Page 85 of Love.V2
“What did she say to you?” Magic words, maybe? Only something supernatural could have caused my bitter, single-minded father to apologize, let alone admit to his failures.
He surprised me again by chuckling. “Plenty of things. She told me about everything goin’ down at Worther, and I said that was great.” He winced. “She practically ripped me a new one, talkin’ about how I should be ashamed for pushing you so hard into a job that might have run Henry Worther into an early grave. And how you’re happy, really happy, for the first time in a long time, and maybe you wouldn’t have stayed so long in that place if I hadn’t put so much pressure on you to…be something you didn’t want to be.”
My throat tightened. Dad took a sip of coffee before he continued. “I’ll give her credit, though. She didn’t totally throw me under the bus. She said we’d both failed you in our own ways, making you feel like you weren’t good enough when you were just trying to do right by the people you loved.”
I glanced away before my father could see the moisture gathering in my eyes, but I couldn’t escape him entirely. His calloused hand closed over mine.
“She and I agreed on that. She said you’ve been doin’ a lot of work to figure out who you are outside your job. I’d like to hear about that someday, if you’d like to share.”
“Yeah?” My voice was rough with the grip of emotion I was trying to ride out. This was the most vulnerable conversation I’d ever had with my dad, and it was hitting me when my defenses were down.
“Yeah.” He sounded a little choked up, too. “I might want to take some notes.”
I bit the inside of my cheek, finally looking up at him as I flipped my hand over. “Sounds like a deal.”
“Deal.”
We shook once, a fragile thread of lightness winding through me. My dad wouldn’t change overnight and, hell, maybe he wouldn’t change at all. But this was a step. His words, his recognition of how he’d affected my life trajectory, closed a cut I hadn’t realized was open. For now, at least, I could appreciate his outstretched hand for what it was.
An apology, a deal, for something new.
“Well, you weren’t too far off base, pushing me so high at Worther,” I told him, smiling when I thought about Jinx, how excited I’d been to start over there, how much fun I’d been having in a smaller, more laid-back environment.
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. I’m…really good at my job.”
“Course you are. You’re my son, aren’t you?”
“Maybe I just need to try it in a different place.”
Dad clicked his tongue, smirking. “Nashville not good enough for you anymore, hot shot?”
I grinned. “Something like that. Now,” I sat my empty mug down. “You know where I can find my girl?”
***
My dad’s office was an add-on in the back, decked out with oak paneling and floor-to-ceiling windows. Tess had, in fact, taken over. Her bright pink laptop case and rainbow notebooks spread across the heavy wood desk in the center of the room.
I took my time, taking advantage of the rare opportunity to watch her work without other people around. The little crease at the top of her nose. The way her eyes flicked back and forth across the screen.
I sighed, hoping my ramblings about impregnating her hadn’t completely bombed.
She smiled when she caught sight of me. “Hey, you.”
Thank God.Maybe I hadn’t said somethingtotallyout of line during my sleep-deprived monologue. “Hey…you look good in here.”
She spread her hands on the table in front of her, taking up more space. “It just screams ‘Beer Angel,’ doesn’t it?”
The laugh that left my mouth went straight to my head. “Tess, I’m sorry I had to leave like that. I was right there with you, so happy, then suddenly Ron’s yelling in my ear and Henry’s in the hospital, but no one can know yet…I didn’t know what to do.”
“I think you did what you needed to do. Even though I sat alone in that hotel room for like an hour trying to figure out what had just happened.”
I winced, crossing the room to reach for her. She stood and met me halfway. When I swept her into my arms, she smelled bright and fresh. Felt like home. “I’m so sorry,” I apologized again, because I didn’t know what else to say. Her fingers stroked up and down my spine.
“I know it was a lot.” She pulled back to clasp my face. “I trust you. I still love you even if you have to do work after-hours every once in a while.”
I brought my hands up to trap hers. I’d never get enough of her skin on mine. “Thank you.” I could have fallen to my knees and repeated it over and over if she’d let me, but a vibrating sound stopped me.
