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She gives me a supportive hug and a half-joking promise that she’ll keep the car running in case I want to make a quick getaway. I laugh and get out of the car, walking up to the door and stepping inside.
“Hello?”
“In here,” my dad calls out.
I walk into the office I once destroyed. You can still see the scrapes in the wooden desk from where the golf club hit it. That day was one of the hardest. Maybe not the hardest, but it was definitely up there.
My dad looks up at me and smiles. “I’d get up to hug you, but I don’t think you’d want that, so I’ll stay right here.”
“I appreciate that.” Because he’s right.
“You look good, Tess. Healthier. Brighter.”
I smile, but it doesn’t reach my eyes. “Thank you, but flattery isn’t what I came here for.”
He nods. “Understood, but if you don’t mind, I have something to say first.”
My brows furrow, but I sit down anyway to listen.
“My actions have been despicable,” he begins, “not only this past year, but for as long as I can remember. I used to wonder where I went wrong with you and why you were so different from your sisters. It wasn’t until Delaney told me everything that I finally understood. I didn’t go wrong with you, because you’re a survivor. You are strong, determined, and an incredible woman. I should have spent the last few years admiring you and cheering you on instead of tearing you down, and I am so very sorry that I haven’t.”
It’s everything I’ve always wanted to hear from him, but it’s tainted. Because it shouldn’t have taken me nearly dying for him to see it.
“I forgive you,” I tell him honestly. “But it’s not for you. I forgive you for me, because I need it for my peace of mind. I forgive you because holding a grudge means carrying it with me, and I’m better than that.”
He sighs and nods thoughtfully. “I understand, but I hope in time you’ll give me a chance to build a relationship with you. The one we should have had to begin with.”
“That is going to take a whole lot of time and work.”
“I know,” he assures me, “and I’m willing to do as much as it takes. Starting with this.”
Opening a drawer, he pulls out a large envelope and hands it to me.
“This is everything you need to access your trust fund. I released the holds on it this mor
ning,” he explains. “And please don’t think this is me trying to buy you. If you choose not to talk to me after you walk out that door, I’ll respect that. But for what it’s worth, I had no idea your uncle was planning to hurt you or your sister. I was blinded by the trust I had for my brother, and I should have paid more attention. Nothing I say or do can ever make up for that, which is why I had the arson you committed covered up. That house and everything in it should have been destroyed months ago, and you don’t deserve jail-time for being the one to do it.”
His confession is as shocking as it is relieving. At least I don’t need to wonder when that will come back to bite me in the ass. I take the envelope and thank him before standing up.
“If you’re willing to try, I’m willing to listen.”
A smile forms on his face, like that actually makes him happy. “Thank you.”
I go to leave when he calls my name.
“And Tessa?” I turn around. “Your mother told me what she offered you. Thank you for not taking her up on that.”
With a nod, I leave the house and get back into the car with Delaney, feeling lighter. Task two, check.
I WALK THROUGH THE cemetery, finally coming to a headstone I’ve known was here but never saw in person. I never had the strength to come see it for myself.
Dominic Callahan
1974 – 2020
Taking a deep breath, I sit on the ground. There’s no one around, which is good because they wouldn’t understand what I’m about to say.
“I’ve played this moment over in my head a lot the past few weeks. How it went varied depending on my mood, but it usually always ended with me calling you some variation of a selfish asshole.”
