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My head isunder the hood of an old Chevy when a familiar voice startles me from behind. I blink, looking up to see my dad. I narrow my eyes at him, trying to gauge how he’s doing. He looks okay. His eyes are clear, and his skin looks normal, not greyish and washed out. The blank stare that I grew so used to seeing is gone too. I can tell he has most of his weight on his good leg, but his shoulders are square and pushed back. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him look this good.
I wipe the grease from my hands with a rag and take the bottle of water he extends to me. “Thanks,” I say, before bringing it to my lips and taking a long swig.
He nods, looking at me like I’m a riddle he doesn’t know how to solve. “You’ve been here all day, son. Any plans of going home?”
I blow out a heavy breath. “Not at the moment.”
“No plans with Sierra tonight?”
“I highly doubt it.”
My dad looks at me for a moment longer, and I can tell he’s trying to carefully choose his words. I get the feeling that he’s scared to say the wrong thing.
“Son, I know I’m not the guy you want to talk to about this stuff, but I’m here and I can be a good listener, believe it or not. So, if you have something on your mind, I’m here to listen. Or you can just go back to beating the hell out of that oil filter.”
I think on it for a moment. Do I want to talk to my dad? He’s put me through so much shit over the years, but truth be told I’m getting tired of hating the man. And I can tell that he’s actually trying.
“I’m not sure where Sierra and I stand at the moment.”
Dad swallows, nodding. “Well, that explains why you’ve been here all day. Is it something you can fix?”
“I’m not sure.”
I surprise myself by telling him everything that has happened until now, from the way I pursued Sierra relentlessly even though I knew I shouldn’t, right through to Jake walking in on us and our secret imploding.
It wasn’t my plan to spill my guts, but once I started talking about it it was like a dam broke. Before I knew it, I had shared the entire story.
“I didn’t want to hurt Jake,” I say with a heavy sigh. “I fucked up and now Sierra is heartbroken. She may have lost her brother and I may have lost her.”
“You really love her, don’t you, Gray?”
I nod, feeling surer about that than about anything else in my life.
“You wanna know what I think?” he asks, one eyebrow raised.
I nod, surprised to realize that I actually do want his opinion.
“I think what youallneed is time. Jake will come around, he’ll stop being so stubborn, and he’ll forgive you. You’re just going to have to be patient. And that includes being patient with Sierra.”
His words make me pause—two words, to be exact. Be patient.
Be patient.
I haven’t been very good at being patient with the man standing across from me.
But I can do better.
I can be better.
Now seems like a good time to start.
TWENTY-TWO
PIGS WILL FLY.
Sierra
