She knew Trig was hurt. She’d never seen a leg twisted in such a way and not be broken. When he turned it around and it snapped back into place her stomach churned.

Her fingers hovered over the keys of her phone. Did she dare call her father to come and look at Trig? He seemed unhappy with her concern and yet as a doctor, even though she cared for animals, she felt she had a moral obligation to make sure he was all right.

She pressed in her father’s number and waited for him to answer.

“Where do I need to be?” he asked.

That was her father’s MO. He never asked why, he simply showed up.

“Daddy? It’s Charlie, and I need you.”

She listened as he gasped. In the background came Agatha’s voice. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Charlie,” he whispered. “She’s in trouble.”

Charlie could picture her father at this moment brushing his salt and pepper hair away from his eyes and searching for his glasses.

“Daddy, I’m not in trouble, but I need you to come to B’s Bed and Breakfast. There’s a man here who’s taken a fall, and I think he’s too drunk to realize he’s broken his leg. Can you come?”

There was a moment of silence. “B’s? You’re at B’s?”

She heard a commotion in the background. “Yes, I came to surprise you for Christmas, but if you’re—”

“I’m on my way.” His keys jingled in the background. “Stay there, sweetheart. Daddy will be there in a few minutes.”

Her heart did a flip. How could she have stayed away from him for so long? While she was happy he was on his way, she was angry with herself for wasting so much precious time.

She pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt before she went to the room next door and knocked. “Trig?”

She knocked again and listened. If it weren’t for the low growl of Clovis, she would have thought the room was empty.

“Trig, I’ve called my father. He’s a doctor.”

“I don’t need a doctor. I hate doctors, hospitals. I hate it all. I’m fine.”

She was just about to twist the handle when she heard her father’s old diesel truck pull up out front. She raced to the door so no one else was woken up and steered her father to the room at the end of the hallway. He stopped for a second and took her in.

“I can’t believe you’re back. I’m so…so—”

“I know, Dad, I’m so happy too. I’m sorry it’s taken me this long to figure out that I was acting like a child.”

She looked up to her father’s aged face. What once had been smooth skin was now furrowed with deep lines of worry. His salt and pepper hair had turned marshmallow white. Creped hands pulled her in for a hug. “Let’s see to this young man you say is injured, and then we’ll get reacquainted.” His free hand ran down her arm to grip her hand. “I’m so happy you’re home, sweetheart.”

“I am home,” she said with conviction. Maybe that had been the problem all along. She’d never been able to find herself in a place that felt like home.

Her father tapped on the door but didn’t wait for an answer. He twisted the knob and walked inside. Charlie followed. Seconds later, Clovis bounced at the end of the bed. While he looked happy to see her, he barked at her father, which brought Sage and Cannon to the door.

“What’s going on?” Sage asked. She went straight into nurse mode and walked inside, taking in the situation. She rushed into the adjoining bathroom to wash her hands.

Charlie leaned against the door and took in Trig, who rose from the mattress like Titan from the sea, all bare and muscular and scarred.

“What the hell?” he yelled.

Charlie walked forward. She had a hard time pulling her eyes from his chest. The man was toned and torn. His body had obviously been through a lot. She remembered his duffel bag and knew he’d fought in a war.

“I asked my father to take a look at you.”

She pulled her eyes from the longest scar, which ran from the bottom of his ribs to what her friends would call the happy trail—the thin line of hair leading from his belly button to the treasures hidden beneath the sheet.

“I told you I was fine.” He rearranged the bedding. “I don’t need a doctor to look at something that’s not there.”

“Please,” she pleaded. “It would make me feel better if you just let him take a peek.”

“Dammit, what are you, a sadist? You want to see? Isn’t it enough that I had to lose the damn thing and now I have to satisfy your morbid curiosity?” Trig gripped the quilt on the bed and tossed it aside to show that his left leg was missing below the knee.

“Oh, shit,” Charlie said. “I had no idea. I’m so sorry.”

Trig tilted his head in confusion. “Now you know. As you can see I’m fine. Now you all can leave.”

“Now wait a minute, son.”

Cannon chuckled. “That’s my cue to leave. You’re about to get schooled. Let’s go, sweetheart.” He wrapped his arm around Sage and led her back into the hallway.

Charlie couldn’t help the smile that lifted her lips. She’d forgotten the ‘now son’ talks her father gave the boys. That phrase was only pulled out when he had a lesson to teach.

“I’m not your son,” Trig replied.

Her father sat on the edge of the bed. “Nope, because if you were, you’d have better manners.” He looked at his daughter. “My daughter was only concerned that you had hurt yourself. Don’t go getting your knickers twisted because she called me. That’s what daughters are supposed to do. They call their fathers.”

Charlie didn’t miss the message in that either. It was her father telling her that she should have called sooner. Like ten years sooner.

“While I’m here, I’m going to look at that leg.” He stood and leaned over Trig to take in his injury.

Charlie couldn’t help but want to look too. “Do you care if I help my father?”

Trig narrowed his eyes. “By all means, take pictures and show the whole town.”

Her father manipulated the joint and took a closer look at the scar. “Mighty fine work you got here.”

“Compliments of Uncle Sam,” Trig replied dryly.

“Where’s your leg?”

Trig frowned. “In Afghanistan, I imagine.”

Charlie was taken aback when her father cuffed him upside the head. “You know what I meant. Let me see your prosthetic leg.”

Trig grumbled as he rubbed his red ear. “It’s over there.” He pointed to the chair in the corner.

Her father walked to where the leg lay tucked under Trig’s folded jeans. “This is what they gave you?”

Trig shook his head. “No, it’s the first version. I have two others that fit better. This is loose and so when I’m in the car, it doesn’t put a lot of pressure on my scar tissue.”

Doc walked back and sat on the other side of Trig—the side closest to his amputated limb. He rubbed at the sore spot where a bruise was blooming.

“This is going to be sore for a few days.”

Trig sighed. “I’ve dealt with worse.”

Charlie’s father placed his hand on Trig’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Thank you for your service. I can’t imagine what it feels like to lose something as valuable as a limb, but don’t let it take something more valuable away. You are no less of a man than you were the day this happened.”

She watched as Trig’s eyes grew big. “Thank you, sir.” He turned to Charlie. “Not everyone feels like you do.”

Charlie’s father rose. “No one else matters. View yourself as whole and no one will ever call you a liar.” He picked up his bag from the floor and walked to the door. “You coming, Charlie?”

Charlie followed her father. She turned around and looked at Trig, who had pulled Clovis into his arms. “I’ll be back to say goodnight.”

She closed the door behind her and followed her father to the living room.

“Charlie, it’s good to see you, sweetheart.” Her father wasted no time in wrapping his arms around her again. This time there wasn’t a patient waiting, so he held on to her for a long while.

“I’m so sorry I waited so long.”

“But you’re here now. That’s all that matters.”

“You look great, Dad.” She pulled him to the couch and sat next to him. “How are you feeling?”

He smiled. “I was feeling old, but now I’m feeling ten years younger. What got you here?”

“Agatha.”

Her father’s white brows lifted toward the ceiling. “That one is a meddler, but she’s a good woman.”

“I’m glad you found someone.” Charlie could see that he was struggling with what to say about Agatha.

“No one will ever replace your mother.” He cupped her face and smiled.

“No, but that doesn’t mean there’s not room in your big heart for another.” Charlie never thought she’d be able to say those words, but seeing her father made her want everything that was good in the world to come his way, including love.

“What about you? Is there anyone special in your life?”

The first person to come to her mind was Trig. It was a silly thought because she didn’t know him, but she did think he was special, and it had nothing to do with his missing leg.

“No, I think it’s hard to find love in this world.”

He laughed boldly and vibrantly. “I’m not too old, and I’m not blind. You’ve grown up to be a beautiful woman. You look so much like your mother. There’s no doubt you’re turning heads everywhere you go.” He looked over his shoulder toward the hallway. “Hell, you knocked that poor man off his leg.”

Charlie smiled. “He seems like a nice guy.”

“Couldn’t say, I’ve only seen his surly side, but I imagine he’s had a tough go of it.” Her father looked into her eyes. “People are quick to judge and slow to forgive.”

Charlie knew that was a message to her. “I’m learning.”

Doc rose from the couch. “Aren’t we all? Let’s meet at the diner in the morning for breakfast. Dalton makes the best pancakes in town.”

“Dalton Black is still here?”

Her father nodded. “Where else would he go? There’s nothing you can’t find in Aspen Cove, including good pancakes.”

Charlie walked her father to the door. “I love you, Daddy.”

“Love you too, Charlie girl.”

She lifted to her tiptoes to plant a kiss on lips she hadn’t felt in a decade. When she closed the door, she wandered back to Trig’s room. She opened the door and was greeted by silence and darkness.

“Good night, Trig,” she whispered. Just as she closed the door she added, “I’m not who you think I am. I’m not going to hurt you.”