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“Mom, are you crying?” I leaned in, a little worried.
“I can’t help it. I’m just so proud of you both. I’m so happy.”
“Son,” Dad said, his voice taking the edge that told me he had something serious to say. I steeled myself and met his eyes. “I need to thank you. And to apologize.”
“Oh.”
“First, the fence. It looks great. And I think you know I needed your help because I just can’t do that kind of thing myself anymore.”
“Your heart,” I said, trying not to be bitter that Dad still hadn’t mentioned his health to me at all.
“Yeah. And I know that we handled that whole thing wrong. Your mom told me you were upset, and I didn’t get it at first, but I think maybe I’m starting to. Because if it was you, I’d want to know.”
“Right,” I said.
“I don’t think it’s the same thing with parents,” he said. “I never really got to know mine, so I think I didn’t have the best example maybe. But if anything were to happen to you...well, Sly, you’re my blood. And my first born. Dammit, you’re my son...”
“I know,” I said, hoping to maybe relieve my dad of the burden he seemed to be carrying. Clearly whatever gift for speeches I’d gotten had come from Mom.
“I’m trying to say...that I love you. That I’m proud of you. That you deserve to be treated like an adult.”
I nodded, tears pressing at the backs of my eyes. Dad had never been emotional with me before. Never, not once. It was a lot to absorb. “I love you too, Dad. Thanks.”
“Come home more often,” he said, dropping my eyes and taking a swig of coffee.
“Okay,” I said, chuckling. “I will.”
“And Clara?” Mom asked, sensing that it was her turn to speak. She laid a hand on Dad’s, and the silent gesture of support and love gave me a warm feeling inside.
“We’ll see,” I said. “We haven’t made any promises. Things are complicated with work and Katie...”
“The things that matter aren’t complicated,” Dad said, still staring into his mug. “That’s the lesson I’ve taken way too long to learn. Keep the people you love close. Trust them.”
“I’ll try,” I told him.
Mom gave me a wide teary smile and on a breath she said, “Oh, Sly.” It was almost sappy enough to send me into tears, so I stood and moved between my parents, dropping a hand on each of their shoulders and hugging them.
“I love you guys,” I told them. “I’m gonna go see if Clara and Katie will dance with me.”
Mom sobbed loudly, and I moved away, catching Clara’s eyes as I headed back to the table where she and Katie sat. Even walking across the room toward her felt like coming home. It was that right.
Sure, there were complications to work out—how often would we be together, between our jobs and Katie’s school? But I didn’t care about any of that, because I thought Dad was right. The things that matter aren’t complicated.
CHAPTER28
CLARA
BIGFOOT IS ALWAYS A CONCERN
I’d driven to the lake with my heart in scattered pieces inside me. Now, as Sly prowled toward me across the crowded space of the reception party, I felt it pumping and strong—whole.
I loved him. There was no longer any reason to pretend it wasn’t true. And hearing his words tonight had healed years of insecurity and doubt. Hearing him tell me he loved me too had stripped of all the layers of circumstance and difficulty that really came to nothing at all in the face of something as real as love.
“Would you ladies care to dance?” Sly asked Katie and me as he stopped next to where we sat, extending a hand in each of our directions.
Katie looked at Sly, and I could see the same love in her eyes that I felt for the towering man. But then she looked around and frowned. “It’s a slow song, Silly. You can’t dance to this.”
“I bet your mom and I could,” he told her.
