III.
He flipped off the TV and threw the remote on the end table next to him. They had just finished what he thought was a ridiculously bad scary movie on Showtime, but Maddie seemed enthused by it. He was beyond reluctant to start the film, but she insisted that she had seen far worse.
"It's one in the morning, kiddo. Your mama's gonna kill me."
She laughed lightly, sprawling herself out even more on the couch.
"I stay up this late all the time. She doesn't have to know."
"What are you doing sitting up so late all the time?"
She shrugged as she yawned, sinking further into the leather cushions. "I don't know. Playing my guitar, mostly."
He grinned at her, standing up to carry their ice cream bowls to the kitchen. "Well, it's paid off."
She grinned back at him sleepily.
Walking to the kitchen, he found himself letting out a sigh of relief. The day had started out awkwardly, for sure. He had known this girl her whole life and yet he wasn't sure what to say to her. He didn't know what to do, or what to think. She certainly wasn't a newborn, but he still had that "new dad" fear of completely breaking her.
Once she started talking, though, he was surprised to find how easy it was to talk to her.
She asked him all kinds of questions about his family. He tried to offer as little information as he could on his father, but she was no fool. He tried to keep it as age appropriate as possible, but by the end of it, he had explained to her the kind of monster his father was, and promised her that he had worked and was continuing to work hard not to be like him.
In a moment that almost brought tears to his eyes, she assured him he wasn't. She could "just tell."
He had told her that whatever relationship they had was up to her; he wasn't trying to take Teddy's place as her father, but that even though they both may still be working to adjust, he wanted to be there for her however she wanted.
She asked him about her mother and beamed at the light on his face when he talked about her.
She asked him about his drinking, and seemed to appreciate his honesty.
She asked him about his music.
He asked her about her music.
He asked her about school and her friends.
Much to his chagrin, she gushed about a boy named Tyler in her Algebra class.
Rinsing the bowls out, he chuckled, amazed that somewhere in the midst of all this they had managed to eat a meal and even play a couple of songs together.
He wasn't quite up to par after his hand injury, but he had come a long way. He didn't say it aloud, but he was more than happy to hang back a bit while she took the lead.
Her talent had never ceased to dazzle him, even when she was a child. Now that she was his child, it made him even more proud.
Wiping his hands on his jeans, he walked back to the living room. He stopped in his tracks when he found her in the same spot where he had left her just a moment earlier, sleeping peacefully.
He stood awkwardly for a moment, not sure of what to do. He didn't want to wake her with the creaking hardwood.
"Maddie?" He whispered, thinking to himself that she would be more comfortable in Scarlett's bed than on the couch. He still didn't move his feet.
"Maddie?"
He gazed, waiting on her face to stir. Nothing.
Yawning, he tiptoed over to her and grabbed the blanket on the back of the couch, gingerly laying it over her and tucking in the sides.
As he walked back over to the lamp to switch it off, he turned around and gazed at her one more time.
He had been thrust into fatherhood more abruptly and painfully than he ever could have imagined. He had hurt himself and so many people, including her, in the process. He had no earthly idea what was expected of him in the days, weeks, and years to come.
He was only sure that this young woman sleeping in front of him was so smart, so beautiful, so sweet, so funny, and so incredibly talented. If he had to be thrown into this way, he could not have asked for a better daughter to gain.
"You and Rayna sure did make a special kid," he thought to himself.
