Those words were code for don’t get pregnant or run away and get married. “Daddy, come on. You’ve taught me better than that.” I smiled up at him, staring into his green eyes, which were the same shade as mine. “I’m a good girl.”
He brushed his lips against my forehead, smelling me like I was a newborn baby. “I know, sweetheart. I just hate having you so far away.”
“I’m sure you’re keeping tabs on me even from Virginia.”
“There isn’t anywhere in the world you could go that I wouldn’t.”
“You’re a complete weirdo.” I laughed, placing my hand on his chest. “And a little much.”
“I’m a worried father, looking out for his little girl.”
“I’m not so little, Dad.”
“I wish you were. I’d give anything to go back to the days of you running on the beach with the wild hair and cute laugh.”
I curled back into him. “I love you, Dad.”
“Love you too, baby,” he said, and I held back the tears I knew would fall if I looked up at him again.
I didn’t know when I’d see him again. I still had months before I’d have enough time saved up to make a trip back to Virginia worth the travel.
This was our goodbye.
Chapter Ten
Austin
“Maybe I shouldn’t have come,” Makenna said, sitting next to me in the pickup truck. She fidgeted with the edge of her sundress, staring down at her knees. “You should be spending this weekend with your family.”
“Don’t be silly. It’s just my brother and his wife tonight. They’re cool people and completely no pressure.”
Her attention shifted to me as I glanced at her. “Are you sure?” she asked.
“One hundred percent. Tonight, we’ll have dinner and maybe go for a beer. Tomorrow, we’ll get tattoos and then hit the beach if you want. Sunday, we’ll eat with the family and then head back. It’ll be no big deal.”
“No big deal,” she whispered to herself.
“They live at the end of this road.” I ticked my head toward the street, tapping my finger against the steering wheel as I tried to contain my excitement.
“When was the last time you were here?”
“It’s been over a year.”
“A year?”
“Time got away from me, and anytime I thought about taking leave, a mission would change my plans.”
The normally sleepy street, empty of people with very few houses, seemed different from before. My stomach knotted the closer we got to their house and the cars lining the street stretched on for what seemed like miles.
“This is one busy street,” she said, voicing exactly what I’d been thinking.
“Yeah,” I said, laughing nervously. “Maybe someone’s having a party.”
The “someone” in this equation was my brother and Gigi or, more specifically, the Gallos. I should’ve known better. They did nothing small or quaint. There were no secrets either. I’m sure word spread like wildfire as soon as I called my brother about my upcoming visit and plans were set into motion before we hung up.
Makenna’s gaze wandered down the line of cars stacked one after another on the roadside. “A very big party.”
“Jesus Christ,” I muttered as we pulled into the driveway, finding so many people gathered in the front yard, it looked like a block party. “I’m so sorry.”
