Page 42 of Without Judgment

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Avery

“Hi Dad,” I greeted, standing up to give him a hug when he came in to the kitchen that late evening where I’d been working on Mason’s website most of the day while he avoided me.

“Hi Avery. I meant to be home earlier today, but my flight was delayed.” He was still dressed in his suit.

“It’s okay.”

His gaze landed on the plate of buttered noodles on the table and focused back on me with a sad face. “Your mom loved making you buttered noodles, didn’t she?”

I nodded at the memory of her making them for me at least twice a week when I’d been little. “She did.”

“I have a hard time with yesterday.” His voice was laced with emotion and full of an apology I was used to receiving over the years.

“I know you do. It’s okay. It’s good to have you home.”

He looked weary from his travels. “I’m glad to be home, but uh, I’m heading to bed.”

“Sure. Night.” Yet again, it hit me how much Edward had been my rock during these anniversaries over the years when my own father couldn’t seem to be. No wonder I’d clung to that relationship for so long.

“Good night.”

I tried not to let the disappointment set in, but failed miserably. I knew looking at me sometimes made my father sad as resembled my mother so closely. Same as I knew being in this house surrounded by all the memories was bittersweet. Still, I couldn’t help but believe my father had further distanced himself from me since the whole scandal had surfaced.

The next morning, I was about to go downstairs in search of breakfast when the knock came on my bedroom door.

I was already smiling, expecting Mason on the other side of my door because I wanted to show him his website which I’d put the finishing touches on, only to have it drop, surprised to see my father instead. He was dressed in a fresh suit as if he was already on his way to the office or some campaign stop.

“Hi Dad.”

He sighed heavily, hardly making eye contact. “We need to talk.”

“Okay.” Why was I feeling shame when I hadn’t done a damn thing? Again.

“Meet me downstairs in my office in ten minutes.”

“All right.” I had a foreboding sensation about this. I threw on a sweatshirt and met him in his office as requested. Mason was already there and judging from the grim set of his mouth, he’d already heard whatever news my father was about to tell me. I had to bite back the resentment about him not giving me a heads up. But it was a definite reminder about who’s side he was actually on.

“We have another situation.”

“Like what?”

“There’s another video.”

I sucked in a breath. “What? How?”

“We received another copy of a video on a thumb drive mailed to my campaign office yesterday. I’m working with my people to see if I need to drop the bid for Mayor before it hits the Internet.”

“Before it hits? Meaning there’s time? How do you know that?”

“Because it came with a note.”

“Demanding what?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

Was he serious? “I’d argue it very much does. It hints at the motive as to why someone is doing this.”

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