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I grimaced. He really was going to make me spell it out. “Lindie. Did you ever miss her after leaving?”
Through the long silence, I practically held my breath, having no idea how he was going to respond.
“I did. I loved your mother with all my heart. She shattered me when I found out about the affair. For a long time after I left, I doubted every single thing about our marriage.” His gaze flickered to me briefly before going back to the pie he was currently forming.
I swallowed, understanding what he was alluding to. I was too tired of talking around certain topics, so I just came out and said what I was thinking. “You doubted me.”
“No. Never.”
Bile rose in my throat and I blinked past my blurry eyesight, trying to pay extra attention to the crust I was trying to form in the pan. My chest felt heavy, like someone was sitting on it. “You doubted that I was your child.”
“You are mine through and through.”
I gritted my teeth. “Dad.”
Dad blew out a breath and stopped what he was doing, coming over to me. He placed his floured hands on my shoulders and squeezed. “Look at me, Cadence.”
I forced myself to do it.
“You are mine. I never doubted that. Even if you aren’t my blood, you are mine.” He went to touch my face but stopped himself, probably noticing all the flour on his hands. He cleared his throat and stepped back. “My doubt was in your mother. In Lindie and who she was as a person. And coming back and realizing what she’s done to you…” He swallowed hard. “I know exactly who she is, and I’m glad she isn’t in my life. My only regret is that I didn’t take you with me. I didn’t protect you.”
Dad blinked furiously and cleared his throat, his body stiff as he went back to his spot to keep making the cherry pie.
The hard ball that had long formed in my chest the day Dad arrived at my house evaporated. It was like I could finally draw in a full breath. A real one. He had said exactly what I needed from him and it left me feeling lighter than ever, like he could finally be someone in my life.
“I’m angry about a lot of things,” I said slowly, not really sure what I wanted to say. “I was angry when you left. I was scared too. Horrified. I took on so much blame, from myself and from Lindie when you left. I hated myself. Thought anything Lindie did to me, I deserved because I broke what the two of you had. But I’ve always held onto the fact that I’m your daughter. I…” I shook my head as my voice started to crack. “I love that you’re my dad. I’m glad that you’re my dad.”
Dad gave me a wavering smile, his eyes glistening. “And I’m glad you’re my daughter.”
Warm fuzzies tickled me. I smiled and finished making the crust for the apple pie, my mind blown with how nice things were going at that moment. I wanted it to last forever, just good happy moments with my dad as we got to know each other all over again.
I was even beginning to look forward to spending Thanksgiving with Dad tomorrow.
Chapter Thirty-One
Dad was already waiting for me when I pulled into Micah’s driveway. He hopped out when he saw my car and gave me a small wave.
I smiled as I turned off the car, noting the other vehicles I saw. No doubt Justin’s aunt’s car and the other one was Bryan’s. It looked like we were going to have a full house.
My stomach flipped in excitement at spending a holiday with so many people.
“Ready?” Dad asked as I got out of my car. He went to the back seat and grabbed the pies, passing me two of them while he took the other two. We had really made all the traditional pies. He’d wanted to make more, but I was able to put a stop to it. I had a feeling if I hadn’t stopped him, he would have tried to bake through the night.
“I can’t remember, have you met Micah’s parents?”
“In passing when you were young. I think the first year you went to camp. And I got that phone call that the two of you were causing trouble.”
My face heated as he chuckled. We really had caused trouble. Because we’d been in two different groups, we’d opted to skip activities to play with each other instead. Since the moment we’d met, we had bonded.
As soon as we reached the front door, Micah and his mom were there.
“Oh, there you are!” Bayley practically tried to tackle me. It took everything I had to keep my pies safe. She realized almost too late that I held precious cargo and pulled back, looking down at them. “These look amazing!”
I smiled at her enthusiasm. “Dad made them.”
“Don’t let her fool you,” Dad said. “Cadence added her special touch to it.”
I rolled my eyes. “If adding too much salt is a special touch.”
