Page 159 of Lavender Lake
“I promise to bring you a slice of wedding cake,” I said as we made it up the back deck.
“Thanks.” Dad looked at me and his brow unwrinkled. “I know how I sound. I can’t help it, I’m sorry.”
“Hey,” I said, taking his strong, tanned hand that had worked a ranch for years. “You don’t have to apologize. For anything. You just have to rest and take care of yourself. You’re no good to us grumpy.”
“Or bedridden.” He nodded. “Yeah. I know.”
“You’ll be back on a horse before you know it,” I assured him. “Remember it’s in the Powell genome. We’re stubborn.”
“It’s also a Sullivan gene,” he said. “So, you and Hadley got it from both sides.”
“I’m notthatstubborn,” I quipped.
“Mhhm. You refused to come home for years,” Dad said. “I call that stubborn.”
“No, that’s just pigheaded,” I teased. “And the doctor didn’t say anything about bluntness being a side effect of your injury.”
“I’ve always been blunt,” he said.
“Truth.”
I hugged him again, and then I let Jane take him into the house. I hadn’t given her enough credit. She never lost her composure; she never lost her cool. She put up with his mood swings. She drove him to doctor’s appointments. She was a true partner to him.
She’d become family.
I sighed at the thought.
Hadley had been right. She knew I’d like her.
“Stubborn,” I muttered as I turned and headed back to the wedding.
The main dish had been served while I’d been helping Jane with Dad. I took my seat and put my napkin on my lap.
“Is he okay?” Hadley asked as she picked up her fork.
“Yeah, just tired,” I said.
She sighed. “Good call on the father-daughter dance. Try the trout. It’s amazing.”
Hadley fed me a bite of trout from her fork.
“Yum,” I said.
“You guys playing the airplane game?” Wyn teased.
I cut into my steak and saw red in the center.
“Barely warm,” Hadley said. “I made sure they didn’t overcook it for you.”
“Thanks,” I said, setting my fork down.
Hadley frowned. “Something wrong?”
“No. I’m just not very hungry. The salad filled me up, you know?”
Hadley’s gaze narrowed. “Right.”
“Have you told Declan about the cake?” I asked.
