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“You’ve always been the smartest, Sheree. I get that. And if there was one girl on earth my dad would ever have more time for than me, it would be you… you get all the stuff he talks about, I don’t,” she says firmly.
“But lying to me? Keeping this… this thing between you a secret, from me? That’s what hurts me. That’s what’s killing me inside. My best friend… My own dad… lying to me...”
She breaks off, her emotions getting the better of her as Sheree rushes to embrace her.
Zoe’s all out of fight. She’s had her say and now she needs to cry.
She still needs her best friend.
And somewhere in all this, I think she still needs her dad too.
“I’m sorry, Zoe.” Sheree pauses. “I promise this just started. We just didn’t know how to tell you yet. But we never intended to keep it a secret from you for long, you're my best friend but we fell in love.” Sheree sniffs. I watch as she holds her best friend who gradually lets her back in. Slowly returning her affection. Her love.
The one thing that’s hardest to break between two friends no matter how hard it’s tested.
I don’t know how long I watch Sheree and my daughter make things right between them in silence after that.
A wave of emotion grips me, making me long for a friend like that. Something else I never really had growing up.
Like Sheree, I never had a family of my own. Once Zoe came along, even though her mom didn’t want to know either of us, she was my whole world. All I had.
She still is my world, and looking at the two of them, I know I’ve found the friend I never had in Sheree.
My best friend as well as my lover. As well as my woman.
My mate.
Mine.
When Zoe finally does look at me, her eyes have softened. The angry Zoe is gone and my little girl is back.
Her clenched fist straight into my midsection knocks the wind out of me, and I can see it’s hurt her as much as it has me. But I take it.
“I guess I kinda earned that,” I wheeze, opening my arms, defenseless until she relents and hugs her dad.
I hug her hard and close, whispering to her all my apologies, asking all the forgiveness I can muster.
I know it’ll take some time for Zoe to fully accept everything, and maybe some time away is the best thing for her. But right now, I only need to know one thing.
“Just don’t blame Sheree,” I urge her. “Stay mad at me, hate me for a hundred years… But don’t take it out on Sheree,” I plead with her. Hoping she won’t stay mad for too long.
And she doesn’t.
“I love you dad, and I love you too, Sheree,” she sniffs again. “Just don’t keep things from me… It makes me feel like you don’t trust me. Like you don’t love me when you have secrets… I tell you guys everything,” she says, starting to whine.
Starting to sound more like the old Zoe.
“We know,” Sheree groans, and looking at me I have to agree until we all laugh, tears of love and friendship shining in our eyes now.
The worst thing I’d feared. The biggest storm on the horizon, not so bad after all.
Sheree sets about making us all some hot coffee and rubbing Zoe’s back, asking her again if she’s gonna be okay, I remind her we still have something else to discuss.
Glancing at the clock, Zoe notes there’s time for both.
She can still talk and make her flight, and she proceeds to give me a list of all the details she knows from experience that she knows I want.
She knows her dad well enough.
“You’ll make your flight,” I assure her. My own way of letting her know I’ll let her go without a stink on my part once she’s through, but I’ll do more than just that.
I’ll drive her there myself. I’ll make sure she has everything she needs and make damned sure we all part on the best of terms.
“Maybe I could take a gap year from college next year?” she asks thoughtfully. Already looking as if she’s made up her mind.
Already smiling like tonight’s the night she can get whatever the hell she wants past her dad.
“Maybe,” I reply, smiling to myself and kissing the top of her head. “Let’s just take things one day at a time for now, okay?” I ask her gently.
Heaving a sigh of relief when I feel her head nod.
Sheree smiles up at me too.
Telling me with her eyes that we’ve got this.
All three of us.
Chapter Nineteen
Sheree
Michael looks out the window after checking a dozen weather sites.
It’s taken more to convince him that it’s safe for Zoe to fly tonight than it has anything else, but once he’s made his mind up. All he wants to do is help her get there.
