Page 52 of Silver-Tongued Devil
“Come eat,” he said.
“It’s probably wrecked, though,” she got out through a throat that was trying to close.
“Nah. Chili. Probably be better for the extra time.” He took in the robe. “Go change first, though. Take a shower, too.” As if he knew she needed to wash all of this away.
When they finally sat down, though, she had trouble eating, even though it was nearly nine o’clock. She kept stirring her chili until Russell asked, “Want to tell me?”
She looked up and tried to smile. “Do you want to hear?”
“No,” he said. “But it hurts more when you hold it inside. Better to get some air on it.”
Her eyes filled with tears despite every attempt to hold them back. “Why am I so dumb, Dad?”
“I don’t know. Why do you think?”
She shrugged helplessly. “You’re going to say something like, ‘Looking for love.’ ‘Feeling unworthy.’ It doesn’tfeellike that. At least this didn’t this time. It felt like… hope. Like he saw me, and he liked what he saw. You know? And I thought I saw him, too. I thought he was letting me see him.”
Russell didn’t answer for a moment, then said, “This is Orbison we’re talking about, right?”
She laughed, even though it wasn’t funny. “Like I’ve been able to look at anybody else since he showed up.”
He waited a minute. Thinking, apparently, because when he did speak again, he said, “You sure you’re wrong? You sure you’re stupid? Who said you were?”
“Evan. Me. Every bit of common sense I have.”
“Hmm. Not sure Evan’s a big winner in the love stakes himself. I don’t exactly see him taking over theDear Abbycolumn anytime soon.”
That was the moment the doorbell rang, and theexactmoment Bella barked. Dakota jumped so hard, she dropped her spoon into the chili bowl and splashed red sauce all over her green-striped white pajama top.
She was exclaiming, grabbing a napkin, trying to wipe it off, and Bella was already headed for the door, tail wagging. Russell started to haul himself up, but Dakota said, “I’ll go.”
“No. You’re hardly wearing anything.”
“Shorts.”
“Pj’s. I’m going.”
He headed out into the living room, and Dakota went over to the sink, wet a dishrag and started to scrub out the spots, and hoped with no confidence at all that it wouldn’t be Evan. And knew it couldn’t be anybody else. Evan, coming over to yell at her some more, like she was still sixteen. Like she was still stupid, and he was still protecting her. This time, though, she was ready for him. She was going to set him straight.
Her hand stopped moving, until the water soaking through her top made her drop the rag in haste. That wasn’t Evan’s voice.
Oh, man.
She was out of the kitchen on the thought. There was Russell, standing in the middle of the living room. And there was Blake, standing with him. Hands in his back pockets, frowning down at the floor, looking less confident than she’d ever seen him.
Both of them turned as she came in. Blake’s eyes widened a little, and she looked down at herself and realized why. She hadn’t gotten rid of all the chili stains, but that wasn’t it. Her top was wet on one side and clinging to a breast, and it was just about transparent. She was wearing some very short boxers underneath it that were slung low and cut high. She was, in fact, way too close to naked.
Well, tough. He’d already seen her naked tonight. Twice.
“Hi,” he said, and didn’t smile.
“Hi,” she said back, and stopped.
“I was just telling Russ,” he said, “that we had a… misunderstanding, and that I’m here to make it right.”
She glanced at Russell. He said, “Don’t look at me. You’re two grown people. You work it out.”
Something was happening in her chest again, and she forgot all about Blake for a moment. She went over to Russell, kissed his cheek, and said, “Thanks, Dad. I love you.”
