Page 96 of The Problem with Falling
“Am I?” I wiped the falling tears from my eyes. “I’m okay.”
“You’re scared.”
I took a breath and nodded. “I’m scared.”
“How far is the drive?”
“About five hours or so.”
“All right. I’ll go pack a bag.”
I raised both my eyebrows. “What? No, Theo. You don’t have to do that. I’ll be all right.”
“It’s already dark outside, you’re overwhelmed, and you’ll be exhausted in five hours. I’ll drive. We can take my truck.”
“Theo, I can’t expect you to—”
“I don’t want you to drive tired and scared. So let me do this, Willow. Let me take care of you.”
I stood from the floor and wrapped my arms around him. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now finish packing, and I’ll do the same.”
We arrivedin Honey Creek a little after midnight. We pulled into my dad’s driveway, then Theo put the truck into park. He turned to me and combed his hand through his hair.
I tilted my head. “You look nervous.”
“Nervous? Me? No. Why? It’s not like I’m about to meet your father for the first time and stay at his house.” He scratched at the side of his neck. “Maybe I should get a hotel room for the night.”
I laughed. “There are no hotels in Honey Creek, silly. Now come on, you’re going to be great.” I opened my door and stepped out of the truck, only to turn to find Theo still sitting in his chair. I snapped my fingers. “Hurry before you force my dad to come outside after midnight.”
“I’m already out here,” a voice said from the front porch. Dad walked outside with a big grin on his face.
Without hesitation, I hurried over to him and pretty much leaped into his arms. “Hey, old man.”
“Hey, Little Bird,” he replied, hugging me tightly. “Gosh, I’ve missed you. I’m going to have to start requesting that your sisters give me more and more grandchildren because their births always seem to bring you back into town.”
I chuckled and turned around to introduce Theo, who was now walking over with both of our suitcases in his hands. “Dad, this is Theo. Theo, this is my dad, Michael.”
Theo set the suitcases on the porch, then held his hand out toward Dad. “It’s nice to meet you, Michael.”
“Oh, no need to be so informal. Please, call me Mr. Kingsley,” Dad said. I pinched my dad’s arm. He yipped a little. “Or Michael is fine.”
“Mr. K-kingsley works, t-t-too,” Theo stuttered.
I smiled. The poor boy was so nervous.
“Don’t you dare call him that.” I nudged Theo’s arm. “Dad’s just teasing you a little.”
“Yeah, just a little joking around,” Dad agreed. He placed his hands on his hips. “So, Theo…where do you plan to stay while you’re in town?”
“Dad!” I shouted, seeing all the color drain from Theo’s face. I grabbed his arm and pulled him closer to me. “He’s kidding. He has an odd sense of humor.”
Theo nodded, too flustered to say anything else.
We all walked into the house, and Theo carried the suitcases into the room we’d share.
Dad wasn’t far behind. He stood in the doorframe, wearing his slippers and robe, with his arms crossed. “It’s pretty late, so I think we should converse and get to know each other a bit more in the morning. Theo, do you hunt?”
