Page 69 of Finding Out

As the tension drained from Wren, she stepped away and hugged her father. “Thank you.”

He nodded. “But my warning stands.” He lifted his chin, focus fixed on me. “Hurt her, and I’ll bury you on hole six.”

“Duly noted.”

He roughed a hand over his face. “I never thought either of you would settle down. So maybe this makes more sense than I realized. Maybe you’ll find yourself with a home in our neighborhood again one of these days.” Releasing Wren, he stepped back.

Chuckling, Wren tucked herself back into my left side. “I doubt that, but he did get a new puppy.”

Heath cocked a brow. “You got a dog?”

I shrugged.

“Caffrey is the cutest chocolate lab ever.” She beamed up at me.

“Figures.” He cleared his throat. “Like I said: expensive. You’ll be redoing all those perfect hardwood floors soon.”

Shit. The man wouldn’t speak to me thirty minutes ago, and now he was ribbing me. This shift in the dynamic was more than I could have asked for.

“No way. Caffrey is a good boy.”

I didn’t know about that. The dog was still a pain in the ass, but he made Wren happy, so he was worth it.

Heath held his hand out to me. “We good?”

I kept Wren close as I accepted. “Always.”

The door opened again, and this time, a blond head peeked out. “Dad?” Avery called. “It’s time for our dance.”

This dance was a moment I’d dreaded for months. It was going to be a last dance with my girl. But it didn’t feel like the weight of theworld was pressing on me for this moment anymore. It felt like the end of an era with Avery and me, but the start of a new one for both of us. One where we both had a chance at happiness. I loved my daughter, but she wasn’t just my little girl anymore, and I had a life outside of being her father. It was a change for both of us, but I hoped we could move through it together.

Like a hawk,Avery tracked her father’s movements until he released me and followed her inside.

“You were right to call me out for acting like a jerk.” My father watched me, his hands in his pockets.

I crossed my arms over my chest.

“The last thing I want is for you to feel like the things we do for you are motivated by a need to control you.”

I cocked a brow.

His shoulders slumped and his head fell. “That night at the bridal shower was not my best moment. I’m sorry about that. But I know Tom too well.”

“Or not well enough,” I countered. “The way he understands me. The way he makes me feel?—”

“I get it.” He waved me off. “I don’t want the details. Please. But the rigid man I know, the one who lives the most ordered life, bought a dog for you. I get it.”

I chuckled. Caffrey had added some chaos to Tom’s life, sure. But he also made the man laugh. Tom might complain about every lick to his face, but his body relaxed when he snuggled with the puppy.

“I think Tom needed a little chaosin his life.”

“Then you’re perfect for him,” my dad joked. “Come on, let’s go in.”

We slipped inside and headed to our seats. I moved around the outside of the mass of family and friends who had gathered around the dance floor as a Steven Curtis Chapman song played.

Of course Tom and Avery were dancing to “Cinderella.” There wasn’t a better song for this moment. Six months ago, Avery had jokingly asked Tom to practice dancing with her, and she’d picked this song. Being the grump he was, most would assume he’d refuse. But most would be wrong. Tom was the kind of dad who’d do anything for his child, including dance in the middle of his living room. Even my unemotional self had teared up at the sight.

I dropped into my chair at the head table and watched them as they shifted away from the crowd and moved closer. Avery’s eyes met mine for one second, but she looked away quickly, like she’d done all day. Like she couldn’t stand to look at me.

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