“Get your cost estimate to me by next Monday morning. I’ve got a meeting with the main man that afternoon.”
Cluny stood. “You got it.” He rinsed out his cup and set it on the shelf behind the sink. “Fifty bucks says she was beyond hot, Gunny.”
“You win. Now get the hell out of here. I gotta think.”
Marla stood in front of her dad’s office and ran her fingers over his nameplate. Bradley Danaher. She turned the knob and peeked inside.
“There’s my girl.” He stood, rounded his desk, and embraced Marla. Arm around her shoulders, he led her to a large, brown leather sofa. “Have a seat, honey. Tell old Dad all about it.”
The love she had for her father was deep enough to drown in. She trembled a watery smile. “You’re not old, Dad. You aren’t even eligible for Senior Citizen discounts until next year.” She grabbed his hand.
“Old in experience, if not years.” He rubbed her knuckles. “What’s on your mind?”
“Two things but promise you won’t laugh or say I told you so.” She wondered if there were many women out there who had such a close, comfortable relationship with their father as she. Talking to him about anything came naturally to her.
He chuckled. “I’d be falling down on my father-of-the-year job if I made that promise. Let me venture a guess.” Playing the wise man, he rolled his eyes, puckered his lips, and tapped a finger on his chin. “You’re in love and you’re broke.”
“Dad,” she groaned and rocked back, “how do you do it?” Face buried in her hands she mumbled through her fingers, “I made a schoolgirl mistake.” Her cheeks grew hot. “I spent the night at Dwayne Dempsey’s house. I don’t know what came over me. I never should have gone there so late. I swear I had business to discuss with him, but I could have done it over the phone.” She rocked back and forth. “I’m so stupid.”
He rubbed her back. “I’ve had the misfortune to be acquainted with many stupid people in this life, and you, my dear girl, cannot be counted in their number.” He paused. “Now tell me why it was stupid.”
She gasped and stared. “Because we…because we…ended up in his bed, that’s why!”
“And it’s a mistake because you slept with him?”
“Dad!”
“Was he abusive? Did he force you? Was the sex disgusting?” He raised his eyebrows and waved his hands. “What? Why are you in such a tizzy? Do I need to call the County Sheriff?”
“No!” Marla jumped to her feet and paced the length of his private office twice. She opened her mouth to speak and closed it, more than once. Finally, she stopped in front of her dad, slammed her hands on her hips, and blurted, “It wasn’t bad. It was good. It was excellent.” Her neck blazed with a blush she knew he couldn’t miss. “I don’t know what to do!” Grabbing handfuls of her hair, she paced some more.
Dad fell against the back of the sofa and laughed. He shook his head and laughed some more.
“Dadley, you promised!”
“No, I most certainly did not promise. I specifically did not promise.” He patted the space next to him. “Sit down. I need to explain the birds and bees to you even though it’s very late in the game.”
Scalp burning, palms sweating, Marla slumped next to him. He patted her knee, then put his arm around her shoulders and hugged her to his side.
“My beautiful daughter, tell me why you guard your feelings with such vigilance? What is it about this big bad world that has you so skittish? Sexual desire is normal and healthy. You and Dwayne are unattached, normal, and healthy. Why run away from it?”
“I’m not Charlene, Dad.”
“No, you’re not, but you must admit she enjoys life and has a sound attitude about love, sex, and men.”
Instead of answering him, she moaned and closed her eyes.
Brad squeezed her shoulders. “Dwayne Dempsey is a respected, hard-working man. A good father. I’ve never heard a bad word about his character or his values. As long as he treats you with respect, I don’t see why you’d make a federal case out of an enjoyable fling.”
“This morning I asked him to help me with a big business decision and he flatly refused.”
Brad sat straight and stared into her eyes. “Why wouldn’t he? You always have an air of complete control about you, and you seldom welcome advice or meddling. He’s too smart to walk into that mine field.”
“I thought he’d…I was afraid he’d be disappointed in me if I made the wrong decision. I cared about his opinion, and all he wanted to do… Go on as if nothing had happened between us.”
“You were expecting an apology or a marriage proposal?”
“No. I don’t know what I expected.” Her dad had posed a very good question. She was old enough to know expectations were too often the doorway to disaster.
Brad uncrossed his legs. “Okay, let’s back up. Tell me about the problem you asked him to help you with, how you got your wires crossed and ended up in his bed.” He rose from the couch and went to his desk, opened the bottom drawer, and removed a bottle of Jameson’s. Without bothering to ask her if she wanted some, he poured a dollop into two glasses and handed one to her.
She told him, to his chuckles, how she and Dwayne had been talking on two different subjects during the first several minutes of their conversation. “Go ahead, laugh. I was mortified, but in retrospect it’s funny.” She rolled her eyes. “Once we got on the same page though, things moved fast.”
Dadley grinned. “No intimate details
