Page 97 of Heart Strings & Hotlines
“If he finishes. And that’s a big if, but I know. She told me the same thing.” I toss my pencil onto the counter.
“She’s thirteen. These next five to ten years won’t be easy ones.”
“It doesn’t matter. I promised to take care of her, and I will.” Everything on his face reaches for the sky as though the sun is physically pulling his features into a smile. Happy motherfucker.
“I know you will,” he says. “My point is, raising a teenager is hard under normal circumstances, and nothing about her life has been normal. Plus, your father will probably fight for custody simply because of the optics of losing her.”
I’d already thought of this.
“Even without all of that, I would’ve suggested this based on what she’s already been through, but it might actually kill two birds with one stone.”
“What?” I ask.
“You should see if she’s open to seeing a therapist in person. Someone local. This kind of trauma doesn’t magically go away on its own, and if push comes to shove, you’ll have a professional in your corner who’s able to testify on her behalf that she’s the happiest, and the most stable, here with you.”
Or it could backfire, and I could lose her if the therapist says I’m toodifferentto meet her needs.
“Family therapy for you and Kara wouldn’t be a bad idea either.”
I recoil at the thought. My father attempted to shove me into therapy more times than I can count, always searching for a solution to myproblems, but it usually ended with someone trying to medicate me or put me in one hospital or another.
“It won’t be what your father put you through,” he says, clearly knowing me too well. “Family therapy will help the two of you communicate and learn to trust one another. It’ll be good for her, Thane.”
That was the ace up his sleeve. He knows I’ll do anything I can to give her everything that’s been taken from her.
“I’ll talk to her.” I tap against the granite.One, two, three, and four.“And I’ll consider family therapy.”
“That’s all I ask.” He’s really a smug bastard sometimes. “When you come to New York for the fundraiser, Kara can stay with me. I got us tickets to a Broadway show she wants to see. I’ll make a whole night of it.”
Some of my annoyance slips away. “Thank you.” I hadn’t thought about what to do with Kara when we go back to New York, and I need to fix that. If I’m going to be her permanent guardian, I need to start thinking more like a father.
Reopening my notebook, I write down:Find books on parenting teens.
“You know I’d do anything for you.”
“Yeah, but I’ve never understood why.” We’ve already covered that I’m a shitty friend. I can practically feel his gaze on me, so I stare even more intently at my notebook.
“You have a good heart. And I knew that someday, you’d stop hiding it. Plus…” He stands, prompting me to finally look up, only to find a shit-eating grin covering his entire face. “We all need a charity case in our lives. You were my only option.”
My bark of laughter shocks us both. “You can be a real asshole.”
“I learned from the best.” He winks at me like a fucking pervert. “Now, let’s go talk to Boone. I saw him pulling in next door earlier.”
“He’s supposed to be taking time off,” I grumble as I follow my friend to the door.
“It would appear he listens about as well as you do.”
* * *
“What the hell are you doing?”I shout over the empty lot, causing Boone to stop in his tracks. He’s pushing a wheelbarrow of debris toward the dumpster that was delivered a few days ago.
“What does it look like?” Did he just shout at me? Boone has always been an affable guy. When I’m close enough to study his face, he kind of reminds me of what I see in the mirror every day—pissed off and irritated as hell.
“I told you to take some time off.”
“And I own my own damn business, so I work when I want to work.” That was certainly a growl.
Rafe rocks back on his heels. “You okay, Boone?”
