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“I just thought there was no reason for her to have to live alone anymore. She’s too young to have to do that.” Graham was still determined to get a response.
“You don’t have to answer him,” Bayley said, still glaring. “Graham needs to learn to know when to stop.”
Dad cleared his throat. “I asked her, but she turned me down.”
“You live in Nevada,” I finally said. “Graduation is right around the corner. I have friends here. Connections. Lindie is still here and needs my help.”
“I know,” Dad responded in a lower voice. “And I’d never ask you to give all that up. I was actually waiting for a better time, but I guess maybe now is good.”
“Good for what?” I asked.
“I found an apartment. I’ve rented it.”
Shock slapped me. “What?”
Dad’s chest expanded as he drew in a breath. “I found a place to rent. A nice little two-bedroom house on the outskirts. As you said, you have roots here. You’re going to be graduating in almost half a year and I want to be here for it. It was better than spending all that money with hotel rooms. So I rented a house. Finalized it yesterday, actually.”
“You’re moving here?”
He gave me a tight smile. “Pretty much. It was why I walked out on you when we were meeting and talked about Thanksgiving. Just before, the realtor got back to me about a showing, but it was a lot sooner than I thought and I didn’t want to miss it. I want to have a place here so I can make sure you know you aren’t alone. I’ll still have to go to Vegas sometimes since my business will remain there and I’ll need to take care of things, but the majority of the time, I’ll be here.”
“Holy shit,” someone whispered.
It was hard to tell who said it as my brain only had room to replay what Dad was telling me. He was sticking around for me. I hadn’t expected that. I hadn’t expected him at all, not like this. I’d kept believing that eventually he’d go back to Vegas. Kept telling myself that so it wouldn’t hurt once he did go back.
But he kept proving differently. Kept coming back.
Bayley and Laura saved the awkward flow of conversation the rest of dinner. As soon as I finished eating, I excused myself and went for some fresh air.
They had an expansive backyard since they lived more on the outskirts. It was nicely coming along with a pretty view of the sun as it settled behind the trees off in the distance. I sat down on the porch steps and took in a deep breath. The cool air felt good in my lungs.
“Are you okay?” Bryan asked, sitting next to me.
“Yeah, you?”
“Cadence, don’t lie to me, please.”
I licked my lips. “I’m really fine. Just floored by the news. I didn’t think he’d move here. He was so quick to move out of town, I guess I just thought he had no intention of coming back. And to actually stay here.”
Bryan wrapped his arms around me, sharing his warmth and making me realize I had been growing cold sitting outside. I leaned into him.
“Are you in trouble with your parents?” I asked, not wanting to talk about it. There wasn’t much to talk about anyway.
Bryans snorted. “I’m always in trouble with them.”
“Well, even more then. Aren’t you missing an important dinner tonight?”
“They’ll only notice once they try to show me off. Other than that, they won’t care.”
“Bryan,” I said softly.
He squeezed me. “Don’t worry. This is by far one of the better Thanksgivings I have had in a long time. It’s fun. Especially since you’re here.”
I snorted. “I’m not a good determining factor for if something is fun or not.”
“You help the people around you relax. And that’s huge for events like this. You make us want to let down our guard. I love that about you.”
My stomach flip-flopped from his words.
