Page 40 of The Heart Remembers

She is my home.

Fuck.

17

[Katie]

“Dad, I’m fine.” I’ll be sore later, but I’m okay. Shaken but nothing broken, nothing lost, just my poor car squished like a bug. When the guy behind me slammed into me, the trajectory pushed me forward into the braking car in front of me. I’d noticed traffic slowing and was braking accordingly, but the man behind me admitted he wasn’t paying attention. With a totaled car, Dad drove an hour to pick me up.

“We should go to the hospital to have you checked out.”

“Dad, I’m good.” I don’t want to go to the hospital. The airbag didn’t even deploy, but the jolt of impact jarred me. I just want to go home to Elk Lake City. We have a party to attend, and as much as I want to curl up in bed and Netflix the night away, I also want to see Levi. I need to know what happened between us last night. Was it something more like I felt? Or was it only one night, like a vacation from life, as this entire family reunion has been?

“You don’t need to attend the party. We can go back to the house.”

“Dad, no. Uncle Tom wants you there, and Aunt Tricia worked so hard to plan everything.” The barn is going to look spectacular. It hadn’t changed much, but enough to give it more warmth than those first years when I was a kid, and they were using it only for the annual Halloween Smash Party hosted by Tom and Karyn. Now, the place is a destination for wedding receptions and large events. It’s a beautiful location up on a hill, and with the two large doors open, the view of the lake in the background is magnificent.

As Dad and I are stuck together for the ride back to Elk Lake City, I decide now is the time to tell him about Derek.

“Dad, I need to tell you something.” Glancing over at him, I see the tic in his jaw. He does this clenching thing as he braces for whatever I need to say.

“You know you can tell me anything.”

“Derek and I broke up.” With the quiet that follows, I know he already knows, just as I suspected. Mom told him. However, he keeps quiet for longer than normal. It’s not that he seems displeased, but his silence unnerves me. “I just thought you should know.”

“Want to tell me what happened? Did he cheat on you?” I’m not surprised this is my dad’s first fear.

“Nothing like that. I just don’t think we were right for each other.”

He nods as if he understands. “You know, baby, who you love is who you love, but I was never convinced you loved him.”

“Dad,” I shriek, shifting in my seat. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“Because your choices need to be yours. I can tell you about my experiences, and I can even hint that I don’t like a guy, but ultimately, you need to learn things for yourself. As much as I want to protect you.” He side-eyes me with his last statement. “If I was worried he was abusing you, I’d have stepped in, immediately.”

“I know.” My dad would have been there faster than a heartbeat if he thought Derek was unworthy in some extreme manner, but that wasn’t the thing with us. “He’s a good man, just not the right man for me.”

Dad nods and clears his throat. “I’m not certain you’ve heard the last from him, though.”

“Why? What do you know?”

“He called me to discuss you.”

I’m stumped, and my mouth falls open. “What did he say? What did you say?”

“Same thing I just told you. We need to learn who we love on our own. The choice of you being with or without Derek is yours.”

This explanation leaves me with a funny feeling in belly. “Dad, what aren’t you telling me?”

“I’m saying the choice to be with Derek is your own. If you say you broke up, then you broke up. But what if he came back for you?” This happened with my parents. My mother came here for him, but somehow, it wouldn’t be the same thing with Derek.

I fall back into the seat, frustrated by this conversation. “I’m not interested in being with Derek, Dad. He just isn’t my person.”

“What about Levi?”

My head swivels in his direction, and I note his knuckles clenching the steering wheel.

“What about Levi?” Does my dad know what we did last night? Oh, God. Quickly, I think of the baby monitor and Leon shoving it in Levi’s chest, warning him no one wants to hear what’s happening in his room. Then I recall that Levi brought the monitor into my room to listen for AJ. Releasing a breath, I still feel uneasy.