Happy Father's Day!

“Did Anne Bonny’s papa love her?”
“As I recall the tale, he did. Sit here next to me and I will find out.”
He set her next to him and, reclaiming the book, flipped a few pages then smiled.
“See here, Mattie? It’s a picture of Anne Bonny sitting on her papa’s lap, just as you sat on mine. Yes, according to Captain Johnson, he ‘had a great affection’ for the child, but he dressed Anne as a little boy to fool his wife, who’d heard about the birth of a daughter that was her husband’s child. He began living with Anne’s mama and then took them to Carolina where he prospered.”
“Was he a pirate in Carolina, like Blackbeard?”
“No, a merchant and a lawyer, though given those two professions, he may have had some of the pirate in him.”
“I am wondering if this is the best bedtime reading for a child,” Lydia said.
He looked down at Mattie. “Well, child? Is it a good bedtime story?”
She nodded vigorously. “Yes! I want to hear more about Anne and her pirate ways!”

--THE PIRATE'S SECRET BABY (High Seas #3) 

Out of all the fathers I've written into my stories, Robert St. Armand is still my favorite. He started out as the villain of Castaway Dreams (High Seas #2), but redeemed himself when I threw him a secret baby and he caught her...and loved her.

Happy #FathersDay to all who are fortunate enough to be celebrating with their own fathers and father stand-ins. You may not have a notorious pirate papa, but you can still learn lots of valuable life lessons and hear some groaners of "dad humor" jokes. Enjoy your special day, and if you want to see how Mattie turned out after all that piratical training, read What the Parrot Saw (High Seas #4). You'll catch a glimpse of her handsome pirate papa there too.