“I thought you were afraid of dogs,” Dad blurted out, frowning.
I looked at him. “It turns out not everything is how it has seemed all these years.”
Dad scoffed, but at a look from mom, he cowed immediately. At least he wasn’t getting aggressive. Which reminded me…
“Can you also tell Mom what you did when you realized River had overheard you?” I was suddenly seething with anger, and Bucky whined a little. I pushed my hand into his ruff to stay calm.
To his credit, Dad didn’t sugarcoat anything. When he was done telling the same story River had, Mom was angry as hell.
“No wonder he looked scared when he came to the house after that! How dare you?” she spat the words at him.
Before he could answer, she put her hand up to silence him. Then she pointedly turned away from him.
“Will you apologize to River for me?” Her expression was genuinely upset and apologetic.
“Of course.”
“And…and when you move, if you don’t have time then to come over, I understand. You’re both working, right?” At my nod, she continued, “But if you could come for Thanksgiving, I would really appreciate that.”
“You’re moving?” Dad asked, frowning in the background.
“Yes, I’ll come get my stuff sometime soon when River can get a day off and my work can wait.”
“You’re going to stay at the farm?” I couldn’t read his expression, but he seemed…hesitant, maybe?
“Yes. There’s a cabin we’re going to live in. It’s perfect for us. Short drive to the clinic where River works and enough space for my desk. Flying out of here will be a bit trickier; my old place is closer to the airport than the rescue, but it’ll be fine.”
“When you’ve settled, I want to come over to see the place. It sounds wonderful,” Mom told me.
“I’ll email you a copy of the brochure they have.”
“Thank you, that would be lovely.” She beamed, then got serious again. “Your father and I need to talk, but we love you, and I’m glad you and River got to talk about the past.” Her expression wavered, her lip wobbling a little. “I’m so sorry I didn’t understand then how much he meant to you.”
“You’re forgiven,” I promised. “Talk to you soon.”
“Good night, honey.” She turned her gaze to the keyboard and soon the call disconnected.
I felt…better than I thought I would, if I was honest. I texted River I was done, and he arrived within two minutes.
When he saw Bucky on the couch with me, he grinned. “Theo wondered where he’d gone.”
“Oh.” I gave the dog a look. “Go to your daddy, okay? I promise I’m okay. My emotional support human has arrived.”
I patted Bucky, and with a put-upon sigh, he jumped off the couch and River let him out. Then River kicked off his shoes and came to take the laptop.
After putting it safely on the table, he made sure to settle so that he was halfway on top of me. He hugged me and put his head on my shoulder, then hummed contentedly.
“How did it go?”
I made the so-so gesture with my hand. “I guess time will tell. He was…surprisingly honest, actually. Even detailed what he did to you.”
“Huh.”
“What?”
“I honestly wasn’t sure if he’d do that.”
I sighed. “Me neither. It’s…what it is, really. I guess on some level I knew he was capable of what he did to you, but men like that…”
