Relentless (20 page)

He reared back as though she had struck him. “Is that what you think, that I’m not willing to let you grow up?”

She felt guilty for calling him out, knowing he loved her and was just trying to protect her. Still, she had to set some ground rules for their relationship now, or risk being treated like a child for the rest of her life. “Look, I know you’re trying to make up for lost time,” she said quietly. Even after years of therapy, there were still topics that were difficult to talk about, like the years they spent apart. She rarely brought up the past because she didn’t want him to think that she harbored unresolved resentment, but she knew they couldn’t avoid talking about it if they were going to build a bridge for the kind of adult relationship she hoped to have with him.

“I hate the fact that I wasn’t there for you growing up, Nikki. You don’t know what it’s like, having to live with the guilt and regret every damn day,” he whispered, his voice cracking.

She slid off the stool and walked around the counter to face him. It was rare to see her father exposing his vulnerability, and she had no idea how to help him make peace with their past, but she wanted to try. She looked up at him, smiling. “You’re a great dad; don’t ever doubt that.”

He shook his head, the tears brimming in his blue eyes. “A good dad wouldn’t have walked away from his kid without looking back.”

She gripped his forearm. “You said you thought about me every day during those years.”

“I did, but that wasn’t enough. I should have reached out to you, I should have…”

She touched his lips. “Please, don’t punish yourself anymore. I love you; I forgive you. You need to forgive yourself.”

He pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head. “Honey, when you’re a parent, you’ll understand the way I’m feeling now. Then you’ll ask yourself how that bastard could’ve left you without a father.”

She pulled back to look at him, shocked by the ferocity of his words. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”

“You want to know the truth? I’m terrified that’s exactly what’s gonna happen, and I’ll lose you all over again,” he whispered.

“Daddy,” she said, slipping her arms around his waist, “you never have to worry about that. Nothing and no one could ever change the way I feel about you.”

“I pray to God you’re right, honey. If I lost you now, I don’t know how the hell I’d cope with that.”

She gripped his biceps. “That’s never gonna happen. Nothing could break the bond between us. But I do need you to do something for me.”

“What’s that?” he asked, sounding apprehensive.

“I need you to give me a little space to make my own choices, my own mistakes, as the case may be. You can’t expect me to live in this safe zone all my life, where you call all the shots because you want to protect me from getting hurt.”

“I just don’t want to see you get mixed up with a guy like J.T. McCall. It’ll end in disaster.”

Feeling angry and defensive on J.T.’s behalf, she asked, “How can you be so sure?”

“I know all about that guy, honey. Trust me; he’s the poster boy for the kind of dude you want your little girl to steer clear of.”

She knew her father was probably right, but that didn’t make it any easier to hear. She wanted to believe J.T. when he told her she was special, but the voice of reason inside her head told her she was just deluding herself. He probably fed every woman the same line, just to get her into bed. “J.T. and I are consenting adults, Dad. Whatever happens, or doesn’t happen, between us is our business, not yours.”

He grabbed her shoulders, holding her at arm’s length. “You just told me there was nothing going on between you two. Does that mean something’s already happened?”

She felt the heat crawl up her neck at a snail’s pace, and by the time it reached her hairline, she knew her face must look as though she’d fallen asleep in the glaring sun. “I don’t feel comfortable talking to you about this. Please, just back off.”

“Like hell I will.” He reached into his pocket, extracting his keys.

She grabbed his arm. “Where are you going?”

“I’m gonna pay that yahoo a little visit. He needs to know that my daughter’s not gonna be anybody’s buckle bunny.”

“Don’t you dare…” Before she could stop him, he was already halfway to the door, looking like he’d take pleasure in leveling anyone stupid enough to get in his way.

Chapter Thirteen

J.T. was walking up from the stables when he saw a familiar shadow darkening his doorway, Luc Spencer. Shit, he’d been expecting this visit, but he sure as hell hadn’t been looking forward to it.

Luc turned and spotted him. Walking purposefully toward J.T., the scowl on his face spoke volumes about his intent. When the two men finally met in the middle, they took a minute to stare each other down, both waiting for the other to draw first blood.

“Just say what you came here to say, Luc,” J.T. said finally. He’d known and respected Luc for a number of years, ever since he signed his brother to his label, but they had never been on opposing ends of an argument before. J.T. wasn’t naïve enough to think Nikki’s old man would be anything less than a formidable opponent.

“You know exactly what I’m doing here, McCall.”

He wasn’t a man used to hiding behind a cloak of lies and deception. He was accustomed to putting his cards on the table, fully prepared to deal with the consequences of his actions.

“You’re pissed that I slept with your daughter,” J.T. said, expecting his bluntness to provoke Luc’s anger.

“You son of a bitch,” Luc said, coming at him full force. He shoved him hard.

Given the fact that Luc was similar to him in size and stature, the blow had the intended effect, causing him to stumble backward as he struggled to maintain his footing on the uneven ground. J.T. held his hands up, beckoning to Luc. “You want a piece of me? Take your best shot. It ain’t gonna change the fact that I’m in love with your daughter.”

Luc stepped back, looking stunned. “What did you say?”

J.T. dropped his hands, satisfied he wouldn’t need to defend himself again. “Listen, man, I understand why you’re pissed. I probably would be too, if I were you.”

Luc swept his hands over his face, suddenly looking like he’d aged ten years in the past two minutes. “You haven’t got a clue how I feel.”

Curious about the change in his demeanor, J.T. decided to take a chance. “You wanna go inside and talk about this, man to man?”

Luc stared at him for what seemed like an eternity before responding. “I guess we’d better. It doesn’t look like a stiff right hook is gonna be enough to make this problem go away.”

J.T. chuckled, leading the way into his log cabin. He had no doubt Nikki’s dad came here today fully intending to lay him out, but J.T.’s assertion obviously made him rethink his strategy. Not that he had made the statement to diffuse the situation. He hadn’t. He’d said it because he meant it, and Luc needed to know how he felt about Nikki because, in spite of what she said last night, he had no intention of giving up on her.

Luc followed him inside. He started pacing back and forth over the worn rug in front of the stone fireplace. “Maybe you’d better tell me how the hell this happened.”

“I met her about five years ago, at your place, in fact,” J.T. said, sitting on the edge of a distressed leather armchair.

Luc stopped pacing long enough to glare at him. “Five years ago she was eighteen. Are you telling me you…”

J.T. held his hands up, halting Luc’s train of thought. “No, hell no. I’d never do anything like that.”

“She may be a grown woman now, but she’s still too goddamn young for you, McCall.”

J.T. smirked. “Isn’t there about ten years between you and your wife, man?”

“Don’t be a smartass,” Luc said, frowning. “We’re not talking about my wife; we’re talking about my daughter. And that’s a whole different matter, believe me.”

“Yeah, but I know Marisa’s daddy well enough to know he couldn’t have been too happy about you sniffin’ around his little girl in the beginning. You come in here givin’ me a hard time, but you were no better, were you?” Ty told him that Luc Spencer had earned a reputation as a womanizer long before he met Marisa.

Luc sank down on the couch, dropping his head into his hands. “That’s why I feel the need to protect her from guys like you, ‘cause I was just like you.”

J.T. nodded. “I understand, but you changed when the right woman came along. What makes you think I couldn’t do the same?”

Luc looked up at him, his face a mask of confusion. “You really think you’re in love with her?”

“I can’t stop thinkin’ about her,” J.T. said, conscious of the fact that he was talking to the girl’s father. He didn’t want to give him any indication of where those thoughts had led him. If he figured that out, it may end with a brawl that left one or both of them laid up in the hospital.

“You know your timing couldn’t be worse,” Luc said, partially covering his face with his hands. “She’s gonna be going on the road soon. That means her life is about to get a hell of a lot more complicated.”

“I know that.” He crossed his arms, regarding Luc carefully. He looked tired, defeated, as though he was fighting an internal battle he had no hope of winning. “Listen, I want you to know that I’d never try and stop your daughter from goin’ after her dream, Luc. Hell, I’m her number one fan.”

A ghost of a smile played across his lips. “Good to know.”

“She told me she doesn’t want a relationship right now.”

“But you don’t intend to heed her warning, do you?”

“Let me ask you this, if Marisa had tried to shut you down, would you have let her?”

Luc chuckled, shaking his head. “Hell no.”

J.T. shrugged, satisfied he’d made his point. “Then how can you expect me to back down, just ‘cause she’s determined to make this hard for me?”

Luc narrowed his eyes, regarding J.T. carefully. “Is that was this is about? She’s the first woman to ever turn you down, and you can’t resist the challenge?”

J.T. could understand how he may have come across that way, but Luc’s assumption couldn’t be further from the truth. Nothing would make him happier than if he and Nikki were on the same page about where this relationship was headed. The fact that they weren’t scared the hell out of him. “Trust me. I don’t see this as a game. I care about your daughter. I want her. Hell, I feel like I need her in my life.”

Luc leaned back, stretching one arm across the back of the leather sofa. “Why is that?”

J.T. would give anything not to be laying it all out there for Nikki’s father, but it was important to him that he earn the man’s respect, and he knew his only hope of achieving that was with honesty. No matter that the truth may come with a hit to his pride. “Like I said, I was interested way back when, but I would never have acted on it. I knew she was too young, too inexperienced for a guy like me.”

Luc raised an eyebrow. “And that’s what this is really all about, isn’t it? I think we both know that a guy like you has no business with a girl like Nikki, no matter the age difference.”

Okay, now he was hitting below the belt, and J.T. wouldn’t tolerate being disrespected in his own home under any circumstances. “You sayin’ you don’t think I’m good enough for her?”

“You’re good at what you do,” he said carefully. “The best in the world, and in my mind, that says a lot about the kind of man you are. I have a lot of respect for a guy who sets goals and achieves them.” J.T. sensed he was just trying to soften the blow, so he sat back and waited for him to continue. “But that doesn’t mean I think you’re the right man for my daughter.”

The frustration was mounting for J.T., who wasn’t accustomed to being judged and found lacking. “Who are you to decide what’s best for Nikki? Maybe you oughtta let her decide that for herself.”

Luc smiled finally, pointing a finger at J.T. “You know why I can’t stand the thought of Nikki fallin’ for a guy like you?”

“No, but I’m sure you’re gonna tell me, whether I wanna hear it or not.”

“You’re damn right I am.” Luc chuckled. “You’re just like I was at your age, man. Hell bent on being the best, making a name for yourself, and enjoying the perks that come with your success.”