Page 60 of Tate
“Yes, you would.”
She smiled.
“Listen. You spend all your life helping others. I’ve always thought of you as a lioness—you’ll protect everyone else, but you won’t protect yourself. Or let others protect you.”
She drew in a breath, the words stinging.
“I…”
“I get it. What if you ask, and they don’t show up? They say no?”
She looked away, her jaw tight.
“No one is going to say no, Glo. You are worthy of help. Of protection. Of sitting night by night by the pool in a lounge chair, pining.”
“Tate is not pining.”
“That’sexactlywhat he’s doing. And for what it’s worth, I liked David. And if Tate is anything like David?—”
“He’s not as young and naive. But he is brave and sacrificial and…”
“You love him.”
She looked at her dad, his words congealing. “I don’t know if I love him, but…well, he keeps my fire lit.”
“Okay, enough with that metaphor.” Her father laughed. “So…maybe tell him that. Poor man is suffering.”
She leaned over and kissed her father. “You should come around more often.”
“I’m moving back, at least for the campaign. We’ll see if I make it all the way to the White House. First Gentleman…I’m not sure what that looks like.”
“I think the world will be a better place because of it.” She grabbed her yogurt and slid off the stool.
The sun had already bathed the pool area in white light. She put on her sunglasses and found a deck lounger in the shade of an umbrella. Hopefully it wouldn’t be long before Tate would stroll by, trying not to look…
And she’d do what?
She thumbed open her iPad.
Maybe she’d start with an apology.
A text message flashed on her screen from Kelsey.Found the perfect dress for the CMGs.The message contained a link.
Glo opened it, then scrolled through the also-boughts. Found one she liked and sent the link in a group message to Dixie and Kelsey.
The maintenance crew was on today, and in the distance the sound of the mower bit at the air. The fragrance of fresh-cut lawn seasoned the morning. She glanced around for Tate, but he was nowhere to be seen.
A text came back with shoe options from Dixie.I can’t believe we might get onstage!
Glo would let Kelsey accept the award. Maybe she’d even stay in the audience. But she did have her own fire, the kind that stirred tunes inside her. Even made her take a mic, sing her heart out to a man in the wings.
Boy howdy, Tate knew how to keep the fire going, and she was a jerk for hurting him. At the very least she needed to apologize. And frankly, not just to Tate.
Sloan deserved the same. Yeah, train wreck of epic proportions.
The French doors opened, and she looked over to see her mother walking over to her. She wore her white linen pants and a bold orange shirt that set off her tan, her amber hair caught back in a loose bun.
“I hope you’re using sunscreen,” she said as she sat down on the edge of Glo’s lounger. “A little tan is fine, but you’re not like me. You burn so easily…”
