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She turns to me and squeezes my hand. “Thank you, yes. But I don’t need you to speak. Just…be there.”
“Understood.”
“…and finally, I never wanted to be a journalist. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. But I’m telling you now.”
To her parents’ credit, they listen without interjecting. They are likely holding back judgment—as well as the urge to punch me in the face for dating their daughter—for later. Dakota tells them everything. Well, leaving out the more graphic details between us, obviously.
“And now I work here, and I’m moving in with Dean. I’m sorry if that disappoints you.”
“I need to sit down,” Avery wheezes. Immediately, I offer her my office chair. She slumps into it but looks up at me with grateful eyes.
“I don’t understand. Why didn’t you just tell me before I set up that interview? Or before you enrolled in the communications program?” Beast asks.
Dakota winces. “You’re right. I should have told you. But I didn’t know what I really wanted, and I thought I would grow to like it. I didn’t realize until I was about to go into that interview that I knew it was the wrong choice. You always told me to follow my gut, so I did. With Dean, too.”
Beast and Avery exchange a look.
“Not all that different from how we got together. We got snowed in and followed our hearts, didn’t we?” Avery says.
Beast glowers at me. “How old are you? Why are you sniffing around a 23-year-old girl, anyway?”
Fair question, and I remind myself that I’d probably be just as wary if I was in his shoes.
“He’s 35, Dad. And I’m not a girl, I’m an adult.
Beast scrubs a hand over his face. “This is a lot to take in, Dakota. It’s unlike you to just shirk responsibility, to lie, to jump into a relationship…”
Dakota nods in agreement. “It’s true. I can’t argue against any of that. But this is my choice.”
Avery gives a tight-lipped smile. “A little rebellion was bound to happen sooner or later. She’s toed the line her whole life. Thisis nothing compared with what Rebel put us through over the years.”
My girlfriend’s shoulders relax, and she melts into my side. “So you guys are okay with all of this?”
“No,” Beast snaps back. “Maybe. Possibly. But I’m gonna need time. We both are.”
Dakota and I both understand that.
“And in the meantime,” Beast announces, “Avery and I will be staying here. In case things take a turn.”
“What do you mean, you’ll be staying here?” Dakota asks.
The look on Beast’s face tells me exactly what he means.
“I know some folks you can talk to about renting a place nearby,” I offer.
“That’s kind of you, thank you,” he says.
“Well, that makes me feel a whole lot better,” Avery breathes.
She stands up from the desk and comes around to wrap Dakota in a big hug.
“I’m just glad you’re okay. And in the future, don’t keep things like this from us,” Avery says.
“I won’t. Thank you, Mama.”
Beast crosses the room and shakes my hand. “This isn’t ‘welcome to the family’ just yet, you understand.”
I look into the eyes of my future father-in-law, and I know we understand each other. I’m pleased to know someone who feels as protective of Dakota as I do.
