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When April didn't respond, he continued, "I know that it's been a hard few days. And I wanted to thank you for putting up with me."
April stared at her father, not sure what to make of his sudden change in mood. She had been ready to keep fighting, to keep yelling until she was hoarse, but now... she wasn't so sure.
Maybe it was the exhaustion getting to her, or maybe it was the fact that her father had actually apologized, but for the first time in what felt like forever, she felt herself softening towards him.
"I appreciate your apology, Dad," she said quietly, unsure of how to respond.
April didn't want to admit it, but hearing those words made her feel a little better. Maybe her father wasn't completely hopeless after all.
Her father smiled up at her. "I've really enjoyed being able to spend time together here."
The time they'd spent together was far from perfect. It was nothing like what she expected when he told her that he wanted to make things up to her and rekindle their relationship.
He'd always come when he wanted something. But she always let him, because he was still her dad.
And it was times like this that reminded her of that fact. That people could change, and this time could be different. This could be the time that he actually showed her that he was different now. He hadn't showed any improvement until now, but it was a small step forward.
April didn't believe he was a new man, but she believed that the apology was genuine.
"I'm glad you came to see me, too," she said.
Richard leaned forward and took his daughter's hands in his own. "Forget the grocery shopping," he started. She'd already forgotten about it because of everything that had happened. "Let's go out to eat. It'll be my treat. We can get some dinner and spend time together."
She nodded reluctantly. It wasn't what she expected, a dinner with her father after a day like she was having. But it was another opportunity for him to prove that he was different now, interested in getting to know her better.
Maybe it was the apology that made her take the offer, or maybe it was something else. Either way, April decided to accept the offer. After a few moments of thoughtful silence, she finally said, "Okay, Dad. Let's go out to dinner later tonight."
April was still hesitant and unsure if this was the best idea, but she accepted his offer regardless. She still wasn't sure if he was truly trying to make amends or if this was just another attempt at getting back into her life, but it didn't matter because either way they were spending time together.
She was willing to give it a chance. Maybe this time would be different.
She would have to find out when it was time for dinner.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Sweat dripped from Jackson's brow as he raked through the tall grass. April watched him scrape at the weeds surrounding the fence.
They had already finished cleaning up around the barn by now, all thanks to the hard work of Jackson, the perfect ranch hand. Now, it was time to start spreading out and fixing the overgrown patches of weeds and greenery.
"Do you know who Isaac Greenfield is?" April asked.
Jackson shrugged while not missing a beat with the rake. "Maybe. I think I've heard his name around town recently. What'd he do?"
"He's running for mayor. But he's also the one trying to take down our plans of turning the property into a horse ranch."
Now, Jackson stopped and looked up at her with furrowed brows. "How'd he figure that?"
April explained to Jackson the lengths that Isaac Greenfield had gone in order to get her to back down from her plans of turning the property into a horse ranch. She was furious and felt as if she was being taken advantage of by someone who was short sighted and didn't care about the long term effects his actions could have on the island.
All Isaac wanted was to make her life miserable. He couldn't plow down her property himself, so he was going to make her leave.
She wanted to save the horses not just for her ranch but for their history on the island. They'd been a part of this place as long as anyone could remember.
If Isaac won, he'd be taking the wild horses away from everything they'd ever known. And that infuriated April. She told Jackson all about it with the passion of her fury from the day's events.
Jackson listened intently, nodding every so often. When she finished, he leaned on his rake and shook his head. "Sounds like a piece of work."
April let out a humorless laugh. "You have no idea. He's trying to ruin my life and the lives of the horses on this island."
