Glancing over my shoulder, I flashed a smile over to Brad. “Good morning, Brad. Coffee is on and hot.”
Lifting his hand, he mumbled something as he made his way over to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup.
Getting back to breakfast, I started to heat the pan for the sausage.
“Whatcha making?”
“Breakfast tacos and biscuits and sausage gravy for my girl.”
Brad cleared his throat. “Your girl? I do believe she is still mine.”
A wide smile moved across my face as I turned and leaned against the counter next to the stove. Brad was staring me down, trying to intimidate me. “So this is where it’s going to happen?”
Brad lifted the cup to his lips and took a small drink before raising an eyebrow and saying, “I guess so.”
“I love your daughter, sir.”
“You think by getting up early and making us breakfast I’m going to just fall in love with you and hand her right on over?”
I stayed completely relaxed while I took on the death stare Meagan’s father was giving me. I’d never let on that my mouth was now completely dry and my pulse was about to pound my heart out of my chest.
“I think Meagan is worth a little more effort than a breakfast.”
“Confident little bastard aren’t you?”
My smile faded some as my eyes turned serious. “I just know your daughter is worth the fight.”
Brad tried to hide his smile as he gave me a quick nod. “She means the world to her mother and I, and cop or no cop, you hurt her and I will kill you.”
“Fair enough.”
“I expect you to treat her with respect.”
“She deserves nothing less than to be treated like a princess, sir.”
He snarled his lip slightly. “You realize you are all she has here.”
“I do. I also know how much her family and friends mean to her and I would never hold her back from anyone or anything.”
With a huff, Brad crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not happy with this.”
I attempted to hold back my smile. “I see that.”
“Breakfast isn’t going to fix this situation.”
Now I was intrigued. “How do you propose we handle this so that you are happy?”
Brad let out a gruff laugh. “Oh, Gray, I’ll never be happy about this. Ever.”
Swallowing hard, I pushed off the counter and turned my focus back onto the food.
“You hunt?”
Jesus, that subject just got changed fast and I’m not so sure I like where it is going.
“Yes, sir. I’ve been hunting since I was about five.”
“That so?”
I took a chance and glanced over my shoulder, only to find Brad pinning me down with his stare. “Um . . . yeah. My best friend’s father took us all the time.”
“Really,” Brad said as he pulled the chair out at the island and sat down. “There a shooting range around here anywhere?”
Panic filled my body at the idea of giving this man a gun with me in the same room.
“Morning to my two favorite men!” Meagan said as she practically skipped up and gave me a quick kiss on the lips before heading over to her dad.
“Why did he get the first kiss?”
Meagan froze as she looked between the two of us. Lifting my eyebrows, I turned back to the eggs that were now done. “Um . . . gosh I don’t know, Dad. I saw him first?”
“Huh,” Brad said as I attempted to hold back my grin.
“I was just asking Gray here if there is a shooting range we could hit up today.”
“Oh fun!” Meagan said as I snapped my head over to her. “Yeah, there’s a few, plus Gray has access to the range they use as well. He’s taken me there a couple times.”
Stop. Talking. Meagan.
Brad leaned back in his chair and looked at me. “Is that so? I say after this wonderful breakfast your fiancé made for us, we head to the range. Get some shots in.”
“Ahh—”
Meagan poured a cup of coffee and then reached into the refrigerator for the orange juice. “That sounds like fun. Doesn’t it, Gray?”
“Ahh—”
The smirk that spread across Brad’s face said it all. He’d won round one, but I’d be damned if he was going to win round two.
Meagan jumped when I hit all my shots in the dead center of the bullseye. I engaged the safety and turned to look at Brad. I was almost positive I saw steam coming from his ears. “You want to go another round?”
His mouth pinched into a scowl as he muttered something under his breath. “I’m thinking we can call it a day.”
I would have given anything to do a fist pump and flaunt the fact that I had just out-shot the hell out of him for the last hour and a half. Seeing that pout on his face was reward enough.
“At least I know you have a good aim,” Brad said as he handed me the gun and I returned them both to their cases. Locking them, I grabbed one and Brad took the other while Meagan reached for my hand.
“What do you want to do now, Dad?”
Please say go to the airport and fly home.