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That’s all, I swear.
I clear my throat like there’s a frog trapped in it as he comes on the line.
“Hey, Dess.”
“Hi, Dad.” My throat closes and I wipe my nose on my sleeve. God, I’m such a mess. “It’s good to hear your voice...”
“Are you okay?” he asks immediately. “What’s happening?”
“Nothing, nothing. I’m fine. I’m just outside... enjoying the sea.”
“Don’t bullshit me, girl.” That’s my father, never one to mince his words. “I know when something’s wrong. I can hear it in your voice. You haven’t sounded like that since...”
He pauses.
I know what he was going to say.
Since everything went down with him and Eliza and that drama around Mom’s death years ago.
“Destiny,” he says firmly. “What the hell is going on? Is it the rumors?”
I hold the phone against my ear and take another long, shaking breath, releasing it past my gritted teeth until I can find my voice again.
If I could, I’d tell him everything.
If he could do anything, I’d beg for help, and honestly, he’d probably try. But one death defying rescue in a raging storm is enough for one lifetime.
I’m not putting him through that again.
Plus, Dad has little ones now. If there was even time for him to help us—and there isn’t—I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to him.
“It’s not the gossip,” I say. I’m relieved when my voice doesn’t shake and give me away. “That’s almost under control. Like I told Eliza, Mr. Foster is taking legal action.”
“Damn right he is. If he wasn’t, you’d best believe he and I would be having words.”
I wince at the thought.
Dad and Shepherd in a room, fighting over me.
They’re both grown men cut from the same cloth, and grouchy as sleep-deprived badgers until you know them well enough to see the very different sweetness underneath.
“You don’t have to worry,” I tell him. “Stand down, okay?”
He hesitates.
“I will, but you know I don’t like standing around when it’s my daughter’s life on fire,” he growls. “But what is it then? What else if it’s not this?”
“Dad, I—” I stop, trying to find the right words. “It’s life stuff, okay? I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about my future, my career. You know, the hard stuff I need to figure out alone. Same way you did.”
“If it’s Foster, he’ll need a goddamned fleet of drones to stop me from busting his fucking teeth out.”
“Dad!” Unable to help myself, I giggle. My eyes burn but the tears dry on my face. “It’s really nothing I can’t handle.”
More static blows up in my ear, and then his voice.
“You’re sure?”
“Do I not sound like it? Dude, look who raised me, and you did a pretty awesome job. From teenage brat to national scandal and soon-to-be savior of otterkind.” Okay, okay, maybe I am sniffling again. “And... and no matter what happens, you know I respect you to death. You were hard on me because you had to be. I’m glad you were, too. It made me who I am—and you can rest easy knowing your work wasn’t for nothing. I’ll tell you more later. But Dad, I can handlethis.Please trust me.”
