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He struck me as someone who loved his children and just wanted to be part of their lives.
Fiona smiled softly. “I’ll be better about keeping in touch.”
“I know you’re busy,” her father said gruffly.
Lori pulled him away to get a drink, and Fiona leaned in close. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
I lowered my voice. “I mean, if he knew I’d taken his daughter’s virginity when she was eighteen, it would have gone differently—”
Fiona clapped a hand over my mouth. “Shh. That’s the last thing I need my father knowing. He seems to like you. Let’s keep it that way.”
When she slowly removed her hand, I asked, “You think he’d care after all these years?”
Fiona nodded. “I think he’d feel guilty that he didn’t know what was going on. That he wasn’t more involved in my life. But he had seven kids. He was doing the best he could.”
If anything happened between us, I needed to have that conversation with her dad. I didn’t want there to be any secrets. I wouldn’t go into details, but he should know we dated and that we were in love.
Heath and Marley appeared at our side. I was so engrossed in talking to Fiona, I hadn’t even thought to greet them.
“How are you doing?” Heath asked me.
“Good. Marley talk to you about the inn?”
“She said you wanted to do some renovations. I can probably look at it tomorrow. We didn’t check it out before we did the first round.”
“The priority was getting the inn functional again. Now we’re looking to increase our services, and that basement is set up perfectly for it. I wouldn’t have even thought about doing it now if Fiona hadn’t mentioned it,” Marley said.
Heath nodded. “I’ll take a look and let you know if it’s feasible.”
“Hopefully, Fiona is going to help us. She has amazing ideas,” Marley gushed.
Fiona’s face flushed from the praise.
“You in town for a while?” Heath asked Fiona.
Fiona nodded. “A few weeks. I’m due to head back after the New Year.”
“That’s not long if we’re going to do a renovation together,” Heath said to her, and I knew he was trying to figure out what was going on and if he needed to protect me from Fiona. Which he didn’t.
Fiona’s expression turned thoughtful. “I have a lot to think about. I could extend my vacation, but I don’t think my boss would like that.”
“Why don’t you meet me in the theater tomorrow before I head to work? You can tell me what you were thinking,” Heath offered.
“That would be great. Thank you.”
Then talk turned to the upcoming holiday.
Shortly after, Daphne urged everyone to sit at the dining-room table. “We want to thank everyone for coming tonight, and Emmett for constructing this gorgeous table where all our family can eat together.”
“Where are the rest of the Calloways?” Emmett asked.
Daphne’s uneasy gaze met Cole’s.
Cole stood next to Daphne. “The Calloways needed to be at the farm, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready to have everyone in the same room.”
“They’ll come around. Just give them time,” Al said.
Fiona leaned closer and said, “I thought it was too much to have all the Calloways and the Monroes in one place.”
