Page 78 of Reckless
“Chief Williams called in Captain Lewis from Station Four to finish the shift with the rest of the house so I could make sure things were taken care of at the hospital.”
“Okay,” she said, her tone labeling the word as a question. “But you’re here instead.”
Her father nodded. “Everett elected to stay behind for a while to attend to any immediate needs, and Alex is resting comfortably, probably asleep for the night. But in order for me to handle this, I needed to talk to you first.”
Zoe’s heartbeat picked up speed in her chest, and she ushered her father inside. “I can probably save you the conversation. Alex and I have decided to stop, um, seeing each other.”
He paused, his eyes falling on the empty wineglass and the half-empty bottle beside it. “I see,” he replied slowly. “I thought it was a little strange that you’d decided to leave the hospital, but I can’t say I was expecting that.”
“That makes two of us. But we definitely broke up, so…” The ache in her chest kicked back to life with renewed vigor, and God, was it too much to ask to not start bawling in front of her father? She was twenty-seven, notjustseven. For an awkward minute that lasted roughly an ice age, they stood in her living room, her father with his hands in the pockets of his uniform pants and her with her heart smashed to pieces.
And then her father crossed the space between them to wrap his arms around her, and Zoe burst into tears.
“Okay, now. Go ahead and get it out, kiddo. It’s okay.”
“I’m sorry,” she sobbed, another round of cries tumbling out of her as her father smoothed her hair with one hand. “I found out I lost the Collingsworth Grant and then you got so mad at me and then Alex got hurt in this fire…I saw it on the news and I thought…I thought he was…I was just soscared…”
She bit her lip to stop herself from babbling further, but it didn’t help. The tears flowed along with a half sobbed version of what had happened, and her father held her close, the familiar comfort of his Old Spice cologne surrounding her as he simply listened. Finally, her cries became uneven breaths, then quiet sighs, and her father pulled back to look at her.
“I’m sorry you didn’t get the grant. I’m sorry…well, for lots of things. I know I’m just your old man,” he said, just as calm and matter-of-fact as ever, even as he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the tears from her face. “But maybe we should talk about what happened earlier at the fire house.”
“You seriously want to talk to me about what happened with Alex?”
“Not all of it,” her father confirmed, his jaw giving a quick twitch. “But there are some things that I need to say.”
Zoe frowned. “Like what?”
“For starters, you should know that Alex wasn’t placed at Hope House by accident. He was placed there for community service because I requested it.”
“What?” Her shock knocked the word from her mouth on a chirp, but her father answered it directly.
“The recommendation seemed like a win-win. He’d screwed up and needed to get his head straight, and I knew you’d make him earn it. Plus, I’m not going to lie to you, I wanted you safe. Donovan’s as dedicated as they come. I knew he’d look out for you once he got over having to do community service. I just didn’t think—” Her father trailed off, running his hand over the back of his neck. “I guess I’m just a thick-headed old man. You’re my daughter. Alex is one of my firefighters. I didn’t put two and two together the way I should’ve, and when I saw you two together tonight at the firehouse, I reacted poorly.”
Zoe blinked to try and get the information all the way past the holy-shit roadblock in her brain, but after the fourth try, she gave up. “So, you put Alex with me because you knew Iwouldn’tgive him preferential treatment?”
Her father nodded. “Alex is a great firefighter, but the last thing he needed was to slide out of yet another dilemma. If I couldn’t be the one to help him get his act together, well, I figured you were the next best thing.”
Jesus. All the blinking in the world wasn’t going to help her diffuse the shock of this. “I thought you didn’t believe in me.”
“I owe you an apology for that, too,” he said, his eyes going soft. “I don’t suppose you’ll really understand the weight of this unless you have kids of your own, but no matter how old you get, no matter how smart or strong, you’re still my daughter. I let my worry for your safety get in the way of what really matters. I guess old habits die hard, but that doesn’t change the fact that I should’ve supported you better.”
Zoe thought of how her father had sent Alex to Hope House in the first place, then lent her the support of his entire firehouse, and all the quiet ways her fatherhadhelped, in his own way. “You did. You are right now.”
“Zoe, listen.” Her father paused for a deep breath. “You’re an adult, and the last person you probably need advice from is your father, especially on your love life?—”
Ugh, no. “Dad, please. I don’t want to talk about this. I don’t have a…” She swallowed hard, forcing her lips to shape the word. “Love life with Alex. I couldn’t even cope with him getting through a week’s worth of shifts. He’s too reckless, and I don’t know the meaning of the word. It’s just not meant to be.”
“I’m not so sure I agree with you there. I watched you get pretty reckless to save your soup kitchen,” her father said, and the words sent another pang through Zoe’s gut.
“Exactly. And look what it got me.”
“What it got you was knowledge, experience, and the support of your community. Yes”—he cut off her brewing protest with a single look—“the money would’ve helped, but I know you better than to think you won’t dust yourself off and find a way to get Hope House everything it needs to flourish, and I think you know it, too.”
Zoe opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.
Yeah. She had nothing. “You believe that?”
Her father tilted his head, his mouth twitching into a wry smile. “I believe in you one hundred percent, and I’m not the only one. Alex rallied for you even before I did. I might’ve reacted badly when I saw the two of you together, but Donovan’s a good man, one who clearly cares for you. And you deserve that. Both of you.”
