Page 103 of Prince of Storms
“Well, I didn’t use it around your mother,” he said conspiratorially, moving to the back of the car and looking it over.
I waited silently, Tor at my side.
“Hey …” he said, looking up. “What’s the meaning of this? It has the same license plate.”
“I know,” I said. “I figured that way you would know it was yours.”
I flicked him the keys as I spoke, feeling kind of like a badass from the movies. They flew over the trunk—
And hit him in the chest, falling to the ground as he stared at me. “What do you mean, so that I would know it’s mine?”
“Because this is yours,” I said. “Your car. You drive it now.”
He shook, fingers trembling. “I thought you were joking. You’re still joking. You have to be.”
“No joke,” Tor said. “It’s registered in your name, all ready to go.”
“You’re joking,” my dad repeated. “Seriously?”
“Absolutely,” I said.
“And that’s your surprise?” he asked. “What a surprise.”
“It’s half of it,” I said with a smile. “The other half …”
I let my hand fall to my side, grabbing Tor’s, his fingers sliding easily between mine and holding tight.
“You two?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“Ah, Mia, I’m happy for you. Both of you. But you didn’t have to do this!”
We laughed, and I went and got the keys. “Dad. We did it because we wanted to. For you. So no more complaints or thoughts or whatever. You need to get in the car and go for a drive. Got it?”
He was still shaking his head as I pushed the keys into his hand.
Once he was in the car behind the wheel, though, the surprise on his face quickly morphed to a grin, which only broadened as he fired it up.
Thank you, he mouthed through the windshield.
I tapped my heart in reply before waving as he pulled out of the driveway.
“You know,” I said as he took off down the road. “We made one mistake here today.”
“What’s that?” Tor asked.
“We just gave away our only car,” I said. “We have no way to go home.”
Tor was silent for a solid handful of seconds.
“Fuck.”
Chapter Forty-Six
Tor
Two Months Later.
