Page 40 of Into the Shadows

“What does that mean?”

“You’re telling me you kicked his ass and he still asked you to go to dinner?”

I smirk even though Dad can’t see me. “Yep.”

“Maybe he’s not such a punk.”

We’re silent for a few minutes while Dad works. In the quiet, my thoughts swirl around the new man in my life.

He’s everything I’ve ever imagined he’d be. When I was a naïve teen, hanging my hopes and dreams on a man I barely knew, I had lofty ideals about life with him by my side. As I got older, I understood those thoughts were built on a one-sided love affair.

I stopped believing Teddy would reciprocate my feelings and started to view him as a friend I was hopelessly in love with. Reality allowed me to see our relationship clearly. It didn’t stop my love for him, but it did put it into perspective.

Now that he’s here and claiming me as his, the eighteen-year-old in me is throwing herself into his arms without reservation. It’s too bad I’ve grown up since then. I refuse to find my self-worth in a man regardless of his feelings for me. But he does make it hard to hold back from falling ass over teakettle in love with him.

He’s texted me several times since our date a few days ago. His age shows through every time he grumbles about texting instead of talking on the phone. He’s called me every night before bed to tell me good night. It’s pretty adorable, actually.

“Quit mooning over there and help me,” Dad grumbles.

I giggle at the way his arm is waving to get my attention. “Sorry, sorry. What did you need?”

Dad gives me instructions as he continues to tinker around. Ten minutes later, he ducks out from under the sink. “I think we’re going to have to call your uncle Levi. This one might be too big of a job for me.”

I squint at him. “Did you know that before coming over?” The sheepish expression on his face gives me my answer. “Dad! What have you been doing this whole time?”

“Loosening and tightening the bolt holding your faucet in place.”

I give him a bland look. “You’re incorrigible.”

Dad gives me a boyish grin. “Still got you to fess up to the details. I can’t wait to rub it in your mom’s face.”

I laugh, but then mischievousness overtakes me. “Good luck rubbing this one in.” I walk out of the bathroom while he sputters.

“You hang on there, missy!” The clatter of tools and the clank of the box shutting follow behind me.

“What do you mean I won’t be able to rub it in?” He puts his hands on his hips, giving me his patented police officer look. When I was a kid, that look would make me confess like a toddler with a secret. Now, I just stare right back.

“God dammit, Lottie. You and your mother will be the death of me.”

“Don’t forget about Caro’s hippie heart fluttering around the country.”

He narrows his eyes at me. My little sister, Caroline, has always been the bane of my father’s existence. She’s a wild child who follows her own path. Dad has never been able to understand the way her mind works, and it drives him crazy. She got our mother’s artsy, wandering soul along with my father’s daring, adrenaline-seekingconfidence.

“That was mean to throw that in my face.” He pouts as much as a grown man can pout.

“Aw. Daddy, you’re not going to lose her. She just needs some room to fly before she’ll be ready to settle back on the ground.” I wrap my arms around his waist, and he squeezes me tight to his chest.

“You’ll keep an eye out for her, right? She confides in you. Don’t let her get hurt.”

“I won’t.”

“I don’t mean to put pressure on you, Lottie. I shouldn’t have even said that. It’s not your job to make sure Caro makes good choices.”

“And that’s why I don’t mind looking out for her. I don’t do it because you ask me to; I do it because I love her just as much as you do. I want her safe, too.”

Dad’s shoulders soften as he runs a hand over my hair. “You’re the best of us, baby girl. You know that?”

“Nah, I just got lucky in the genetics department.”

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