He opened his arms, but Sam just continued to stare at him as though she couldn’t believe her overly stretched eyes. “Is itreallyyou?”
“Yes. Of course. Now, come hug your old man.”
Sam bumped Toby sideways as she rushed into her father’s arms. He barely felt it. His head was teeming with possibilities, each more terrifying than the last. But there was only one thing he could think of, which accounted for Sam’s angerandher question about condoms. Either he’d given Tabby something—which, no, he’d got tested—or…
He couldn’t even bring himself to consider the other option. The weight of it felt roughly the size of Mount Everest.
He was knocked sideways a second time as Nicole, screeching loudly enough to break the sound barrier, ran down the steps and threw herself at her father. “Dad, you’re home! You’re back! You’re home! You’re back!”
Still laughing, Edgar kissed the side of Nicole’s head, hugging both girls at once. “Oh, Nikki, I’ve missed you so much. How are you?”
“I’m awful,” Nicole wailed. “But I’m so glad you’re here! I’m so happy to see you!”
Dimly, Toby knew he should get out of the way and let the twins enjoy their reunion in peace. He headed for the front of the house and began collecting the bags the driver had left on the curb. Edgar had only needed two. The rest of his things remained in Bali, where “my students can take the art stuff, and everything else doesn’t matter.”
Edgar DaSilva was a strange guy, but there was no denying he made it work. Despite Toby’s fears that they’d have to sleep in Ngurah Rai International, they had been able to get two last-minute Qantas flights to Melbourne. The plane had been almost empty, allowing them a row each to stretch out on, and Edgar had quickly made friends with the flight attendants who plied them with free coffee and snacks. Toby had been too nervous to eat or sleep, but he’d been very grateful when Edgar had recognised a security guard he’d once tattooed at Tullamarine Airport, and the guy led them through customs ahead of a massive flight from LA.
Everything seemed to…workfor Edgar. Work in a way he’d only known things to work for one other person: Tabby. She, alone of Edgar’s three daughters, seemed to have inherited his ability to charm anyone and everyone, and move through chaotic places like a knife in sand.
At least she had before he’d come along.
“Don’t worry about Tabby,” Edgar had told him in the cab from the airport. “It’s hard to watch someone you love struggle, but pain is a significant path to growth. Hang in there.”
Toby hadn’t told Edgar he was in love with Tabby, but he guessed that was a moot point, considering he’d voluntarily flown to Bali to recover her dad at a moment’s notice. What mattered was that, according to Sam, he was a huge fucking idiot, and something had happened to Tabby because of him. Something massive.
“Where are the boys?” Edgar asked as he and the twins climbed the stairs to the house. The girls refused to let go of him, so they looked like they were competing in a six-legged race. “Where are Scotty and Noah?”
“Who cares?” Nicole said. “You’re home now.”
“Nicole,” their dad warned. “Are you mad at Noah for being in contact with me? Because that’s my fault. You know he’s dedicated and?—”
“He’s my husband!”
“He wasn’t when I asked him to be my point of contact,” Edgar said calmly. “Go on, call him. Tell him and Scott to crawl out of whatever kennel you girls put them in, and we’ll talk this all out.”
Sam jerked a thumb at Toby. “What about Sheriff Woody?”
“Toby can come inside,” Edgar said, smiling warmly.
“Dad, do you even know what he’s done to Tabby?”
Toby’s guts knotted, but Edgar’s smile didn’t dim an iota. “I know he rode out to the middle of Ubud to find me, and I know he’s a good man who loves your sister. Don’t be unkind, Sammy. It’ll only come back to you later.”
Which was how Toby found himself sitting on the DaSilvas’ squashy blue couch, drinking a cup of tea with shaky hands. Someone, Edgar probably, had laced it with enough cognac to kill a miniature horse. He sipped gratefully without tasting, glad for the distraction. The half-cocker spaniel, half-rottweilers he’d gifted the DaSilva family milled about—Mopsy’s last round of puppies and, for his money, the most beautiful. Their gold-brown eyes and soft fur shone, and if he weren’t on the verge of a panic attack, he’d have loved to take them for a walk.
Sam, Nicole, and Edgar sat at the dining table nearby, discussing where Tabby might have gone.
“She won’t be far,” Edgar kept repeating. “She’s still in Victoria.”
No one questioned how he could possibly know this. Sam and Nicole were both crying, which shocked Toby in and of itself. Both twins had always been so composed. Fiery and outspoken, but self-assured and utterly in control. It was strange to hear them confessing to Edgar that they’d let Tabby down, seeking his reassurance as though they were still little girls.
“We dropped the fucking ball, Dad,” Sam sobbed. “Mum fucked me up in the head, and I wasn’t paying enough attention. Tabby was in a bad way, and we didn’t look after her.”
“And I was such an asshole,” Nicole wailed. “I lost my temper the night she left. I hurt her, and I wish I could take it back. I might never see her again?—”
“You will,” Edgar said in his quiet, audiobook narrator voice. “Your sister loves you both, and she loves that man on our couch…”
Everyone glanced at him, and Toby attempted a smile that made Nicole wrinkle her nose. She seemed determined to pretend he wasn’t there, and considering everything, Toby felt like he was getting off lightly. He didn’t need both twins threatening him with violence.
