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“I trust him with both of us. But I know he won’t break her heart. I trust him with that most of all.”
“See? So even if things don’t work with you guys, you know you’ve given Harper a father that really truly will protect her. I mean he’ll take an ass whooping by a clown in a mask and he doesn’t even know yet. That is incredible. My father may be tough, and business minded but he was one of the biggest influences in my life and my rock when I needed that man to tell me I was worth it. And with Daniel’s job and company, she’ll have the best opportunities, things even I didn’t have growing up.”
I let out a deep sigh. “You’re right. I guess there’s a little selfish part of me that isn’t ready for him to hate me yet. I’ve never been looked at like he looks at me.”
“There’s still a chance he won’t hate you. There’s still a chance that he will go through his emotions, because don’t fool yourself, he’s gonna have them, but that he will remember how much he cares for you. And if not, that’s okay too. You are amazing, and I don’t blame you for the choice you made. He was a crazy college kid with wild dreams. You were trying to protect Harper. You did it with the best intentions. No one could have seen how this turned out.”
I didn’t feel any better, that was for damn sure, but I definitely knew that Amber was right. And it couldn’t wait. It couldn’t wait another moment. Because every second that we fell further and further for each other would be another thousand tons of pain for him and for me. I had to tell him as soon as he got back.
“Thank you. I knew all of that, I think. I just needed someone to snap me out of my procrastination because I’m pretty sure I could have ridden that train for twenty years. And that would have been a hell of a secret to reveal. Surprise, happy graduation, and oh by the way Daniel is your real dad. Sorry I didn’t tell you or him your whole life but I just really liked how nice he was.”
Amber laughed. “I have to admit, I need to find me a Daniel. If I hadn’t already met his moron friends four years ago I’d ask to set me up.”
I chuckled. “You probably dodged a bullet. I’ve heard stories. They don’t seem to have grown like Daniel has.”
“Oh well,” she sighed. “On to the next weirdly hot nerdy accountant. At least I’ll always get the most on my tax return.”
I chuckled, looking at my watch. “I’m gonna jump off here and get myself prepared. He’ll be back just about the time I put Harper down for a nap. I love you. I’ll call you later and tell you how it went. And you can either be happy with me, or talk me off the San Diego bridge.”
“Got it. Be prepared for both celebration or jumper negotiations. Those are two way different hats but I’ll dust them off. I think you left them here in my closet.”
I said my goodbyes and hung up, taking in the conversation we just had. With Amber on the line it was easily to be resolute, but once the phone hung up, it was hard. I already wanted to cry. But Amber was right, I owed it to Harper, to Daniel, and to myself to be honest and let the chips fall where they may. I stood by my initial choice, but things had changed and it was time I did too. I just hoped I could do it with Daniel by my side.
Chapter Nineteen
Daniel
I didn’t want to leave. I was terrified something would happen and I wouldn’t be there to protect them. But after last night, I was definitely feeling like Sicily and I had connected on a whole other level. She had opened up to me. She hadn’t told me her life story but that would come, and I was sure of it now. We connected on a level I had never felt with anyone else. The kind of way I always assumed it would be if I ever met the woman that I would really do anything for. And it wasn’t just her, it was Harper too. I felt connected to that little girl like she was part of me.
Never in my life did I think I could connect with a kid that wasn’t my own like that. I never even knew if I would be any good with kids. But with Harper it came naturally. I didn’t even have to think about it. I felt like a few more days together and we would be those people that knew everything about each other, had no bad past that stood in our way, and that she was open and trusting. She was truly the most amazing woman I had ever met.
Trying to pull myself down from cloud nine, needing to continue to keep a watchful eye on things, I rubbed my face, standing on the sidewalk, waiting for space to cross the road. My thoughts settled on the mask face from the alley. I had hit my head pretty hard, and I was struggling to have a really good memory of what happened. I remembered him running at me, tackling me. I remembered the punch to the head, but then once they bashed my head into the ground, everything was fuzzy. In my dream last night I could have sworn they had whispered something to me, but I was pretty sure my dreams were mixing my fears from the office murder with what just happened.
Making my way down to the house, I realized I needed my key. I patted my back pocket and then searched around in my front ones. Stopping at the door, I stared down at the ground, trying to find it. There was no key in my pocket, but there was something else. I pulled the small object out and looked at it curiously. It was a small thumb drive with a piece of paper with a rubber band around it. My brow furrowed as I looked up at the door, realizing I had left my key at Sicily’s. It must have fallen out of my pocket.
I reached for the doorknob out of habit, stopping frozen when the door creaked open. There was no way I hadn’t locked the thing before I left. I glanced around me and grabbed a large stone from the flower bed next to the door. Carefully, I pushed open the door and looked around from outside.
“Hello? Tom? Jennie? It’s Daniel. I was coming to get my things.”
No one answered back. There was absolutely no sound at all. Swallowing back the fear rising in my throat I stepped inside, pushing the front door all the way open until the door touched the wall. I looked around the wide open space, but nothing looked touched or moved. I crept in further, yanking open the closet door, finding nothing but hangers, extra blankets, and some old board games. I head back through the house, checking each room but there was no one there, and nothing out of place. That was, until I made it to the dining area, and noticed a laptop open on the table.
I swirled my finger around on the mouse pad but it was just the home screen, generic like it was brand new. I pulled the thumb drive back out and took off the rubber band, unrolling the small piece of paper. The words, “listen closely” were scribbled on the sheet. Pursing my lips, I plugged it into my laptop, figuring if there was a virus, the laptop wasn’t mine, and it was left there for me.
“Maybe I should call the cops,” I said out loud.
But the drive was calling to me. Curiosity was never something I did well with. I just hoped it didn’t kill me like it killed the cat.
I plugged the drive in and opened it up, finding a single audio recording on it. I turned up the volume and pressed play. There was some ruffling sound like leaves or something and then I heard her. I could hear Sicily’s voice. She was laughing, but I couldn’t hear anyone else.
I finally realized it was recording her talking on the phone. The sounds were muffled so I could only assume they were recording from outside of her window. I stood up, knocking the chair over behind me, searching my pocket for my phone. I pulled it out and scrolled for her number but as she began to talk, I paused, listening for a moment.
“Well, yeah. But we’ve talked about this weekend and sandcastles, and he’s said he’ll see me multiple times…” She paused silently for a moment before continuing. “Ugh. It shouldn’t matter. I shouldn’t be going out with him. And I definitely shouldn’t be taking Harper around him.”
Was she talking about me?
She spoke again. “Um, let me think. Because he’s the f-a-t-h-e-r of my daughter. And he doesn’t know it. And I’ve slept with him, had a full day with him, and am planning on doing the same this weekend, and have not even hinted at that possibility? Because if it keeps going like this…”
The cell phone fell from my hand. I reached to turn off the recording but stopped myself. Needing to hear more, even if I didn’t want to.
