Page 97 of The Love Ambush
He’s kicking us out? This doesn’t feel right. Panic rises again, and I breathe deep. For my sisters, I have to give Dad a chance. No matter how certain I am that he’s going to break all our hearts again.
It’s a Sunday, and I can’t think of a single thing I can offer to take the girls to do that will get them out of the house, except… “Sophie was saying on the way home she could use some new jeans. And Emily really needs new soccer cleats.”
He grins. “Perfect.”
“Except, we’re short on funds at the moment.” Do I feel bad asking my estranged father for a small fraction of the child support he never bothered to pay? Not even a little bit.
“Sorry, kiddo,” Dad says breezily. “We’re tight until I find a new job. We spent all our fun money getting here.”
Of course, he did. “Can’t the girls just stay in their rooms, Dad? They’re tired from the trip home, and I’m sure they don’t want to go anywhere.”
“You’ll figure out a way to lure them out,” he says. “We don’t want them underfoot.”
“I think I saw one of those indoor bounce house places on the way here,” Trisha says as she sits in my favorite chair and shifts uncomfortably. “Don’t kids love bouncy houses?”
I shake my head, way too tired to explain that her new stepdaughters outgrew bouncy houses about eight years ago. “I’ll talk to them.”
“Don’t talk to them,” Dad says. “Explain what’s expected and insist on compliance.”
I breathe out slow through my nose and grit my teeth so I don’t tell him exactly what I think of his advice. Starting an argument won’t solve anything. If Dad’s going to abandon my sisters again, it won’t be because of me.
For my sisters. I’m doing this for my sisters.
I go to Sophie first because if she’s in, Emily will usually go along. Oh, Emily will still complain and insist she doesn’t even like her big sister, but she’ll go wherever Sophie goes. Often, she won’t go somewhere by herself without Sophie.
“Okay,” Sophie says after I explain everything. She climbs off her beanbag chair and pulls her long, thick hair up into a loose bun. “Give me a few minutes to get changed. Maybe we can get breakfast and have a picnic at the park?”
I stare completely shocked. “That’s a great idea.”
“Don’t look at me like that,” she says. “We have to give Dad a real chance. If he needs some space to unpack, we can give him that. Emily deserves to have her dad at home with her.”
My eyes burn. She’s doing this for Emily? “You’re a good big sister, Sophie.”
She rolls her eyes. “Go tell Emily. I’ll be ready soon.”
Emily’s on her stomach on her bed, her feet in the air as she reads a book and listens to music through her earbuds, her head bopping. There’s no way to let her know I’m here without scaring her, so I move into the room and into her line of sight slowly.
She startles and lets out a small screech before pulling out her earbuds and glaring at me. “Gentry. You scared me.”
I sit on the edge of her bed, biting back a laugh. “I’m sorry. I was trying really hard not to.”
She presses a hand over her chest and sits up. “Sure you did. What do you want?”
“Dad’s here with Trisha. They want—”
She smiles so wide it looks painful. “Dad’s here? Why didn’t you tell me?” She leaps off the bed and runs out of the room.
I follow her downstairs and onto the front porch. Dad’s on the lawn, directing two men with boxes, but he stops everything and opens his arms when he sees Emily.
She runs into them and squeals. “I can’t believe you’re here already.”
Dad looks genuinely happy to be hugging his daughter. I swear his eyes are glistening with tears.
“Maybe he did want to be here with us all these years and he really believed he couldn’t be,” Sophie says next to me. I didn’t even notice her stepping out onto the porch.
“Maybe.” Looking at the happiness on his face while he hugs Emily, I can almost believe it. I want to believe it.
Emily steps out of the hug and squeals again when she sees the moving van. “You’re moving in today? Do you want me to help?”
