“Honey, I love you more than anything. I want you to be happy. And I want you to stay here. Don’t leave me—Green Springs—like your mother did.”
And there it was. He’d finally spoken aloud the fear she’d suspected was driving his actions toward TJ. It wasn’t so much that he was trying to shield her or protect her, he was afraid that she would leave him.
She let out a long sigh and closed her eyes in an attempt to blink back her tears. They really were running out of time. “Dad, please. I’m not like her, either. I’ll only leave if you give me a reason to. Please, please—come with me. We need to get to the diner before TJ leaves. And he needs to hear it from you that he belongs here.”
She held her breath, waiting for Sean’s response. The seconds felt like hours.
“I’ll meet you outside.”
Morgan sprinted to her car and started the engine. After what seemed an eternity, Sean opened the passenger door and hopped in. She tore down the driveway in a cloud of dust before he could get his seatbelt on. As she pulled onto the highway, her voice was filled with worry.
“What if we don’t get there in time?”
“If Nana called as soon as he left the motel, then he should still be at the diner.”
“I hope you’re right. He’s my future, Dad.”
“I realize that now, Peanut. I’ve always wanted to give you the world, so I do want you to have your future. No matter where it leads you.” He reached over and turned up the volume on the radio. “You hear that?”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes, Dad. It’s Tim McGraw.”
“Listen to the words. This is everything I should have said to you before. What I need to tell you now. Just like the song says. You’ll always be my little girl. And I hope you know you can always come home, no matter what.”
She didn’t take her eyes off the road as she reassured her father. “That’s right. I’ll always be your little girl, no matter how old I get. I promise nothing and no one will ever change that.”
He reached over and patted her right shoulder. “Watch your speed, little girl. We don’t have time to talk our way out of a ticket.”
As soon as Sean uttered those words, Morgan glanced in her rearview mirror and dread settled in her tummy like a bag of rocks. A sheriff’s department cruiser was bearing down on them with lights flashing, but no siren. “Oh, no! Look behind us! What are we gonna do?”
“Stay calm and pull over, honey. And let me do the talking.”
While she decelerated and safely pulled over to the side of the road, Sean retrieved her registration from the glove box. Morgan rolled down her window as the sheriff’s deputy approached, her palms sweaty as they remained on the steering wheel.
The deputy nodded in greeting. “Ma’am. Sir. You guys sure are in a hurry this morning.”
Sean responded. “We’re sorry, deputy. There was a misunderstanding between me and my daughter’s fella. We’ve gotta catch him before he leaves town so I can make things right.”
Morgan couldn’t help but speak up, struggling to breathe and feeling like her heart was going to break through her chest. This was not the time for a panic attack! “Please. He’s the love of my life. We have to get to him before it’s too late!”
Deputy Jake Kelly looked at both father and daughter, then broke out in a grin. “Well, who am I to interfere with true love? Where ya headed?”
“The Blackened Skillet,” they shouted in unison.
“Follow me. I’ll get you there as quick as I can.”
Morgan gulped down some deep breaths while waiting for the deputy to pull around them and back onto the highway. She followed him as closely as she dared, and within minutes they reached the diner. She spotted TJ’s truck right away, and as luck would have it, the space next to it was empty. She cut the engine, flung the driver’s door open, and raced toward the diner, leaving Sean and the deputy outside.
Frantically throwing open the front door of the diner, she prayed they weren’t too late. Stopping to catch her breath, her eyes darted around the restaurant, desperately seeking the man she loved. She heaved a sigh of relief when she found him approaching the register to pay his bill.
“I’m so glad I caught you,” she huffed out.
“What are you doing here?”
“I need to tell you something.”
“What?”
Morgan’s stomach was in knots. He wasn’t making this easy for her. “Please don’t go. I want you to stay.”
