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“Right.” Emily took a deep breath. “So, um, breakfast and cat supplies first?”
“Sounds like a plan.” The fire chief had said they’d be by midmorning, so that should give him enough time to get Emily and Phoenix situated. An officer was supposed to be coming with him.
They left Phoenix there, mewing unhappily at being left behind. Damian closed the door firmly in the cat’s face and hoped the kitten didn’t retaliate by shredding his furniture.
The rest of the day flew by. He didn’t get any calls from work, which was good because he had his hands full with getting Emily settled in and taking care of the trailer. The cop who came by with the fire chief was respectful and sympathetic. He took the full report from her about her father’s assault on her and agreed with their suspicions about him being behind the arson.
If Don was counting on an insurance payout, he wasn’t going to get it.
Unfortunately, they hadn’t been able to salvage much from the trailer. A few pictures, thankfully, but none of Emily’s clothes or anything fabric. They hadn’t burned, but the scent of smoke clung heavily to them. Smoke had also damaged all the furniture, including everything she’d gotten for Phoenix.
Damian had assumed that would be the case and made sure they’d gotten a duplicate of everything he’d need when they got his food. Emily had protested, but Damian had pointed out that if she did need replacements, that would be another trip. She’d tried to protest when he’d paid as well, but he’d hushed her and given her a little slap on her ass, and she’d caved like the good little girl she was deep inside.
Of course, it didn’t really help either of them. She kept shooting him sidelong glances, and his palm kept itching to swat her again. Katrina knowing, even if she’d freaked out, had somehow taken some of the pressure off. Maybe because the worst had already happened.
But the fact was, Katrina did know, and he needed to talk to her.
In the afternoon, Emily went out to buy herself some more clothes. Reluctantly, Damian let her go on her own, mostly because that gave him some privacy to call his daughter.
“Hi.” It wasn’t her normal enthusiastic greeting, but at least she’d picked up the phone.
“Hey, honey.” Damian took a deep breath. “I wanted to apologize for this morning. You shouldn’t have had to see that.”
“No, I shouldn’t have.” She huffed. “I’m pretty sure you shouldn’t have been doing that.”
Damian fell silent, trying to find the right words to explain to his daughter exactly how everything had happened. What Emily meant to him.
Barring that, if he could find a way to tell her that it meant nothing and it would never happen again, and it didn’t have to change anything. But he couldn’t make himself say that, either. It wasn’t what he really wanted.
After a long moment, Katrina sighed. “It’s not really my business. I know it’s not. I want you to be happy. I want Emily to be happy. I just never really saw the two of you being happy together.” She made a little retching noise, and Damian grimaced.
“It doesn’t… it’s not like we’re getting married or anything.”
To his surprise, Katrina snorted.
“Please, Dad. You are the two people I know best in the world. This morning would have never happened if you two didn’t mean something to each other.” She sighed. “Which makes it really, really hard for me.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.” He took a deep breath. Might as well tell the truth because Katrina did know him too well. She was right. He would never have done anything with Emily if it didn’t mean something to him because he would never have risked his relationship with his daughter if it meant nothing. “Yes, I have an… interest, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to pursue it.”
“So you’re going to take my best friend’s virginity and then dump her?” It was clear what Katrina thought of that.
Damian groaned. “That isn’t exactly how I’d put it…”
“That’s what it boils down to, right?”
Damian pinched the bridge of his nose. Even as a five-year-old, Katrina’s logic would often cut through people’s bullshit, including his. He shouldn’t be surprised that twenty years later, she’d be doing the same thing. “I think that’s between Emily and me. I don’t want you to feel like you are not a priority to me, but my private life has to be mine to run.”
“You’re saying I’m not the reason you won’t pursue anything with Emily?”
“You’re part of the reason but not the whole reason. I’m too old for her…” His voice trailed off. Okay, those might be the only two reasons.
“Pretty sure she should get to make that call for herself,” Katrina responded, amusement laced through her tone. Was… was she actually advocating for him to pursue Emily?
“You would support that?” That was not at all what he’d expected. Especially after this morning. At best, he’d thought Katrina would hopefully forgive them, and everyone would do their best to forget anything ever happened.
Support had been the last thing on his mind.
“I am really uncomfortable; I’m not going to lie. Normally, I would want to talk to Emily about all sorts of… stuff. Stuff I absolutely do not want to hear about my dad.” She made that little retching sound again.
