I up nodded, then turned my attention to Dad again.
“So, you’ve seen I’m alive and well. What else do you want?” I asked, feeling brave.
“Son—” He stopped himself when he saw my expression, then started again. “Rey. I wanted to see you with my own eyes. And…and to say I’m sorry. I…it took me about a week to put the pieces together and by then you were long gone.”
I held my hand back, and without hesitation, Jack stepped closer and took it.
Dad looked at the action and frowned slightly. Then he glanced back at Murray and nodded.
Murray opened the back door and picked up a folder. Then he came to hand it to Dad.
“Whatever is in that folder,” Jack said in an even tone, “it can wait. First, you should come inside. Sit down for a lunch.”
I was surprised and…I wasn’t.
“This is Jack Cook, our chef and my partner,” I told Dad. “Jack, this is Silas Ryker, my father.”
Dad stepped closer, still hesitant about the dogs, and held his hand out for Jack. They shook, neither of them saying it was nice to meet the other. Not that I’d expected that.
“Rey?” Theo looked at me. “I’ll be at the stable, but I’m sure Bucky wants to come inside.”
I nodded, knowing what he meant. “Sure. Lake?”
Lake came closer and held his hand out to my Dad, who dutifully shook it.
“I’m Lake White. I own Twin Star Rescue.” He didn’t add that he owned it with Theo and Sierra, which I understood and so did Theo.
“Theo Fenton, the foreman,” Theo introduced himself. “You coming with me?” he asked Lake.
“Yeah. Holler if you need us,” Lake told me and gave me a firm hug, then went to take Theo’s hand.
They were making sure Dad knew we were quite queer here, and that I was loved, had backup, and that this definitely wasn’t Dad’s turf.
“Bucky, stay,” I told him. Then looked at the GGs. “Girls, you go with Theo.”
All of them looked at me as if wanting to know if I was absolutely sure. “Go on.”
Sighing, they glanced at Dad and Murray, then walked after Theo and Lake.
“Your driver and bodyguard need to eat too,” Jack said and turned on his heel to walk inside.
I waited for Dad to signal to Percy, who got out of the car and rounded it.
These two, Murray and Percy, had been with Dad most of my life as far as I remembered it. Percy was maybe forty-five, Murray a decade younger. I’d considered them family at one point, they were around that much.
Dad stepped aside to let them greet me. Murray held out a hand and I shook it. Something about his little smirk let me know that he had thoughts about Jack and me, but maybe…not negative?
Percy, who was the best, most solid driver in any situation that I’d ever met, similarly grabbed my hand. Then his expression did that weird half crumbling thing, and he pulled me into a quick man-hug.
“It’s so good to see you’re alive and well, kid,” he murmured and then stepped back again.
I wasn’t expecting that. It hadn’t really occurred to me that they might’ve thought I was dead.
I looked at Dad, then, and I could see he’d heard what Percy said and felt similarly. Whatever else was between us, however this conversation would go, he’d been scared that he’d lost me at least on some level.
And because he was still my dad, I stepped around Bucky and walked into Dad’s arms.
He squeezed me tight, for longer than he’d ever hugged me before.
