Page 63 of Bookworm
I scooted over, nestling into the nook of my dad’s arm and he pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “Hallmark, huh?”
I sighed and turned the volume down a little. “Yeah. Sorry if the noise woke you.”
I felt him shake his head. “It didn’t. I just know my little girl. Stress turns you into an insomniac. So I thought you might want a little company.”
I gave him a weak smile. “Thanks, Dad, but you don’t have to do that. I know you’re on call tomorrow night.”
He snorted. “Please. I have twins and a six-month old. I’m basically used to existing on two-hour increments of sleep.”
I groaned dramatically. “Being a parent sounds terrible,” I snickered.
“Nah. The sleepless thing isn’t so bad. The worst part is when your kids are hurting and there’s nothing you can do to help.”
I sighed, keeping my eyes on the movie. “Ahhh,” Dad continued. “The ol’misunderstandingtrope. My least favorite of all the tropes. I mean, come on. Just freaking ask her who the guy was you saw her with in the gazebo and she’ll tell you it was her ex and she was merely returning his family heirloom.”
I snorted and rolled my eyes at him. “Please. Didn’t you and Addy break up because of a misunderstanding? One that all you needed to do was talk to her?—”
He squeezed me in a hug. “Exactly. Why do you think I hate this damn trope so much?”
There was another long pause as we sat in silence. “Do you think Adam will ever be able to detach himself from his father?”
“No,” Dad said without missing a beat.
I pulled out from his embrace and stared at him, mouth agape. “What?”
“And you shouldn’t want him to.”
“But he’s such a jerk.”
“Believe me, I know better than anyone what an ass that man can be. But he’s Adam’s father. He willalwaysbe Adam’s father. Which means if you love him, Elijah will most likely always be in his life… and yours. Weddings, birthdays, baptisms, graduations. You’ll need to find a way to exist with him. Andwhile Adam can certainly learn to set boundaries and stand up for you, asking or wanting him to completely detach from family isn’t the answer either. What if someone asked that of you? What if some guy you dated had a problem with me? Would you never speak to me again?”
I rolled my eyes. “Please. We both know that would never happen.”
Dad arched his eyebrow. “Because I’m so awesome no one would ever have a problem with me?”
“No. Because I got my stubborn streak from you. And if some guy I’m dating told me not to speak to you again, I’d probably move into the basement here out of spite.”
Dad’s laugh boomed. “That’s my girl.”
“And you’d probably just have him arrested.”
“Would you blame me?”
While I didn’t think I did anything specifically to Elijah, was it possible he hated me because after I entered the picture, his and Adam’s relationship wasn’t as close? Even if it wasn’t my fault, I’d be the easiest scapegoat. “Do you think there’s anything I need to apologize to Elijah for?”
“You mean like pouring beer over his head?”
I snorted another laugh. “Okay, yeah. That. But anything else? Anything from high school?”
Dad shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe. But honestly,he’sthe parent. He was the adult back then, not you. If he’s still holding a grudge from some hormonal teenage crap? I think that’s between him and Adam. Just give them time. Give Adam space.”
“It’s been almost twelve hours since he left. Isn’t that enough time and space?”
“Hey,” Dad squeezed my shoulder. “Space can mean a lot of things. Let Adam talk to you when he’s ready. Don’t force the issue. Let him know you’re curious, but don’t pressure him.Remember how hard it was with your mom when she came here to visit the first time?”
“Yeah,” I whispered. Mom never told me she was pregnant. That she had gotten married without telling me or inviting me to be there. It was like I wasn’t even a consideration in her life. Never had been. It took me weeks to fully come to terms with that. Months to forgive her. Dad and Addy never forced me to talk. They would just sit with me, hold me, hug me, love me… and let me feel my feelings.
“Dammit, I hate when you’re right, you know that?”
