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"This is all just so sweet, Lane," she said as she slipped the last button through its hole "You’re an aured if I wanted her to kno to be treated, I had to teach her Taking her on dates will show her to never expect anything less or else I’ll have to kick her date’s ass"

"I have no doubt about that, babe" She lifted up on her toes and kissed my cheek

With extre the doorbell I stood on the front porch and heard Raegan call out to Kate A few moments later, the wooden door slowly slid open and Kate’s little blonde head peered around

"Hello, beautiful Are you still available to go on a date with your dad tonight?"

"Daddy!" she exclaimed "You sent me flowers They were pink and purple and red and white!" She stepped away froht For the first tilets that bounced playfully around her face She wore a soft pink dress that fell past her knees, and she spun around to show me how it billowed out around her

I felt the da up in my throat There had been a tiet these moments with her I tried to clear irl I have ever seen"

"You look handsome, daddy," she chuckled

I took her hand and escorted her tocar As she crawled into the backseat, an unwelcoht occurred that her dates with me better be the only ti to need that shotgun

When we arrived, I tossed the valet the keys and helped Kate out of the car At first, ere given strange looks, but as Kate quietly h the entrance with a wide, ecstatic san to smile with her We rode the elevator five hundred feet above the ground and Kate held erly the entire journey

She’d known exactly where hen I pulled up Every ti building that looked like it had a ball on top I told her it was called Reunion Tower and that it had a fancy restaurant for adults way up there That never persuaded her froo up there one day

Out of pure dumb luck, we recently contracted a job with the head chef and owner of that fancy restaurant He actually ended up being this really cool Austrian man that told me he would be more than happy to accommodate Kate and me when he was in town at the restaurant

So, while everyone here would be savoring their extravagant, seven-course ets endary steaks with French fries

Kate gasped when the elevator doors slid open and she took in her first glance at the view There were floor-to-ceiling s that perfectly displayed a fully illuminated don Dallas--it really was spectacular

When the hostess greeted us, I immediately knew she had been inforuided us to a slass s Kate pressed her hands and face up against the us

"This is awesome," she stated, her voice filled with awe "I think I see our house!"

"It is i after ere served our waters, the food was placed before us A huge thank-you note would be necessary after this night was done They were treatingin Texas?" I asked before she bit into a piece of chicken

"It’s my favorite I don’t want to ht if one day we moved to a different house but still stayed in Texas?"

"Would I still see Auntie Audrey and Uncle Jace?" she asked

"Of course"

"What about Uncle Jaxon?" I nodded, and she proceeded to list off the rest of my friends, all of which she considered fa and she finally said, "Yeah, that would be okay"

"I would do anything for you, you know that, right? No irl"

"Daddy, would you beat up a boy that pulled my hair?" she asked

"I don’t think I’ soht need to have a very serious talk with him"

"Bubba punched a boy at the park today" The way she stated it as if it were no big deal almost made me chuckle

"Why would he do that?"

"Because that boy pulled my hair!" Her immediate defense of her brother didn’t surprise me Those tere always on each other’s side "It’s not fair Mama made hiht, but daddy, he said that he’s supposed to protect h"

I knew there was a right way to approach this subject, but dahtly--and then take hiht It’s not okay to just hit people, but I will tell Braden that he’s doing a good job of watching out for his sister"

"Okay," she replied, only half satisfied with , "How about we sneak so to kill me

She lit up like the Fourth of July and practically bounced out of her seat "Yes! Please, can we?"

"You better not tell your mom" I smirked at her

"I super love you, daddy" She went back to her French fries and guzzled down soirl"

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