Page 41 of Summer Escape
Hayden rolled her eyes. "You didn't like her when we first moved in."
Was that true?
"You were irritated around her all the time."
My eyes widened at that assessment. "I'm friends with Saylor. We're good. You don't have to worry about her."
She fell silent, so I asked, "How was your night?"
"It was fine."
I guess I wasn't going to get anything else out of her tonight. The book I was reading said not to ask too many questions. I didn't want to be that dad, the one who hovered even though I knew I was hopelessly protective of her.
Her lips twitched in amusement. "There weren't any boys, if that's what you were wondering. Except for Sadie's brother."
My head whipped around to see her expression. "How old is he?"
"Eight," she said before laughing to herself.
"Funny. You think you have me figured out," I muttered.
Her smile faded. "Oh, I doubt that. We haven't spent that much time together."
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. "I would think the letters would have helped."
"I think I told you more about me than you did about you," Hayden murmured, and I wondered if she was feeling looser, more able to talk about the truth after an evening with her girlfriends.
Was that true? It was possible. I couldn't talk about my work. I didn't want to scare her, and our operations were secret.
"I loved your letters. I felt like I was with you even though I couldn't be physically there."
She looked out the window. "It was a diary of sorts for me. I wasn't sure if it mattered, but I enjoyed the act of writing things down."
"Do you still keep a diary?" I asked her.
She gave me a look. "Are you going to read it?”
I blanched. "I would never do that. You've never given me a reason not to trust you, and I wouldn't violate your privacy like that." When she remained quiet, I asked, "Does your mother search your room?"
Her face pinched. "She looks at my phone."
"I can understand that she's worried about you. But I won't do that."
"Thanks, Dad."
Trust was a big thing between us. And she'd never given me a reason to think she was up to no good. She got good grades and enjoyed hanging out with girlfriends. I never heard her even talk about liking a boy, not that she would with me anyway.
She'd never gotten into trouble at school. There was no reason not to trust her. Maybe that was a mistake, but I was going to stick by it now that I'd said it to her. I was fairly sure that book I'd read said to give her space.
I was just getting in my groove as a parent. I was sure I'd make mistakes, and I hoped this wasn't one of them.
"I want to go to dinner one night with my family."
"Okay."
"You haven't spent a lot of time with them. But I'd like you to get to know them better."
"Okay."
