Page 91 of Inevitable
Seth was a dive instructor, and they’d both gotten certified as soon as Wren was eligible for a junior diver certification.
One of the main reasons we were going to the zoo today was to visit the penguinarium at the Detroit Zoo. The zoo had the largest penguin exhibit in the world.
My daughter loved everything marine wildlife, but she was fascinated by the penguins in particular.
“You don’t need to worry about the expense,” I assured her as I awkwardly used my T-shirt to wipe a tear away from her cheek. “You’ll get your education.”
Christ!She wasstilla kid.
And I hated to see my girl cry.
It tore my guts out that she was crying over not seeingmeevery day.
“I want to see you every day, too, Wren, but that may not be possible for us right now. But we’ll be together as often as possible. I’ll come here, and you can come to San Diego whenever you have time off from school.”
I’d move Emma and my daughter to San Diego in a heartbeat if I thought Emma would be happy there. But the fact that Emma had never even suggested it was telling me it would be a no-go for her.
One thing I’d never wanted to do was step on Emma’s toes as a mother.
She’d done a phenomenal job of raising Wren here in Cherry Cove all by herself as a single parent.
I never wanted to say anything to suggest that she’d been anything but a fantastic parent.
Yeah, I’d put my foot down about paying expenses, but Emma had been Wren’s parent for thirteen years.
I’d been a father to my daughter for a matter of weeks.
I couldn’t and I wouldn’t tell her where and how to raise my daughter.
Those were her decisions to make as Wren’s primary parent.
Yeah, I wanted Emma and Wren to move to California, but ithadto be Emma who made that suggestion so she didn’t feel like she was being pressured to move because that’s what I wanted.
If that was something Emma was considering on her own, she would have mentioned it by now.
Hell, she’d spent most of her life in Cherry Cove, and she was happy here with her friends and with the life she’d built here.
What I’d said to Wren was true. Ididwant Emma to be happy. Asking her to start her life all over again in California was way too much to ask. Going from small town Michigan to big city California was night and day different.
“Your mom is going to bring some of your things over so the two of you can stay here with me until you have to go back to school,” I told Wren. “We can spend more time together that way.”
My daughter’s eyes brightened. “Really?”
I nodded. “Really. I’m always going to want to spend as much time with you as possible.”
“Are you and Mom going to sleep together?” she asked. “I think you should. You care about each other.”
I coughed because I wasn’t quite sure how to answer that question.
“We’ll see,” I said noncommittally.
Personally, I’d prefer not to hide the way I felt about Emma, but that was a decision her mother needed to make.
Wren wrapped her arms around me again and hugged me. “I’m glad we’re going to stay here. I love you, Dad.”
I wrapped my arms around my girl as her words completely broke me.
“I love you, too, Wren,” I told her, knowing I’d always love and adore my daughter until the day I took my last breath.
