Page 152 of Reckless
I break the tension with, “Is there a geriatric version of the procreation prowl?”
This time, he doesn’t choke. He tips his head back andhowls. “Girl, did you really just say that to me?”
“Hey, if you’re gonna dish it out, you gotta take it.” As we laugh, I hear tires crunching on the gravel driveway behind us.
The black Suburban SUV is one I recognize only because Kip Hamilton has driven the same vehicle for my entire life. Every couple of years he gets a new one, of the same make and model.
“That’s what I figured you might need to take the edge off for.”
“Hmm.” I arch a brow. “You knew he was coming?”
Harvey shrugs. “Summer may have mentioned it to me while setting up. That’s why I used two bottles of bourbon in Harvey’s Special Drank rather than the usual one.”
My nose wrinkles. “Did you just sayDrank?”
Harvey cackles, clearly living to confuse the hell out of everyone around him. “Yeah, that’s what I call it.”
I’m shaking my head as I watch my dad step out of his vehicle. And then Theo is there, jogging up the short hill to shake Kip’s hand.
Summer sidles up beside me, holding Vivi. “You okay, Win?”
I nod, feeling a splash of nerves roiling in my gut. So, I have some more drank. Hopefully, it will chase them away. I watch Theo and my dad open the back hatch of the SUV and pull out...
I gasp.
Because what my dad and Theo are carrying down to the party is something I never thought I’d see again. Something I swore was long gone, sold, or rotting in a landfill.
But within moments, they set it right in front of me, rendering me speechless.
It doesn’t just look like the dollhouse from when I was a little girl.
Itisthe dollhouse from when I was a little girl.
Tears spring up out of nowhere, and my hand covers my mouth. In many ways, it’s just a dollhouse. But in others, it’s so much more.
Harvey’s hand lands on my shoulder, and Summer’s rubs at my back.
“I hope it’s okay that I told him,” she whispers.
Theo smiles at me like the cat who caught the canary while my dad is having a hard time meeting my tearful eyes.
“I thought Vivienne might like this.”
I sniff, staring at my father, who is proud, and stubborn, and flawed. Today, he looks humbled.
“Years ago, I found it in the back alley when I was taking the trash out. And I put it in storage. I wanted to give it back to you, but I didn’t know how.” He glances up at me, and I stand here at a loss for words. My dad has made many mistakes but showed up today anyway. He helped me find a lawyer. He left my mom. He’s never fought for me before, but he is now.
And I’ve learned a lot about forgiveness in recent years.
Especially how hard it is to forgive yourself.
“I just wanted you to have it. Consider it a peace offering. I haven’t been good enough for you—Theo here gave me a real wake-up call on that—but I want to be. If you ever think you’d like that too, you’ve got my number.”
With a pained smile, he turns to leave. I feel kindred with him somehow. The old version of me was here once too. I glance at my sister, the one who forgave me so wholly that I was able to start fresh.
And Theo, the man who didn’t hold the shitty things I’d done over my head as some sort of proof of what kind of person I was. He took me at face value and allowed me to start fresh too.
“Dad.” He stops but doesn’t turn. “Why don’t you stay? Try some of Harvey’s drank. It’s uh, good for taking the edge off.”
