Page 104 of Bad For A Weekend

He grips my shoulders. “It does matter because my daughter had her first heartbreak, and that’s a big deal. I’m sorry. I’m focusing on the wrong thing. I’ve said it a million times. My job is to protect you, and I’ve failed at that more times than I can count.”

“You haven’t. Because, yes, I had my first heartbreak, but I also had my first love, and it was amazing.”

His weary expression tells me he’s not quite buying it, but he’s also not willing to fight with me about it. I’ll take that as a win.

“I love you.” He pulls me in for a hug.

“I love you too, Dad.”

“I’m going to miss you. We’ve never been apart for this long. It’ll be hard for me to only hear about the things happening in your new life and not be part of it.”

“Me too.”

“Promise me you’ll tell me everything from now on.”

“I swear.”

“And don’t go falling in love with one of your professors. My heart can’t take any more hits.”

I smack his side. “I don’t have an older man fetish. I have”—I stop short—“hadan Owen fetish.”

“Please don’t say the word fetish ever again.”

I laugh, and it feels real and good. Maybe telling him was therapeutic for me. “I won’t.”

“Thank God.”

“Now, for the rest of what I want to say before I go.”

“Uh oh. That sounds ominous.”

“Nothing bad. I just bought you some gifts.” He reaches outside the doorway and produces a large gift bag.

“Presents? Gimme.” I grin and reach for it, but he pulls it away.

“Each thing in here comes with an explanation.” He produces a small box with a red bow and hands it to me. Opening it up, I see it’s a key fob. “It’s time for you to have a car again.”

“Seriously? I thought you were going to make Brandy drive me everywhere.” I jump to my feet. “Let’s go see.”

“You can see it soon. It’s a Range Rover Evoque. Safe, compact, and it has all the bells and whistles.”

“Thanks, Dad. This’ll come in handy.”

“I can’t believe you thought I’d let Brandy drive you anywhere. That woman has a death wish when she gets behind the wheel.” He shakes his head, chuckling. The next box he pulls from the bag is bigger and rectangular. I pop the lid off and find a hot pink stun gun. “Keep this on you at all times. There are two more in this bag so you can have one in your purse, one in the car, and one in your nightstand.”

“A stun gun, Dad?” I gawk, flipping the safety. It whirs to life, and I press the trigger, startling at the charge bouncing between the metal conductors.

“To keep you safe.” He hands me the entire gift bag now. “There’s also this cat ear spiky thing to keep on your keychain. If someone attacks, you can punch them and stab them with it. And some kind of fob where if you press the button, it sets off an alarm that can be heard for more than a mile.” He rubs at his ear. “Don’t bother testing it. I already did, and it definitely works. My hearing may never be the same.”

I giggle. “Thanks, Dad. I promise I’ll keep them on me.”

“Are you scared to be on your own?” He returns to his seat on the bench.

Terrified, actually. Knowing I’m not only without a bodyguard but also without my dad hasn’t sat right with me. I’ll be looking over my shoulder for a long time to come, if not for the rest of my life.

“A little,” I lie after promising him I never would again, but this is different. If I tell him my concerns, he won’t leave, and he needs to get back to his own life. It wouldn’t be fair for me to keep him here just because I’m scared.

“If you ever need me, I’m just a phone call away. If I don’t answer, call Grace. She’s been instructed to hunt me down no matter what’s going on.”

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