His expression softens, just like I knew it would. He’s Cade. He doesn’t stay mad for long, and he’s one of the most understanding men I’ve ever met in my life. Throwing his arm around me, he gives me a side hug.
“You’re a good kid, Isla.” Releasing me, he jerks his chin toward the exit. “Go on. Get out of here. You had an early morning.”
“Thanks,” I mutter, flashing him a tiny smile. Then I take off to catch up with Summer before she leaves.
Luckily, when I push through the doors, she’s just finishing gabbing with a random group of guys and sees me coming as they all strut off.
“Can you take my gear home?” I say, reaching her before we both walk toward her car. “I have a phone call I need to make,and let’s just say … I don’t think you want to hear it.” I grimace, patting my hand to my chest. “I don’t even want to hear it, to be honest.”
“Ooh … Daddy Cam found out, didn’t he?” She’s somewhere between a cringe and a chuckle before she hits a button on her key fob, and the trunk opens. “We just had practice, and that’s at least a two-mile walk. I can wait for you; I don’t mind.”
Dropping my gear bag into her trunk, I take my phone out of my small tote and put that beside it before shaking my head. “It’s all good. Something tells me I’ll need some quiet after the call ends. I’ll see you at home.”
After she waves, I start walking, and even though I don’t want to call my dad back right now, he’s called six times and sent eight text messages in the past hour. I know him enough to know that if I don’t answer him now, he’s just going to drive the hour and a half and show up here, which would be way, way worse.
Once I’m on the quiet sidewalk, I hover my finger over his contact, but before I even have to force myself to hit the Call button, he’s calling me again, and after a few seconds … I hit Accept.
“Dad, this is your seventh call in an hour,” I utter into the phone. “That’s excessive. Even for you.”
“Hendrix Hunt, Isla?” he practically barks at me. “Hendrix fucking Hunt? Do you realize he just got kicked out of Casco Bay College in Maine for fighting? And that was after they gave him, like, ten chances!”
“Relax, it’s not like we’re dating,” I say nonchalantly, hoping that’ll calm him down. “Also, I cannot believe you called Cade. That’s incredibly overbearing, Dad.”
“Well, you could have fooled me with those pictures I saw online, I!” He’s pacing, and I can hear the worry in his voice—thinking that I’m in a relationship with the campus bad boy. “Those ones outside of the arena, his hand is on your waist. Idon’t know what you kids do these fucking days, but if my hand is on someone’s waist, it sure as hell means something.”
“Did it when you were my age though, Dad?” I toss back, knowing I’m being a little snot right now. “Because from what I’ve heard … you had your hands on a lot of women’s waists when you were in college.”
That stuns him, but of course, he recovers quickly. “We’re not talking about me, damn it!” He drags in a breath so fast. “He’s bad news, Isla. I’m telling you, I know things about that guy that you don’t. And it’s not good either.”
“Let me guess, from your time working with Uncle Brody’s foundation, you nowknow things.”
“How did you?—”
“I’m not stupid, Dad, and there’s this thing called the internet, where I can find shit like … who Brody chooses for his scholarships.” I shake my head, walking alone and probably looking like a crazy person. “We aren’t dating, but if we were, you know what I’d tell you?”
“What?” he grumbles.
I think about my words before saying them because I want to get them right. I know he has a point. Hendrix isn’t a guy I should be getting involved with—and I don’t even know the full extent of what he’s done. But I also don’t like how my dad is acting, especially given how many of his closest friends have checkered pasts.
“I would ask you, what if Aunt Haley never gave Cade a chance when he was a full-blown drug addict and she was going to have his baby, not knowing if he was going to be able to stay sober or not? Or what if Bria ran away from Brody when she found out that his past was downright ugly?” I pause, swallowing. “Or what about if you listened to Papa when he told you to stay away from Mom just because he knew you were the campus fuckboy?” I cringe. “Excuse my language.”
I inhale sharply. “We’ve only gone to dinner one time, Dad. I doubt we’ll even hang out again. But this wholehe’s a bad guy, and you need to keep awaything you’re doing, it’s kind of gross. I love you, but … Mom and you brought me and Saint up to treat everyone equal. And I gotta tell you, right now, you’re not practicing what you preach.”
Silence. I’m met with silence.
One of the many good traits my dad has is, he always admits when he’s wrong. It may take him a minute, or twenty, but eventually, he’ll come around. Not every human is built that way, but he is. So, I know with everything inside of me, he will reflect, taking the time to think about my words.
“Damn it, I,” he mutters into the phone. “Why do you always have to be such a good fucking kid?”
“Perhaps my mom,” I tease him.
“Yeah, you’re not joking,” he says lowly before I’m met with more silence. Finally, he talks again. “Look, Isla, I’m not going to give you my blessing with this guy. I can’t because you’re my daughter, and my one job is to keep you, your mom, and your brother safe. So, right now, I can’t do that.” He pauses. “But what I will ask you is … is there any part of you that is considering seeing him again? Because if there is, I just want to mentally prepare myself.”
“Honestly … I don’t know,” I answer truthfully. “Trust me, Dad, I never thought I’d go to dinner with that guy. It just sort of happened.”
“And you think—you think there’s a chance it may happen again?”
Chewing my lip, I sigh. “Maybe, yeah.”
