Page 76 of Inevitable
I planned on staying in Cherry Cove for a few weeks until it was time for Wren to start high school.
Emma and I hadn’t really discussed what would happen when the summer was over, but I’d figure it out after I’d gotten to know my daughter.
“What are you thinking about?” Emma asked as she lifted her head to look at me.
“You and Wren,” I readily admitted truthfully.
“You’re nervous about meeting her,” Emma stated.
Hell yes, I was nervous, and I didn’t like it.
I was a guy who could handle stressful situations and always had all of the answers.
For the first time in my life I had no idea how to handle a situation.
I couldn’t control how she’d feel.
I couldn’t control whether or not she actually wanted her father to stroll into her life at the age of thirteen.
I didn’t like not having complete control over every detail of my life.
“In general, I’m not really a likeable guy, Emma.”
“That’s not true,” she protested. “I like you.”
“Yeah,” I grumbled as my arm tightened around her waist. “I never really did understand that.”
“Once you let your guard down and allow someone to really know you, it’s impossible not to like you,” she insisted.
Well, that was a little problematic since I almost never let my guard down.
“Social relationships have never been easy for me,” I admitted grudgingly. “Give me a problem to solve, and I can do it. Put me in a social situation and I suck at it.”
“That’s because your intelligent brain is always working to solve problems,” Emma said softly as she ran a soothing hand over my chest. “Wren has the same struggles sometimes, but she’s adjusting. She’s not going to need you to solve her problems, Colin. She’s a smart girl and getting more independent every day. She’s going to want you to care about her.”
“I already do,” I replied in a frustrated voice. “I’ve cared since the moment I knew she existed.”
I cared about a lot of people and a lot of things. I was simply an expert at reining in those emotions.
However, I knew I was going to have to change that particular trait.
I just wasn’t surehowto do it.
“Everything will be fine,” she said reassuringly. “I’m going to tell Wren and my mother about the kidnapping the night before Wren leaves California. I’m also going to tell her that she’s goingto get to meet her father. I don’t want to completely blindside her when she comes home. I will tell her that you participated in my rescue, but I won’t mention Last Hope or your top-secret job. Those are your secrets to share when and if you want to do it. I know my daughter. She’d understand the need to keep those secrets quiet if you choose to tell her, but that’s your decision, Colin.”
“She’ll probably have to know at some point,” I mused. “I plan on being part of her life, and my life isn’t normal. Hostage situations evolve quickly. They don’t happen from nine-to-five. She’s a smart girl. She’s going to know that my life isn’t normal, and I’m not going to lie to her.”
“She’s going to want to see the headquarters,” Emma warned in a teasing tone. “If you have all of the high-tech equipment you’ve told me about, she’ll be all over that.”
“I’d take her there if she really wants to see it.”
“I’d really like to see it myself,” Emma said hesitantly. “I might not understand every piece of equipment, but I know that Last Hope is a big part of your life. You do important work there.”
“I’ll take you there,” I answered in a heartbeat.
It suddenly hit me how much I wanted to share my life in California with Emma.
I was proud of everything we’d accomplished with Last Hope.
