page 25 of A Home for Harmony (Blossoms #16)

ARE YOU WORRIED

“ W hoa, talk about some BDE,” Harmony said the next morning when she walked into the kitchen.

He spun his head around and squinted his eyes at her.

“You’re not going to say that in front of my daughter, are you?”

She put her arms around him from behind and gave him a tender hug. “Do you even know what BDE is?”

He shifted to face her and returned the embrace. “I’m a dude. I know what it is,” he said. She loved when he hugged her.

She poked her finger into his side. “I’m not convinced. You’ll have to spell it out for me.”

He grabbed her hand and slapped it on his dick. “It was big and had plenty of energy for you last night.”

She giggled and gave him a squeeze. “Can I tell you how adorable it is that you can’t even tell me it’s big dick energy, that you are finding the most polite way to say it? I bet if you were around any guy friends, you’d say it.”

“I hate to break it to you, but my friends aren’t talking about dick energy around each other.”

“Good point,” she said and gave him a gentle pat.

“Why did you say what you had?” he asked. “It’s not like I haven’t cooked you breakfast before, and that’s all I’m doing now.”

“Micah,” she said. “You’re standing at the stove in a pair of Levis that were made to fit you.

Your T-shirt is snug to your body and your arm was bent doing something, making your bicep flex.

I know you weren’t doing it on purpose.” She reached up and ran her hand across his face.

“This turns me on like you can’t imagine, but I understand why you shave it when you have to work.

Your hair is damp and slightly messy, like you towel dried it fast so you could be down here just in case Scarlet showed up earlier than planned. ”

“Are you done breaking my appearance apart?”

“You’re embarrassed,” she said, giggling. “I didn’t think that was possible.”

“Everyone gets embarrassed.” He turned away from her to go back to breakfast.

She moved by his side and looked at what he was making. She wanted to say he was grouchy, but he was just being himself.

“Is that one of those French toast casseroles?”

He looked at her. “Your eyes are wide. You look like a deer caught in headlights, except you’re all but drooling on my counter. Like you did last night when I had BDE.”

She laughed hard at his joke, not just because it was funny, but because it came from him —from that quiet, hidden part of him she was slowly getting to know. And God, it thrilled her.

“You’re a riot when you want to be. And I happen to be a big fan of anything with maple syrup in it.” She picked up the bottle and popped the top to put some on her finger. “Maple flavored bacon is one of my favorite foods of all time.”

“I’m waving the white flag,” he said, taking the bottle from her. “You win.”

She slapped his ass. “I think we are both winning. I’ll stop embarrassing you now. Are you worried about this breakfast with Scarlet? I’m not.”

“I’m not sure what I’m feeling,” he said. “But I appreciate you trying to take my mind off of it.”

“That was my plan,” she said. “Let me help you with breakfast. Anything else you need?”

“Scarlet likes fruit if you want to just grab some berries or anything you want and cut them up.”

“I bet she likes this casserole you’re making too, huh?”

“It’s her favorite,” he mumbled.

“Micah, don’t be embarrassed. I’m going to be dead serious. Look at me.” He turned and looked into her eyes. “You are a dream father. Or maybe one I would have dreamed of. Any teenage girl would be so lucky to know you were in her corner.”

He flushed. “I try.”

“See,” she said. “I don’t think you have to try. I think it comes more naturally to you than you realize.”

He shrugged. “I doubt that. I couldn’t make it work with her mother and no one likes to fail.

At least I don’t. My parents are still married.

Trinda’s are too. I never thought I’d be in a failed marriage, and when she got pregnant, I was hesitant to get married.

She was too. But our parents said it was the right thing to do. ”

“Right in their eyes,” she said. “But not in yours or Trinda’s.

That’s not failure. If you’d both listened to your heart, you’d know how it would go.

But you’re still making it work for your daughter.

I don’t know many exes that could live this close nor have holidays together peacefully. At least I’m assuming it is.”

“It is mostly,” he said. “I don’t talk about this much, but we’ve got time. I was the one that threw the towel in and still feel like shit over it.”

She frowned. “What does that mean?”

“It means all we did was fight when we saw each other. I couldn’t be who she wanted me to be. I was making her miserable and her being miserable was doing the same to me. I spent more time at work than home and some of it was me volunteering to escape the house.”

“Oh, Micah. I’m so sorry. You carry that around and shouldn’t. It doesn’t appear as if it traumatized Scarlet.”

“She was,” he said. “At least I thought so. She missed me. She wanted to be with me more than her mother. I ended up spending my time home with her and Trinda would find other things to do or go out with friends. I finally sat Trinda down and said we couldn’t do it.

She was worried about money and affording things.

That’s not the right reason to stay together.

It’s the only reason she didn’t bring it up first. I know that. ”

“That’s hard,” she said. “My mother wasn’t working when my parents divorced.

I should say split. They didn’t really divorce officially for years.

My mother cared for us, my father kept the insurance and paid for everything, but they weren’t living together.

They were legally separated. They were both dating other people.

When my mother got engaged to Jerry, they divorced officially.

I didn’t know any of this until years later. ”

“Sounds like your father did the right thing too,” he said. “We divorced. Trinda has a job, a decent one, but not what I make. We share custody and there was no child support. It’s not that I didn’t want to pay it, but Scarlet wanted to live with me and that hit Trinda hard.”

“Adding more guilt to you?”

“Yeah,” he said. “I gave her the house. She pays the mortgage, but we’d put a lot down on it from my overtime and I just walked away and let her have it. I paid all the childcare costs and whatever Scarlet needs mostly.”

Making it easier for them but probably harder on him.

“You’re an honorable man,” she said.

“With BDE,” he said, smirking.

Harmony laughed. She took that as a sign he was finished talking.

“Yes, you do,” she said. “We’ll change the subject anyway. I’ll follow your lead here with your daughter. Don’t worry, I won’t say anything like we’ve been talking about. I know she’s sixteen, not twenty-six.”

“She’s going to have more questions for you than me,” he said.

“Don’t be so surprised,” she said.

When Scarlet showed up thirty minutes earlier than she was told, she was right. The sixteen-year-old came in saying, “Okay, I’ve had the night to think of things. I need to know it all.”

“No,” Micah said. “I’ve never told you it all and I’m not now. You can ask specific questions, but Harmony doesn’t have to answer anything she doesn’t feel comfortable with.”

Scarlet pouted. “That isn’t much help.”

“Ask me what you want,” Harmony said. “I’ll try to answer, but maybe I’ll just start by saying I really like your father. I’m not trying to be a parent to you, but I’d like to be your friend, though I understand if that is asking a lot.”

“I like you,” Scarlet said. “You’re cool. My father is not so cool, so maybe you can bring some of that into his life.”

Micah closed one eye at his daughter. “I’m too old to change.”

“I don’t believe that,” Harmony said, “but asking you to change is the last thing I’d do.”

No way she was going to say he’d already changed from when she’d first dated him.

He was more open, giving and caring with her. Even funny.

“I tell Dad he’s not too old to change, but I’m just a kid and he doesn’t believe me.”

“Brat,” he said. “Sit down. Breakfast is almost done.”

He pulled the casserole out of the oven and set it out to cool, then moved and made another cup of coffee and one for Harmony too. He even brought the creamer over and poured it in.

When Micah walked back to the fridge, Scarlet said, “I should have realized something was going on when I saw that in there but just thought Dad used it. And he never waited on my mother like that.”

“I’m not sure I’d call it waiting on Harmony,” he said. “I gave her a fresh cup of coffee. You’re making a bigger deal out of this.”

Because he knew she drank two cups by watching her more than anything.

If that didn’t show how considerate and observant he was, she didn’t know what did.

Scarlet looked at her and whispered, “No, I’m not. Am I?”

She shook her head no and smiled, then reached her hand over.

“I think your father and I have a good thing, but it’s only been a few months.

He might be a bit more concerned about our age gap than me, but it will take time.

He’s very busy at work and has an important job.

I’ve got a lot going on in my life too. No one is making plans and we are taking it day by day.

I don’t want you to worry or think I’m taking your dad away from you.

I’m not. I’m actually jealous of the relationship you’ve got with him.

You’re a very lucky girl and I’d do nothing to damage that. ”

Scarlet put her bottom lip out, her eyes a little glossy. “Thank you. I wouldn’t ask that, but I don’t want my father to feel like he can’t have a life because I’d feel that way either.”

“Please don’t,” she said. “I’ve got no problem sharing my number with you and you can reach out and talk to me anytime you want. I want you to feel comfortable with your father and my relationship too.”

“You know,” he said, “I’m still in the room and not the maid just cooking and serving.”

She and Scarlet both laughed. “But you look so cute cooking breakfast for us,” Scarlet said. “Dad won’t wear the apron I got him.”

Harmony’s eyes grew wide. “I might have to see that.”

Scarlet got up and found it in the cabinet and brought it over. It was black and said, “Best Flippin’ Dad Ever,” with a spatula on it.

“That is very cute,” she said. “Do you ever grill?”

Scarlet grinned. “They had one that said Grill Daddy on it, but this was better.”

“You two might be dangerous together,” he said. “Both of you eat and stop talking so I can get some peace.”

Scarlet turned to her. “His tone gets like that when he’s annoyed.”

Harmony winced. When Micah sat, he was next to her and she reached under the table to squeeze his leg in apology.

He put his hand on hers and just ran his thumb over her knuckles softly.

Yeah, more bark than bite, but he didn’t want to have his daughter see it.

She didn’t know it was possible for one moment to make you fall in love, but she was positive it happened just now.