Page 67 of Too Far To Sea
Without needing to look up,Dana traipsed the path to the train that would take her into the city. Her feet moved automatically through her home airport while her mind replayed the flight. How had she made such a mistake? He used her. Oh, the things she wanted to say. It didn’t matter—she never needed to see McKay Worth again. No long-distance relationship would work out.
As she walked, her phone buzzed and pinged as messages, texts, and emails downloaded now that she was no longer in airplane mode. None from McKay apologizing. Of course, they never traded contact information… Just as well. However, there was one from her father.
Dad: Hey, I know you just flew in but can you come spend the rest of the weekend with me?
Dana: I would love to. I just landed, so I’ll go home, repack and drive on over.
Dad: You don’t need to come tonight. But I have an event tomorrow. I would be honored if you could attend.
Dana: What?
Dad: I’m being inducted into the National Blood Donation Hall of Fame.
Dana read the words again. Was there such a thing?
Dana: Interesting. Like Basketball Hall of Fame?
Dad: I’ll explain when you get here.
Talking with her father would be better than talking with her friends. Brit and Simone would have way too many opinions and way too many questions.
Dana: I’ll be there in a couple of hours. I slept on the plane.
Not a lie. She had fallen asleep at some point. Only to dream of the man sitting next to her.
Dad: See you soon then.
Dana boarded the train and reviewed the rest of her messages. None of them were urgent. Candace had left instructions about shipping anything Dana needed to the Indiana residence. Most of Dana’s personal items sat in boxes in her father’s garage. She kept only necessities in her apartment in the Ogilvie penthouse. With Candace and Colin’s decision to have the children move to go to school in Indiana, she packed up her possessions before she left for the cruise. Those hadbeen labeled and should’ve already been taken by the movers to Indiana.
Knowing there would still be frequent trips to Chicago, she left a skeleton wardrobe at the Chicago penthouse. She dropped of her suitcases and throwing a few necessities and her dad’s gift into another bag.
She sent off a text to Brit and Simone, letting them know she was going to her father’s, since they were expecting her to crash with them for the next couple of days until she needed to drive down to the Ogilvie’s.
The only messages from Hastings Security were the automated reminders about hours, substitutions, and PTO.
As promised, she arrived at her father’s house only one and a half hours after leaving the airport, a new record. Had McKay made it home? How was his mother doing? She’d never know now.
She parked in the driveway next to Dad’s cruiser. Which was probably the best crime deterrent in the neighborhood. The house her grandparents had lived in most of their lives was still well-maintained. But age and lack of multiple bathrooms had relegated the home to a declining neighborhood. Crime on her father’s street remained low.
Her father met her in the driveway.
“Were you watching for me?”
“Nah, I was hoping for the pizza delivery guy to show up with a complimentary pie.” Dad pulled her into a hug. “How’s Chey?”
“Better than expected.”
“Give her a hug from me.”
“I thought I texted that she stayed in England.”
“You did.” He took the duffle from her hand and walked her into the house. Leather and a large television replaced the lace doilies and faded prints favored by her grandmother, now livingin Florida. But some things never changed. The smell of oregano and garlic filled the air.
“Manicotti?” The familiar scent wrapped around her like a hug. Dana set her backpack down and rushed into the kitchen.
“I figured after two weeks with your mother you could use some comfort food.”
“Dad, you are the best.” She opened the cupboard and pulled out the old melamine plates. Traces of her grandparents, her father hadn’t found cause to replace. “Tell me more about this hall of fame?”
