“Like what?” I huff.
“Like you’re really smart and you’re fun to hang out with. Your dad is like really awesome.”
I can’t help but roll my eyes and punch him in the arm. He pretends to fall over, but pulls me into a hug instead.
The day he made me breakfast, after Ray died, I wanted to hate him. I didn’t want him to be a part of my life and I definitely didn’t want to move here. When we came to visit, everything changed. He made his house a home for me and never pressured me into calling him dad, or tried to make me do bonding things. He invited me everywhere, though, and going to work with him quickly became my favorite thing. It was one of his trainees who opened my eyes to the great dad Tucker already was.
“Can I invite friends over?”
“Of course you can. Are you ready to go to school?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Well I’m taking you today, so if you’re not ready, we’ll skip work and school and hit the beach. Or we can take our bows over to the Clarke’s and shoot.”
I love that Tucker loves to do one of the things Ray taught me, and now I’m teaching him. I think that is when I knew everything was going to be okay here.
“Or we could go shopping?”
My dad shakes his head. “No, no way in hell. If you want to shop, your mom can play hooky. You and I are going to do sporty stuff, like scale walls and repel from buildings.”
The thought of hanging out at SEAL beach all day does excite me, but making new friends is important, too.
“Maybe after school we can go to the beach?”
He winks. “Sounds good to me.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“Anytime, Claire.”
He leans down and kisses me on the forehead, reminding me that it’s never too late to be a parent.
Read other books by Heidi McLaughlin
Dan & Amy ~ Thank you so much for the… well everything. From listening to all my panics, helping with research, especially the trip to SEAL beach, taking stealthy candid’s at Coronado and to opening your lives to me. I love you guys and truly can’t thank you enough.
Yvette ~ this concludes your idea! What’s next?
Christine ~ you, my friend, are a workhorse. I’m so thankful we entered into a partnership. You’ve taken so much off my plate. I’m so very grateful.
BT Urruela ~ I was so nervous to email you & ask if you’d pretend to be a Navy SEAL, but you nailed it. I can’t thank you enough of helping me bring my character to life and giving him a badass attitude to go with it.
Eric ~ you’re a master behind that lens. Thank you for capturing the right image.
Sarah ~ thank you for always making the best covers for me. Each new one is always my favorite.
Emily & Crew ~ you ladies work around the clock to make sure everything is perfect. Thank you.
Megan ~ my lovely mama to be! Thank you for sitting down and reading this story before anyone else. Your feedback was so helpful. I really can’t thank you enough.
Leslie, Adriana, Ann Marie, Rachel, Jay and Kirby ~ thank you, thank you, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to read and blurb SAVE ME. You have no idea how much your words mean to me.
Audrey, Georgette, Kelli, Tammy, Tammy & Veronica: You ladies sure do know how to make everything right in my world. I really can’t ask for a better group of girls to spend my time with.
The Beaumont Daily: You guys rock!
A special shout-out to my agent, Marisa ~ you have changed my life for the better.
To my family: I know the hours are long, but I do it for you! And a special shout-out to my girls, Madison & Kassidy ~ you are the definition of hard work. You push yourselves, but allow others to push you to succeed as well and you both have. I am so proud to be your mom.
And finally to the readers: How you keep up with all the amazing novels being published I’ll never know, but you do it, and you do it proudly. If you’re reading this, take a moment, smile and pat yourself on the back because you, my friend, are a superwoman… or superman!
Keep reading for a sneak peek at Roped In (An Armed & Dangerous Novel) by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, L.P. Dover.
Hadley
“Hadley! Hadley! Hadley!” the crowd cheered.
I blew a kiss and waved. “Thank you for joining me tonight. I love the energy here in Los Angeles! I have to say, I’ve missed this place. Make sure to listen to the radio this week for the debut of my new song, Whispered Words.”
“Sing it now!” one of the fans shouted. It was a little girl with blonde braids and freckles, sitting on her dad’s shoulders. She reminded me of myself many years ago, when I stood in almost the exact same spot, watching my idol, Martina Hill perform. One of these days, I was determined to do a duet with her.