Her Shifter Soldier (BBW Erotic Romance) Read Free Page A

from the couch and run over to my
room. I grabbed the phone off of my bedside table and answered
quickly, not bothering to check the caller I.D.
“Hello?”
“Hey, baby doll,” came my father’s thick
Midwestern accent. I felt the tension in my body melt a little with
my father’s warm and comforting voice.
“Hey, Dad. How are you?” I asked, sinking
onto my bed.
“I’m just fine. Hey, why don’t you come on
over to the ranch? I need to talk to you about a few things.”
“Right now?” I asked in surprise. My father
was generally pretty laid back about things.
“Now would be fine. Are you busy?”
I thought about the report cards and how
there was no way I’d get very far with them even if I did stay
home. “No. No, I’m not. I’ll be over in twenty minutes.”
“See you soon, sweet heart.”
“Bye Dad,” I replied, clicking off my cell
phone and smiling despite myself. I should have been more
disconcerted considering he wanted to see me immediately, but
visiting my father made everything in my life so much easier. He
was so easy-going and genial, with a warm melodious voice that
could put a crying baby to sleep. He was my rock, and even if he
didn’t know the details of my problems, he always knew the right
thing to say.
I grabbed my purse and tidied up the papers
in the living room before pulling on a comfortable pair of flats
and heading out the door. I could hear my father in my head,
chiding my choice of footwear, but it didn’t matter. I wasn’t in
any mood to ride a horse anyway.
     
     
I stepped out of my old, beat-up Jeep and
made my way up the ranch’s dusty driveway. I held my hand over my
face, squinting as I tried to keep the gust out of my eyes. I had
probably told my dad a dozen different times that he should get his
driveway paved, but he was stubborn. Said that he didn’t have time
for my city-like sensibilities.
I knocked on the door and my father came out
within seconds, pulling me into a big, warm hug.
“Hey sweet heart, come on in. Your mother’s
making a casserole for dinner. You hungry?”
The truth was, seeing Dalton that morning
had all but ruined my appetite. But smelling the warm,
deliciousness of my mother’s cooking, I felt it come rushing back
to me.
“I could eat,” I grinned.
“Well good then. Let’s go out back while
your mother’s taking a shower. We’ll eat when she’s done.”
I followed my dad to the back porch and we
sat down at the small wooden table he had built himself. Looking
out onto the setting sun over my father’s ranch, I couldn’t help
but recognize little bits of Dalton in it. The shed. The fence he
replaced. Abby, his favorite horse, chomping on some oats in her
stall.
“So why’d you call me over here, Dad? Not
that I mind dropping by.”
“You should drop by more often then,” he
mock-scolded me.
“But I called you over here because from
what I understand, Dalton came by to visit you this morning.”
My heart clenched. “He told you?”
“Dalton and I speak much more often than you think,” he said,
turning his head back onto his expansive property. He had a faraway
look in his eyes. “He’s like a son to me, Jessie. A
future-son-in-law, if there’s any good in the world.”
“Dad…” I said, feeling a little nervous. He
had always wanted me to settle down with Dalton, told me he was a
good man who would take care of me. He didn’t trust just anyone
with his baby girl, he would say.
    But I always bristled at
that. As much as I love my dad, I do not need him interfering with my love
life.
“Now listen to me, Jessica Marie. You asked
why I called you over here. I’m trying to let you know. I
understand that Eric being gone has been hard on you. Trust me,” he
said lowly, a grave look suddenly coming over his face. I could see
hurt in his warm, gray eyes. “It hasn’t been easy on me either.
Nothing’s been so terrible in my life as burying my own child. But
Dalton, he’s a good guy, and he chose to serve in the