Loved By Levi

Thirty-Four

Mylee 

A heavy knock sounded on my bedroom door and I turned away from the window, dress swishing. "Come in."

One of my dad's large hands poked through the cracked open door before he peeked his head in and I noticed the way the light hit the gold ring he wore on his left hand to this day. There were plenty of farmers and ranchers in the area that didn't wear their wedding rings on a daily basis, and for good reason. It was way too easy to get them caught on a piece of equipment and end up losing a whole finger over it. Not surprisingly, my stubborn old man wore his anyway. The thirty plus years of use had worn the gold band down enough to make me afraid that it would break, taking his heart with it. 

I had always wondered why he wore the thing even though my mom had been gone for over fifteen years. Until I met Levi, that is. Seeing the utter happiness in his blue eyes when he smiled at me was all it took for me to understand. 

"Hi, daddy."

"There's my girl," he grinned, finally stepping into the room. Marnie had left a few seconds before, probably knowing that I needed a minute a lone with my old man. She always had a way of knowing what people needed before they even did. "And doesn't she look pretty. Wow, sis."

I stood up to give him a hug, my chiffon dress swishing with the movement. "Do you like it? I know it's awful girly." As close and my dad and I were, it had been Marnie who took me to pick out a wedding dress. This was his first time seeing it and I could tell he was just in awe. 

He gave me a gentle squeeze and then took a step back to get the full effect now that I was standing up. "I don't where my Mylee went, but this girl sure is pretty. Have I ever told you ya look just like your mama?"

I nodded, feeling a dimple appear. It always warmed my heart to be compared to a woman I barely remembered but still adored to no end. 

"Boy, my Rose was a beauty. Luckily you got her genes, besides that damn red hair of mine."

I reached up to tuck a strand behind my ear, still amazed by the fact that the ends now stopped just under my chin. "Yeah, my hair was just as wild as yours, that's for sure. Why do you think I chopped it off?" I giggled. 

My dad shook his head, still smiling. "Don't blame ya a bit. It looks good short, though. Suits you more than that long hair did." 

We were both quiet for a minute, something that had become a rare occurrence since Levi started working for us. I don't think either of us had ever realized just how much time we spent in comfortable silence together until Levi was there to fill in the gaps with laughter and jokes. 

"Mylee, I gotta tell you something."

"Oh yeah?" My stomach did a little flip, knowing that was never a particularly good way for a conversation to start. 

"I'm sorry, baby."

My eyebrows drew together and I stared up at the man who raised me. "What are you sorry for?"

He took his gray felt hat off and wrenched it between his hands, refusing to look me in the eyes. "I'm sorry if I wasn't always the best dad to you. I know I pushed you into a lot of things that caused you hurt, and that was never what I wanted to happen."

I stared at him for a minute, unsure what to say. 

"Like the rodeo stuff, y'know," he continued, finally looking at me. I noticed tears in his brown eyes and my heart ached. "Those girls treated you so bad and I just let it happen because I thought it would build character, but now I think I just shoved you into something that hurt you a lot. I'm sorry, baby."

"Dad, don't be sorry!" I threw my arms around him as my eyes welled up with tears. "You only had me do that stuff because you wanted me to make friends, and God knows I needed a little pushing. And maybe it wasn't the easiest, but if you hadn't gotten me into all that I never would have met Jack and Marnie! I haven't ever held any of that against you and I never will. I promise."

He returned the squeeze I was giving him and then took a step back to look me in the eyes. "Maybe it did build character and all that, but I'm still sorry if I ever made you hurt. All I ever wanted to do was protect you and your mama. God, I wish she was here today."

I nodded, bringing one hand up to my mouth to stop a sob from coming out. "I wish she was too, but her having cancer wasn't your fault, dad."

A few tears slipped down his leathery cheeks and I hugged him again as tightly as I could manage. "You've been the best dad I could have ever dreamed of, and I know everything you've done for me was out of love. Mama would be proud of you."

He took a step back to cup my shoulders, face completely serious. "She'd be proud of you too, sissy. I know it." 

We both sucked in deep breaths and tried to get it together. I made a mental note to thank Marnie for the waterproof makeup job. 

Finally, I was able to stand tall without wanting to cry when I looked over at my dad. He seemed to have gained his composure as well. 

"Are we good now?" I giggled, feeling a little bit dumb for crying. 

He just nodded and held out a strong arm for me to latch onto. It was time to go.