AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I am,” I said seriously, trying to convey that I meant now and in the future in those two words.
Ellie nodded, seemingly appeased. “Good.”
“Do you want to come with us?” Sophie asked Ellie and her father.
Travis shook his head. “We’re going to help inside. You two have fun.”
They disappeared inside, and Sophie shrugged. “Usually, the family wants in on any outings.”
“I think they were trying to give us space.” Which I appreciated. I wanted Sophie to myself.
We headed down the sidewalk in the direction of the harbor. The white triangular sails of the boats bobbed in the water.
“That’s a rare thing with four sisters.”
I pulled her to my side. “Enjoy it. Because we have Kendall at home.”
She looked up at me. “I didn’t realize how much I needed you this morning until you weren’t there. When I saw the broken glass, the man, all I could think about was how much I wished you were jogging by this morning.”
My stomach roiled at the thought of her in danger.
“Would you have called me first thing if I hadn’t said what I did yesterday?” I knew the answer. When we were younger, Sophie came to me with everything. I’d created this distance between us, and I needed to fix it.
She sighed. “Probably.”
“Thank you for being honest with me.”
The streets were relatively quiet at this time of day. “I’m going to make mistakes. I’ve never been in this role of dad before. I haven’t been in a serious relationship since we were kids. The stakes are higher, the risks greater. But there’s no one else I’d rather explore this with than you.”
She squeezed my hand. “I’d say you’re doing a pretty good job.”
“I can’t believe this is the first time we’ve hung out, just the two of us, in public since I’ve been back.” It was one more thing I needed to rectify. Kendall knew about us. My parents. Her parents. There was no reason not to take her out.
“You’ve been busy since school and work started.”
“I’m going to do better.”
“I don’t want to step on any toes, but I enjoy doing things with you and Kendall. Unless you don’t want me there.” She was being vulnerable with me, but I didn’t want her to feel that she didn’t belong with us because she did.
I paused, turning to face her. “You are my family.”
Her eyes softened. “I love hearing that.”
“They’re not just pretty words. It’s the truth. We’ve been each other’s family since we were kids, and I’m beyond happy that we found our way back to each other.”
We continued walking to Dock Street, where most of the restaurants were located.
“When I decided to move home with Kendall, I couldn’t quite place my finger on why it was so important to me. I didn’t have high expectations that my parents would be better grandparents or anything. But now, I think it was you. On some level, I knew you brought out the best in me, and I needed to be near you.”
“Mark—”
I placed a finger over her lips. “I need you. Kendall needs you.”
“I need you too.”
We belonged together. We had since we were teens. I wasn’t going to walk away from her ever again.
“Table for two?” the hostess standing outside The Iron Rooster asked.
