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He laughs and buttons up his jeans as I slide off of him. “No. I’ll tell him we were talking about how to tell him what we feel. I mean, that is how this started… sort of.”
I nod and lean onto his lips, kissing him gently.
“You felt so amazing, princess. I’m sorry this is how your first time ends.”
“Don’t be sorry, ever. I wanted this. I’m glad we did it.”
His big hand sweeps over my forehead and onto my cheek. “We’ll tell your dad what’s up, and I’ll hold you all night long. Okay?”
I love how optimistic Rowan is about this. I don’t share the same positive energy. My father is a good man, but dating someone so much older isn’t going to go over well. The fact that the guy happens to be his friend is going to add gasoline to his reaction.
Rowan kisses my forehead again, and I slide down off him as he opens the passenger side door and climbs out.
There’s silence and then there’s more. A lot more.
I push the engine off on the truck and climb down into the snow, careful of my ankle as I move. “Dad! Stop!”
He turns back toward me. “No! I trusted this asshole! I let him take care of my daughter! He manipulated you!”
Being the only child, my father has taken care of me like a wounded baby bird who needs twenty-four-hour care. He’s convinced I can’t be alone, and he treats me as such. I should’vespoken up sooner, but I knew I gave him purpose. And I guess, I was looking out for him too.
“Dad,” I shift toward him slowly, holding onto the edge of the truck as I move, “listen to me. Rowan didn’t manipulate me. If anything, I manipulated him.” I laugh under my breath as I think back on the moves I put on him last night at the bar. “I like him. He’s a good guy and he makes me feel safe.”
“So safe he’s fucking you in the truck with your father ten feet away?” Dad takes off his hat and throws it on the ground. This is escalating quickly.
Okay… so he heard us. That’s humiliating.
Note to self: Don’t do that again.
Rowan steps forward. “I don’t know what to say, man. This wasn’t planned, but I don’t know how to stop it now. She’s everything I—”
“She’s twenty-four!” my father screams as a growl bubbles up his throat.
“I know.” Rowan reaches out for my hand, steadying me in the snow. “It’s weird, and it’s probably fucked up as hell, but I can’t stop it. I don’t want to. She’s perfect and I need her.”
My father claps his hands together and looks away blowing heavy fog with his breath in the freezing night. “So that’s it? You two are just doing what you’re doing and fuck everything else? What happens when he goes back to Alaska?”
I hadn’t thought about that in a while. I was going with the flow. “I don’t know. We’re still figuring out all the details, but I love you, Daddy. I’m falling in love with Rowan, and I need to see where that goes.”
My father’s eyes widen, and his cheeks turn dark red.
Rowan turns me toward him. “I’m falling in love with you too, princess.” He kisses my forehead and pulls me against the warmth of his chest where everything is safe, and the world is perfect.
“Where’s the keys to your car?” Dad says as he stares at me. “I need to get out of here.”
“Wait! You’re angry. Let’s talk this over.” I reach out for him, but he bounces up the porch and into the house, coming out with my keys before I can grab him.
“No. I’m not any good to talk to right now. I’ll take your car. You have Rowan here if you need anything. We can talk later.”
“Please. Don’t go like this. We can figure things out right now,” Rowan adds, squeezing me tighter in support.
“There’s nothing to figure out.” Dad opens my car door and looks back toward us. “You two feel how you feel and I’m going to have to get used to it. That said, it’s going to take time. And right now, I don’t want to look at the two of you together, so… I’m going home.” He climbs down into my car. It’s weird to see my dad in a car so small. Usually, he’s in the pickup truck the police station gave him.
“It’s going to be okay,” Rowan whispers in my ear as Dad drives away. “He’s a good man. He’ll come to his senses.”
I turn back toward Rowan. “Will he? He had a point about Alaska. You have to go back eventually.”
“I do? What if we stayed here together? We could put that addition on you were talking about and expand the ranch. I mean, I could hunt, fish, and build things just as easily here as I can up North.”
