Page 4 of I'll Keep Her Safe

The thoughts fade as I turn down Fruit Street and my house comes into view. My place shares a continuous redbrick facade with the neighboring buildings to the left, has iron railings up the front steps, and while the building itself is four floors, I live in the bottom two floors of the duplex. The lower apartment has exclusive access to the yard, which was the feature that convinced me to move in seven years ago. Even if I never use it anymore.

Surveying the street for a parking spot, my brows tug together in a frown. Goddammit, there are no spaces again. My neighbor Kyle’s truck is in its usual spot—what used to bemyusual spot. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a nice enough guy, but parking has become harder since he and his wife Violet moved in two doors down.

Finally, I spy a space across the street, and after an awkward maneuver in the narrow road, I pull my truck into the spot. My phone buzzes as I shut off the engine, and I tug it from my pocket, seeing my daughter’s name flash up on the screen.

“Hey, kiddo.” I smile as I accept the call. “What’s up?”

She laughs at my childish nickname for her. “Hey, Dad. I have some news.”

I lean my head against the headrest. “Oh yeah, what’s that?” We talk several times a week, so whatever she has to tell me must be recent.

“I’ve been offered a job as a digital marketing strategist in San Francisco.”

Pride blooms in my chest. “That’s amazing, honey.” She graduated top of her class, and it’s no surprise she’s been snapped up already. “I’m so proud of you.”

“Thanks. I, um, leave in three days.”

I let my breath out slowly. “Right. Okay. I can take some time from work and help you move…” Unless, of course, her mother has already taken care of everything. She loves to make me look incompetent.

“That’s okay, the company is paying for movers.” She’s quiet for a moment, then adds, “Thanks for your support, though. Mom’s guilt-tripping me to stay.”

I bite my tongue. That doesn’t surprise me in the slightest.

“Anyway.” Bailey clears her throat. “I was hoping we could spend some time together before I go?”

“I’d love that.” I open the door to my truck and step out into the stuffy heat, processing this news. Bailey has been in my life for such a short time and now she’s moving across the country.

Still, she’s not a kid anymore. Hell, she hasn’t been a kid the entire time I’ve known her, given we only met when she was twelve. I always knew this day would come and I have to accept it. It’s the natural order of things.

I cross the street with a heavy heart, pausing at my motorcycle. It sits under a cover in the courtyard in front of my building, where it’s sat for years. My hands itch with the urge to rip the cover off, throw on my helmet, and peel out onto the highway, but it’s been so long that part of me wonders if I even remember how to ride.

I shake the thought off and jam my key into the lock of the basement-level entry to my apartment, turning my attention back to the phone. “What did you have in mind? We could do dinner and a movie night here?”

“Sounds good,” Bailey replies, with a smile in her voice. “I’m helping a friend with something tonight, but I’ll come over tomorrow?”

“Sure thing.” I kick my boots off, putting the call on speaker so I can set the phone down as I grab a cold bottle of Brooklyn Lager from the fridge. The exhaustion from the day has finally caught up with me, and I need a moment to cool off before I head down the block to the Fruit Street Community Garden.

As I twist the top off the bottle, I ponder what movies Bailey and I could watch together tomorrow. We haven’t had a classicGhostbustersnight in a while, or she loves theBack to the Futurefilms. I grew up watching these movies, and introducing her to my favorites when she was a teenager is one of my fondest memories.

My chest twinges at the thought of spending less time with my daughter, and I slug back a mouthful of beer before saying, “I’m going to miss you, kiddo.”

“Me too, Dad. But you’ll come visit, right? We can hang out in San Francisco together?”

My mood lightens at the thought. “Definitely. Is Dean going too?”

Admittedly, I wasn’t that impressed with my daughter’s boyfriend when I first met him, mainly because he’s eight years older than Bailey, who was twenty and in college at the time. But in the years they’ve been together I’ve gotten to know him, and he’s one of the good ones. Kind, generous, and nothing but respectful toward my daughter.

“He is,” Bailey says. “Transferring to the West Coast branch.”

I smile, relieved at least that Bailey isn’t going alone. If I can’t be around, I know Dean will take care of her.

“Well, your room will always be here if you need it.”

“Yeah, I know— Wait.” She cuts herself off mid-sentence, a note of urgency in her voice. “Of course! There’s a room at your place!”

I give a bewildered chuckle. “You’ve always known that.”

“Yes, but… Okay, Dad, I need you to remember how much you love me because I have a huge favor to ask you.”

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