Blindsided (Indigo Love Spectrum) (31 page)

“You’re still angry with me, aren’t you?”

Reese said nothing.

Norris sighed. He had to get her from under those
covers. If he saw her, he could try to gauge how sickly she
felt. “I know you don’t believe it, but I only have your
best interests at heart,” he said, knowing Reese wouldn’t
take those words too well and would no doubt let him
know in no uncertain terms, providing him the opportu
nity to assess her well being.

“My best interests?” Reese roared.

As expected, she popped out from under the covers,
the curls of her dark mane flying here and there. Norris
watched her closely. Though anger flashed in her eyes,
they weren’t glassy and she didn’t look flushed, so he
ruled out a fever.

Reese glared at him. “Trying to dictate who I spend
time with and treating me like I’m a little kid is in my best
interests? Jack is a nice guy, and you were rude to him.”

“All I saw was that kid’s arm around my little girl.”

“I’m not a little girl!” Reese whipped her fingers
through her hair, frowning. “And what’s with this posses
siveness? Your little girl? When I was a little girl, you
weren’t around.”

Norris grunted. He hated when she made him out to
be some absentee father, when nothing could be further
from the truth. “That wasn’t my fault.”

“It doesn’t matter. You can’t make up for lost time
now.”

“I can try. I know you are a young woman.
Intellectually, I get that. But when I see you, after looking
at picture after picture of you growing up, I see what I missed. You are my little girl, and no matter how old you get, you’ll always be that to me. That precious little child
I didn’t get the chance to know. I love you, Reese. I just
want us to be closer.”

“You love me?”

“You sound surprised.”

“How can you love me?” Reese winced and slid back
under the covers, curling once more into the fetal posi
tion. “You don’t know me.”

“I know you’re mine. I know you hate to be told what
to do, I know you still blame me for your mother not
being here, and I know you’re still upset with me about what happened at the mall on Saturday. I get all of that,
but I also get you don’t feel well, and I just want to . . .”

“There’s nothing you can do for me, okay? I just want
to be left alone.”

Irritability. More than usual. She was right. He
couldn’t help her. “Fine. I’ll be in the living room if you
need anything.”

“Whatever,” she mumbled, cozying further under the
covers.

Norris left the room and walked over to the phone. She wouldn’t talk to him, but she had to talk to somebody, and he knew it needed to be a woman. “Hi, Lara,
it’s Norris. Think you can come over here for a bit?”

* * *

Reese moaned into her pillow as severe menstrual
cramps continued to rip through her lower abdomen. A
heating pad or a Midol, was that so hard to ask for? Why
did she have to be stupid and suffer in silence? Times like this she missed her mother even more. She didn’t have to
say anything, her mother just understood. It seemed
Norris would never understand her or what she needed.
Were all fathers that dense? Thinking of his reaction to
Jack made the cramps more severe, but she couldn’t stop
thinking about it. When would he realize she wasn’t a
little kid?

He loves me.

Reese fought the smile that bubbled in her with
thoughts of his declaration. Something about having the
love of her father made her feel good, but she still didn’t
like his interference in her life. If he loved her, he’d want
her to be happy. She wasn’t happy right now, and that was his fault.

Another knock rattled on the door.

Reese groaned. “Norris, please, leave me alone.”

“Reese, it’s not Norris, it’s Lara. May I come in?”

“Sure,” Reese answered, sitting up in the bed.

Lara waddled into the room and lowered her blos soming body to the edge of the bed. “How are you feeling, sweetie?” she said, lowering a beautiful summer handbag off her shoulder.

“I’m okay.”

“Norris doesn’t think so. He was so worried about
you, he called me over.”

“He worries about everything and nothing. Lara, he treats me like I’m six. I have cramps, okay? Sometimes
they’re pretty bad. I figured if I told him, he might have
m
e rushed to the emergency room in an ambulance or
something.”

Lara laughed. “Is he that bad?”

“I think so.”

“He’s trying, Reese. Norris is used to being a single
guy, and now he has a beautiful teenage daughter. It’s a
daunting experience for him, but he’s making some
progress.” Lara reached into her bag and handed Reese a
box of menstrual pain reliever and a bottle of Gatorade.
“He gathered your troubles might be of the female
variety, so Ryan stopped by the drug store on the way
over. I got the Gatorade because it worked for me, and I
figured it wouldn’t hurt if you gave it a try.”

“Mom gave me the same thing. Norris figured this
out?”

“Uh-huh. He mentioned you were upset with him,
too.”

“He didn’t explain why?” Reese said, opening the
bottle of pills and washing two down with the fruit-fla
vored beverage. “Maybe he realizes how foolish he
behaved and is too embarrassed to talk about it.”

“What exactly should he be embarrassed about?”

“His behavior at the mall on Saturday. He saw me
with a friend and lost his mind. He acted like a total—”

“Father, I suspect,” Lara said. “Was this friend a
male?”

“Yes. Lara, he’s so nice. His name is Jack and he’s cap
tain of the basketball team, and was just elected president
of the student body. He’s an A student, and he’s so gor
geous. He has dark brown eyes and the most beautiful full
l
ips.” A fluttery feeling filled Reese’s heart. She sighed. “I
doubt I’ll ever get the chance to kiss them now.”

“What did Norris do?”

“What didn’t he do?” Reese hugged a pillow to her chest. “Besides being horrible to Jack, he all but accused
me of engaging in foreplay in the mall. I held Jack’s hand,
Lara, and he had his arm around my waist. That’s all.”

“Norris had a fit, huh?”

“I couldn’t believe it. Then, he laid down all these new rules. Call me at this time, ask before you do this
and go there. He’s got such a tight leash on me, I doubt
I’ll make it to the front door before being yanked back.”

Lara laughed, and tugged at one of Reese’s curly
locks. “I don’t think he’s that bad,” she said.

“He’s not your father.”

“No, but he is
a
father. His behavior doesn’t sound
any different than my father’s. And I got it worse, because I had two older brothers, twins, and they were just as bad
as Daddy.”

“Are all fathers like that?”

“Mostly, yes. I can just imagine Ryan when Angelica
and baby girl number two here,” Lara touched her belly, “are your age. I think over-protectiveness is just a good
father gene.”

“You think Norris is a good father?”

“I’ve seen him with my children, and whether he
knows it or not, he has a knack, so I’ll have to say yes.
Right now, your opinion is the one that matters. He
wants a good relationship with you. Think you can meet
him halfway?”

“Dahlia and my mom are always telling me that.”

“They are very smart women. I think it’s good advice.”

“I’ll take it under advisement, but I think Norris
could take a few steps, too.”

Lara smiled. “Point taken. I’ll talk to him.”

“Thank you, Lara. For everything.”

“You’re welcome.” Lara cupped Reese’s cheek, with the touch of a caring mother. “Feel better.”

Reese snuggled under the covers after Lara left.
Meet
Norris halfway.
She could do that. For as much as he tried
her nerves, she did love him, too.

* * *

Norris stopped talking to Ryan when Lara returned
to the living room. “How is she?” he asked, as Ryan
helped Lara to the sofa.

“You made a good call. She’s better,” Lara answered.

Norris sighed. “Thank you, Lara. I’m not familiar
with all that female stuff, but she kinda reminded me of
my sister at select times of the month, so it made me
wonder. So, uh, you were in there for a while,” he said,
curious to know what prompted the delay.

“We were talking,” Lara said.

“So I gathered. You want to elaborate?”

“I can, but I think you already know.”

Norris grunted.

“She’s still ticked about Big Daddy Pops over here
going uber-paternal at the mall Saturday, huh?” Ryan
said, slapping Norris’s shoulder, laughing.

Norris frowned. “I’m glad I can amuse you, Ryan.
You just wait until Angelica is sixteen.”

Lara nodded. “I told Reese the same thing,” she said.

“I won’t dog some kid for being interested in my baby
girl,” Ryan said. “But this is all hypothetical, because
Angelica’s not going to start dating until she’s thirty.”

Lara kissed Ryan’s cheek. “Keep believing it, sweetie.”
She turned to Norris. “I kinda think you might have
gone a little overboard Saturday.”

“What is overboard? Lara, she was—”

“Innocently holding a friend’s hand.”

“Did she mention his arm was around her waist, and
she was wearing hip-hugger jeans and a shirt missing its bottom half?” Norris grunted. “Her skin exposed to his
molesting hand.”

“Molesting hand?” Ryan erupted in boisterous
laughter. “Norris, do you hear yourself? Can you imagine
how you would be if she’d been on the beach with this
guy and not in the mall?”

Norris shuddered. “I don’t want to think such
thoughts.”

“I understand where you’re coming from, Norris, but
Reese is not a little girl, she’s a beautiful young woman.
As such, as much as you might hate it, boys are going to
find her very attractive, and they will flock to her like
moths to a flame. Justin’s ten, and thinks she’s the best
thing since PS3.”

Norris covered his face, groaning in his hands. He didn’t need to hear Ryan validating his thoughts.

“
You see yourself in Reese, Norris, but you also see
yourself in the boys who like her, and it scares you to death, because you know what everybody’s thinking. Except Justin. And he’d better not be thinking it. You
can’t protect her from life, but you do have to trust her to
do the right thing.”

“I do trust her, Ryan, it’s these boys I don’t trust.”

“That can be remedied,” Lara said. “Reese talked a little about Jack, and she really seems to like him. Give
him a chance, and don’t put a stranglehold on her. You
can’t hold on too tightly, because doing so will only make
things worse.”

“You’re right, you’re both right, and I’ll try. I really
will.” Norris rubbed his forehead, groaning. “I knew stepping into fatherhood with a teenager wouldn’t be
easy, but it’s even harder than I imagined.”

“It’s going to get easier, Norris,” Ryan said. “Trial and
error and give and take, that’s what it’s about.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good.” Ryan tapped Lara’s knee. “We gotta get
going, babe,” he said, helping Lara to her feet.