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She raised her brows. "Sure."
"I want to tell you how glad I am that you found me."
Her face brightened. "Really?"
"Absolutely." He leaned forward. "Gabby, I feel like I'm the luckiest guy alive, that out of the blue, I've got this incredible young woman who is my daughter. I always wanted kids, but it didn't seem like that was happening, then you showed up in my life. I will always be grateful as hell that you tracked me down."
Her smile widened. "All right."
All right. Two simple, non-committal words from a teenager that were filled with joy, relief, and emotion.
"I've never been a dad before," he said. "So, we're going to have to figure it out as we go."
She looked down at her ice cream. "Well, I've never had a dad before, so I don't know how it works either."
His heart turned over at her soft confession. "Do you play sports? An instrument? Sing? Act in plays?"
She looked up. "I play three sports. Field hockey in the fall, I swim in the winter, and I play lacrosse in the spring. Why?"
"I'll come to your games and your meets. Can you text me your schedule?"
She stared at him. "You want to come to my games?"
"Hell, yeah." He paused. "Is that okay?"
"But you can't be seen around me."
He shrugged. "I'm hoping we can address that situation, but in the meantime, I paid enough money for this makeup that I'm sure she'd be willing to do it again."
"You'd wear that makeup again so you can come to my games?"
"Sure. I'll be Grandpa Kevin if I have to."
"But you live in Oregon."
He felt her doubt that she could be enough that he'd want to really come to her games and meets. That meeting and having an outing was one thing, but to come to games was something else. That was too regular, too much like the dad who had never shown up for her. "I have a bunch of cars I like to drive, plus two private jets. We're also researching getting a helicopter. So, getting to your games isn't going to be a problem."
"But you have a job."
"I own the business. The boss will never fire me for taking time off to go to my daughter's games. Plus, I'm thinking of stepping away from the business side and refocusing on the baking and cultivating local relationships with our mom-and-pop customer base. So, I don't need to be at the offices as much."
"But…" Gabby was running out of objections, but he allowed her to take her time. He knew how difficult it was to trust. "But your family is in Oregon. You can't leave them."
"My family is in Oregon," he agreed. "But my family is also in Washington. Sitting at this table with me, actually. So, going back and forth isn't a hardship. It's automatic. I wouldn’t have it any other way."
Gabby stared at him, then suddenly, she leapt up, ran around the table, and flung herself into his arms.
He caught her and held tight, burying his face in her hair as she clung to him. He could feel her trembling, and he could hear her muffled sobs.
"Gabby?" he whispered. "I wouldn't be alive today if my Hart family hadn't been there for me. I know how important family is, how much you need to be able to count on them, no matter how they come into your life. You're that to me now. You will always be able to count on me, and I will never let you down."
She clung tighter to him, her face buried in his chest.
His throat tightened. God, the chance to be a dad? To be her dad? What a gift. "I love you, Gabby. You can count on that."
"I love you, too, Keegan," she whispered, her voice muffled against his shirt.
Suddenly, his eyes filled, and he couldn't respond. He closed his eyes and held tight to this magical being that was his daughter, who had welcomed him into her life.
