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“Jude Goldman. A blast from the past if there ever was one. You just happened to land a job on my daughter’s tour?”
“No, it was purposeful. I sought the job out,” I admitted.
Tali curled her arm around my middle and rested her head next to my heart.
“I’m wary,” he said.
“I get that. I don’t have any assurance other than I’m not the same kid I was.”
“You better not be. I may be old, and my ticker has taken a beating, but you show up on my doorstep again, making my wife and daughter cry, and someone will have to call the police onme.”
“Dad—”
“No, Natalia. That boy did a number on you, but he left a whole lot of destruction in his wake. You bring him around here, prepare to deal with it. I’m going to go. Your mother is going to be beside herself when she hears this.”
“I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t want to upset you.”
“Don’t be sorry. You’re a grown woman. I trustyou. You know I always have, even when you were sneaking out to rock shows. It’s the boy I don’t trust yet.”
“I love you,” she said.
“I love you too, baby girl. We’ll say a prayer and light a candle for you.”
“Thank you, Daddy.”
“And, Jude, don’t know if it makes a difference to you or not, but we’ll say the same prayer we’ve said for you since that day you were arrested. We asked God to touch you with His healing hand and give you the strength to get through. Been saying that one most Sundays for…what is it? Thirteen years?”
I’d never been especially religious, but I was moved in a way I’d never been before. My own parents had written me off well before I got fucked up with drugs. But Tali’s parents, the people I’d hurt and betrayed beyond measure, hadn’t stopped thinking about me and caring for me through hurt and anger, even if it was from a distance.
“It makes a difference,” I said, my voice thick with emotion. “Thank you, Mr. DiPietro.”
“All right, all right. Be good to each other. I gotta go get in my suit before Mrs. DiPietro throws a fit.”
When Tali hung up, she released me, and I fell back on her bed, sort of speechless. When she climbed on top of me, I was even more tongue tied, but not so much I couldn’t circle my arms around her, letting her weight ground me.
“I’m sorry. That was far heavier than we needed right now,” she said.
“I didn’t see that coming, Stripes.”
“I obviously didn’t either. Nina’s a little shit for not telling me she spilled.”
“What’d you tell her about me?”
“I saw her when I flew to Baltimore. I just told her you were here, then I let her rant for a while. She was mostly pissed I hadn’t told her you were here the second I saw you. But you know...I had to process.”
Cupping the sides of her head, I brought her forehead down for a kiss. “The thinkiest thinker.”
“For life.” She gave me a sweet kiss on my lips. “My dad knew what he was doing by telling you they’d been praying for you. That was Catholic guilt one-oh-one.”
“It worked. Feels like he’s got me by the balls and I’m gonna do everything in my power to make him proud of me,” I said.
“Lucky for you, he’s mellowed with age and numerous grandchildren. If I’d told him I saw you at Benny’s house ten years ago, he would have hit the roof. But time heals a lot of wounds, even the kind that seem fatal when they’re inflicted.”
I started to ask if it had healed hers, but her eyes found the clock again and she groaned. “We have to go to work. If we both roll up late and disheveled, there will be endless talk. And I’ve escaped being the subject of any salacious gossip for too long to start now.”
“Talk is just talk. A little won’t hurt.” And I sure as hell wouldn’t mind everyone knowing where she’d spent her night. “I’m not sure I’m ready to give you up. Don’t know if you’ll come back.”
She leaned in again, lips pressing to mine in a kiss more hot than sweet. Her tongue slipped into my mouth, sliding against mine. My hands moved down to knead her ass, and she brought her knees up, the heat of her core radiating through her cotton shorts and my denim.
