Hurting To Feel (Carpool Dolls) (32 page)

"As
she should." Profession walked over and sat in the other chair, facing Nathan.
"Don't let her go. I don't ask as your friend or mentor, but her father.
She needs stability and assurance. That's something I never gave her, and I
should've been there. I'm afraid it's too late. But, she has you, and she'll
need you even more now."

"I
know." There was no hesitation. He'd come to realize that Addison wasn't
only in his life to create a safe environment for him to unleash and act as a
vessel for his darkness.

While
watching Addison battle her feelings over her family, he'd stood on the sidelines.
Family dynamics were new to him. When him and Donny fought, they stayed away
from each other until the air cooled. Then the subject of their disagreement was
never brought up again.

Addison
and Professor were suffering, and he hated the useless feeling of not being
able to fix the situation. They were important to him. For the first time, he'd
recognized an emotion he'd never experienced before when he fought the last two
days to get Addison focused on him again after having her world crumble at her
feet.

Love.

Something
he never dreamed or thought about as a possibility in his life. It was the only
thing he could think of to describe the amount of pain that came from inside
and not from his hand.

He
turned to the one man he respected, and spoke in a language Professor Frank
would understand. Man to man. Father to son.

"Addison
is my life," he said.

Professor
inhaled swiftly and muttered, "Thank God."

Addison
walked slowly into the room. "Well, that's wonderful to hear."

She
headed straight to Nathan, never looking at her father. He stopped her from
sitting at his feet on the floor and guided her to his lap. His chest swelled
for the courage it took for her to come downstairs.

He
pulled her back against him. "I believe I showed you an hour ago how I
feel," he whispered.

"You
did," she whispered back.

She
relaxed against him. On her own time and no one else's, she finally lifted her
chin and gazed across the room.

The
air between father and daughter intensified. He wrapped his hands around
Addison's middle. When the silence grew awkward, Addison laid her hand on Nathan's
hand and squeezed.

"Hello,
Professor," she said softly.

Nathan
closed his eyes briefly in relief, but not before he caught the surprise on
Professor Frank face. Nathan kissed the side of Addison's head. He was wrong. Addison
was more than his life. She was the air that he needed to breathe.

Biography

Top Selling Erotic
Romance Author, Abby Wood, pens stories of love that take you into the bedroom
and straight to the heart. Whether it's the brooding cowboy who convinces the
reluctant waitress to go home with him, or the older man who shows a young
woman how much she can enjoy his protection, Abby's books will keep you reading
right to the happily ever after.

Writing under a
pseudonym—because she blushes easily despite her wild imagination—Abby owns the
small town, farm girl attitude that keeps her real.

Check
out more books by Abby Wood at
www.authorabbywood.com

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to the Cowboy

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Know?

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Right a Wrong

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with a Woodnymph

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Is Better Wrapped In Brown Paper

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Scared—Coming 2013

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Kind of Special — Coming 2013