Fear of Falling by Georgia Beers

Author:Georgia Beers [Beers, Georgia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781635554441
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2019-05-12T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

“There he is.” Dana saw her father immediately, standing near baggage claim, silver hair precise (what was left of it), flannel shirt tucked neatly into his jeans, gentle blue eyes scanning the crowd for her through his wire-rimmed glasses.

She waved, caught his eye, and picked up the pace. Oddly, she could feel Sophie behind her, so wasn’t worried about losing her as she hurried toward her dad and walked straight into his open arms.

“There’s my Pickle,” he said, wrapping her up tightly. She felt him press a kiss to the top of her head.

“Hi, Daddy,” she muttered against his chest. She allowed herself a moment to just feel his strength, his love, smell his Old Spice. Finally taking a step back, she turned to Sophie. “Dad, this is Sophie James. Sophie, my father, Carter Landon.”

Sophie held out a hand, her smile wide and open as Carter took it and shook it firmly. “It’s so nice to meet you, Mr. Landon. Thank you for having me.” Sophie was amazing at meeting people; it was something that really impressed Dana, given all the strangers who forced their presence on her. Sophie never acted put out or imposed upon. She always made eye contact. Always smiled.

“And it’s so lovely to meet you,” Carter said, eyes bright as he closed his other hand over Sophie’s. “And please, call me Carter.”

Sophie gave one nod, then shot a sideways glance toward Dana before adding, “And Pickle?” Her eyebrows went up as Dana closed her own eyes and shook her head with a smile.

“Oh, you don’t know that story?” Carter said as he turned and led the way out the door of the small airport.

“I do not. Please, enlighten me.” Sophie smiled wider and Dana groaned.

The double doors slid open as Carter led the way through and out into the November air, much crisper than it had been in the city, the smell of impending snow floating around them. “When Dana here was about four, she went through a phase. She wouldn’t eat a single bite of a single meal unless we gave her a dill pickle to go along with it. Even breakfast.”

“A pickle with breakfast?” Sophie shot her a look. “What a weirdo.”

Dana bumped her with a shoulder. “Shut up. I was four.”

“She’d be sitting there with her Cheerios and a big dill pickle.” Carter turned and wrapped his arm around Dana’s shoulders. “I started calling her Pickle and the name stuck.”

“I’m almost forty, Dad.”

Sophie shrugged. “I think that makes it even cuter.”

Dana caught her gaze and held it and something passed between them. Something electric. With a sizzle. Oh, boy.

“Might get some snow tomorrow,” Carter said, once they were in his SUV and headed out of the parking lot.

“Really?” Sophie asked, and there was a sweet, childlike quality to her voice that made Dana turn from the passenger seat and smile back at her.

“Temperature’s gonna drop after midnight. We’ll see.”

They drove onto the on-ramp for the expressway and were zipping along at a good clip when Sophie commented, almost to herself, “There’s hardly any traffic.

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