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Dad answered my knock, wearing a striped sweater, jeans, and socked feet. His surprise was evident by his lifted brow.
“Hey, there,” he said. “How’s my girl?”
I was still his girl? That was promising.
“I wanted to come by and say thank you,” I said.
“For what?”
I wasn’t sure if he wanted me to say the words. Did Stina know that Pris had been arrested, thanks to the tip Dad had given me about what he’d overheard?
“For helping me,” I said. “I’ve felt ostracized by you for a long time now. Having you step it up and help me like that was really decent of you. We were able to prove my innocence, and it’s thanks to you.”
Dad stepped aside and invited me in. The house looked Stina-fied. After Stina and Dad had married, she’d swept through, taking down pictures and souvenirs from family trips, decorations, and quotes Mom had picked out and displayed.
She’d renovated the place completely with her own yuppie style, so I hardly recognizedit.
I’d resented her for it, but for whatever reason, I saw things in a new light. Had it been hard for Stina to move into a home where another woman’s touch was everywhere she looked?
Regardless, she didn’t need to try to erase Mom completely the way she had.
Maybe that was why she’d seemed to have it in for me from the start. Maybe she resented me for reminding Dad of Mom.
“How are you doing with all of this?” I asked.
The cream carpet had been updated since the last time I was here. My feet sank in with my steps.
“I’ve been okay. I’ll get by, though it’ll be difficult without Stina’s income.”
“You’re going to stay with her?” After all she’d done to emotionally blackmail me?
I’d long since known Dad’s weak character, but he’d stepped up. He’d done something to help me at his own risk. I’d hoped that meant he was finally standing up for himself, too, but maybe not.
I pitied him for that.
“I’m sure it’ll be hard for her to find work now that she has such a black mark on her record.” I couldn’t help my cynicism.
“Listen, Ella,” Dad said with effort as though the words were difficult. He held his arms rigidly at his sides.
“I never should have taken her side all this time. I should never have let her push me around the way she always did.”
Surprise gripped me. Was Stina around to overhear?
I’d heard she and Pris had spent a few nights in jail but that Dad had paid their bail. The news had hurt me, but I could see the trouble he was in, caught between us.
I’d been ready to turn my back on him and Stina, on Westville, to leave him behind as well as her. But I was glad I hadn’t. I was glad we could repair past hurts before I’d left him behind for good.
“It’s okay,” I said. “I forgive you.”
Tears welled in his eyes. He pulled me into a hug.
“You don’t know how good it feels to hear that.”
I embraced Dad for a few more moments. My gaze drifted to the stairs behind him, to the landing where the bedrooms were.
It was too quiet.
“Dad,” I said carefully, pulling away. “Where is she? Where is Stina?”
