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“I’ve heard everything you said, and I’ll think about it really seriously, I promise. Once the semester’s over,” I said, hoping against hope he’d take that stall tactic for agreement.
“That’s a real professional way of telling me to mind my own business, baby girl,” he chuckled. “And I know what you’re thinking. What am I doing telling you to take a chance on love when I never got over your mom?”
“I’d never say that,” I protested. But he was right. I’d been thinking that he wasn’t exactly an authority on second chance romance. Not that I’d say something so cruel to him, but it crossed my mind that he wasn’t an expert on the subject.
“I know you wouldn’t, but I know you were thinking it. Fact is, I have what I want. I have my work and my house and yard and my daughter’s happy and healthy. I have more than any man could deserve.”
“But you’re telling me that I deserve a man who loves me,” I said flatly.
“Another man who loves you, don’t count your daddy out on that list. I’ll love you till my last breath and beyond, and you know it. But you still deserve a man who chooses you and wants to be your partner. Someone worthy of you.”
I think I already found him, I thought to myself but didn’t say aloud.
“You’ll choose for yourself. I just don’t want it passing you by because you don’t think the time is right or because you don’t think it would work out. And for your information, I have a woman I’ve been seeing off and on for over a year who lives in San Diego.”
“Wait, what?” I said, gobsmacked. “You’ve got a girlfriend?”
“Pam and I met at the Bass Pro when they had the fishing lure show a year ago in September. She was here visiting her brother, and he’s into fishing. She was sitting on a bench waiting for him and I went up and asked if she was lost. That made her laugh because it was her first time in a Bass Pro and she said it would be her last time, too.”
My dad chuckled. His eyes had lit up. I was just trying to wrap my head around the idea.
“That’s great. Why haven’t you told me?” I asked.
“I wasn’t real sure how you’d feel about me seeing somebody after all this time.”
“Dad! I’m twenty-four; I’m not eight. I want you to be happy. I’m sorry you didn’t feel like you could tell me. Does Pam know about your heart attack?”
“Sure, she does. She came to the hospital and everything. She stayed in town for two weeks, came and saw me anytime—”
“Anytime I wasn’t there,” I said, feeling sad and awkward. “I wish you hadn’t snuck around. I’d like to meet her and apologize that she felt she couldn’t come talk to me.”
“You’d had yourself enough shock when I was in the hospital, so don’t you blame yourself. It’s how I wanted things. I want to introduce you two over dinner, the right way, not in the ICU when I’ve got a Foley bag attached to me.” My dad laughed again, and I squeezed his hand.
“Will you invite her here? Soon?”
“I’d like that a lot, but I want to get back on my feet a little more first. So, I can show her the sights and all.”
“I don’t mean to give her the tour of Berkley, Dad. I mean so I can meet her and we can get to know each other,” I said with a laugh. It made me so excited for him. “I hope she likes me.”
“She already likes you. You think I’ve known her over a year and she hasn’t heard a thousand Leanne stories?”
“Well, you could’ve spent all that time trying to convince her to love Bass Pro,” I said, and he laughed again.
“It feels good to tell you. The main thing is, I want you to know if you don’t open yourself up, you’re gonna miss out on a lot of good stuff, baby girl.”
“Thanks, Daddy. I love you. And I promise I’ll make a good impression on Pam. I’ll even wear regular clothes instead of my gym rat gear.”
“I’m counting on it,” he said, and patted my shoulder as I bent to kiss his cheek.
CHAPTER26
AARON
Icouldn’t help looking around at Cory’s new condo and feeling proud of her. She’d done it all by herself, saved up the money to put a down payment on a nice place in a good neighborhood. My sister had come so far, and I had to give her a lot of credit for her resilience, her determination to go it alone. I’d offered a dozen times, a hundred maybe to buy her a place, help get her on her feet. She’d refused every time, saying she wanted to earn it herself. She was stubborn and independent, and it drove me nuts, especially when she said she got that from me.
We were unpacking a huge cardboard box marked ‘Kitchen Crap’, sitting on the floor. I sorted plates into one stack, bowls in another, plastic storage containers in another. The breakable stuff was well wrapped but it looked like she’d tried to get the entire kitchen in one massive box.
“Skillet?” I said, holding up a frying pan.
