by Kelly Oram
“No way. Score one for you. Was it awesome?”
“It was amazing. I’m telling you, Kate, I think I missed my calling in life. I have got to try that at least once before I die. It looks like skateboarding on speed. Those guys were insane.”
“Wicked.”
I could only agree. “It was weird, though. We had VIP seats, and then Libby took me to meet her dad after it was over. She knows half those guys personally, so she introduced me to a few of them.”
Kate shook her head in amazement. Her eyes glossed over a little as if she were trying to picture it. “Crazy.”
“That’s not even the craziest part. Afterward, Libby’s parents took us to dinner at this fancy restaurant. It was so expensive the waiters wore tuxedos, and they didn’t even put prices on their menu.”
Kate’s jaw dropped. “For real? And they didn’t kick your sorry ass out on the street? What’d you eat?”
I gave her the smuggest grin—Libby’s dad wasn’t the only one who liked to torture people he loved. “I had a filet mignon cooked so perfectly I could slice it with a butter knife, and these cheesy garlic potato things that have ruined me for all other potatoes for the rest of my life. Even the vegetables were good.”
Kate licked her lips and narrowed her eyes at me. “You’re lucky you gave me a cinnamon roll, or I’d seriously hate you right now.”
I laughed. “It was a crazy day.”
“And things with Libby?”
The expectant look on Kate’s face made me cringe. Why did my sister insist on talking about girls with me? I shrugged. “Good, I guess.”
Kate’s eyes lit up deviously. “Good, you guess? Nice try. I know what you were trying to do, Mr. VIP and fancy food, but you’re not getting around me that easy. I want the real dirt. Come on, how did it go? Does she still hate you, or did you finally get the chance to make her swoon like you’ve dreamt of doing for so long?”
I pushed her until she had to hop off the counter, and I wiped the glass top where she’d spilled crumbs from her cinnamon roll. “Don’t you have somewhere to be? Other people to annoy?”
Kate grinned at me. “Nope.”
“Well, get out of here anyway; I’ve got a customer coming—”
“Isn’t that Sean Garrett?”
Kate, having followed my gaze out the front window, looked baffled. “I don’t think he’s ever come in here before in all the years you’ve worked here.”
“Yeah.” I tugged at the collar of my shirt. It couldn’t be coincidence that he was here now. I wondered what he wanted.
Kate turned back around and gave me a wicked smile. “Think he’s figured out your secret and come to give you the Stay Away From My Daughter speech?”
“Shut up.”
“Hmm. Maybe I should clue him in and put you out of your misery.”
I glared at Kate as Sean came in the door and glanced around the shop. “Kate, I swear. If you say anything to him about me and Libby, I will murder you.”
“What’s it worth to you?”
“Kate!”
“Oh man, you’re so whipped.” Kate laughed and licked her fingers clean. “Chill, dork. I was just playing. I’m out. I hear the skate park suddenly calling my name.”
I frowned at her, and she laughed again. She jumped up and kissed my cheek over the counter. “Good luck with your man-to-man talk. I’ll pray for you, big brother. And don’t think this means you’re off the hook. You’re giving me all the juicy details later.”
She was impossible! How could she annoy me so much and make me smile at the same time? Sighing, I shook my head. “Always gotta be bustin’ my chops.”
“Somebody has to.”
She turned around and nodded at Libby’s dad, who was now standing behind her in line. “Sean Garrett, right?” she asked, surprising him with her recognition. “I’ve seen you in action. You rock.”
I chuckled when she held her fist out for him to bump. Sean laughed too, and bumped knuckles with her as he said thanks. He was still smiling when he stepped up to the counter. I sounded like a scared little douche when I said, “Good morning, Mr. Garrett.”
“Good morning, and seriously, call me Sean.” He looked behind him out the front window, where Kate was still hanging out, trying to pretend she wasn’t spying on us. “That your girlfriend?” he asked. “She’s cute.”
His voice didn’t sound accusing exactly, but he definitely seemed surprised by the idea of me having a girlfriend. I shook my head, more than happy to set him straight. “My kid sister.”
He watched Kate a minute longer and nodded to himself. I couldn’t imagine his interest, and I couldn’t read the look on his face. I took a breath, unsure why I was so nervous. He’d been so cool last night, but it was odd that he’d come in today. Maybe Kate was right. Maybe he was here to set me straight, and he just hadn’t wanted to read me the protective father act in front of Libby. “Can I get you something?”
He perused the menu above my head for a minute, then said, “How about an avocado and ham bagel, a black coffee, and a quick chat?”
I punched in his order and flinched when I realized what he asked for. When I looked up, his face was full of concern. “Have you got a few minutes?”
Josiah was suddenly there, watching us with curiosity. “Everything okay? You in some kind of trouble?”
He was teasing, but I knew he was really worried, so I teased him back. “Maybe,” I said. “This is Libby’s dad.”
Josiah had been as bad as my sister about bleeding me for info. He’d already gotten most of the details out of me that morning before the shop even opened. After introducing himself to Sean, he gave me a small nudge. “You go talk to the man. Take your time. I’ll holler if I need you.”
I made Sean his order and then joined him at the small table where he’d decided to wait for me. “Thank you,” he said, gesturing for me to take the seat across from him. “I’m sorry to bother you at work like this, but I wanted to ask you a couple questions about Libby.”
I held up a hand. “I’m sorry, Mr. Garrett—uh, Sean. I don’t mean to keep secrets, but the most important thing about the twelve-step program is that it’s anonymous. Confidential. I really can’t talk to you about anything Libby tells me. What she’s attempting is very difficult, and she won’t be able to do it if there’s no trust. I can’t break her confidence.”
“No, no, I get that. I’m not trying to pry, I just…”
He sighed again and set a small stack of papers on the table between us. I immediately recognized them as the letters Libby’s friends read to her at her intervention. He looked down at the letters and frowned. When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet and he sounded a hundred years older than the man I met last night. “I couldn’t sleep last night after all that talk about this harmful relationship my daughter is trying to get out of. Libby’s never really confided in her mother and me. She loves us, but she’s never felt like we understand her. I knew Libby wouldn’t talk to me, so I went to see Avery this morning. I just wanted to make sure Libby was okay. Avery told me about the intervention and gave me these.”
He sifted through the letters. “I knew Libby had changed a bit over the last little while, but this…this isn’t my daughter. I had no idea any of this was happening.”
He dumped a ton of sugar in his coffee and started stirring. Staring off into space, he said, “I’m not good at being a dad.”
I held in a scoff because Sean seemed upset, but he was wrong. “No offense, Sean, but that’s shit. You love Libby. You take care of her. My dad split when I was just a kid, leaving my sister and me with our alcoholic mother. Now that was a man not good at being a dad.”
Sean blinked at me and sighed into his coffee. “No, you’re right. I’m sorry. I guess I can do dad, but I’m not great at being a father.”
“I’m not sure I understand the difference.”
Sean finally looked at me again. “My old man is such a controlling jackass. I didn’t want to be him, so I’
ve never pushed Libby about anything. And she’s always been such a great kid that I didn’t think I needed to. I haven’t paid enough attention. I knew she was having a hard time lately, but I didn’t ask. I didn’t try to help her. I should have done more.”
Ah, the guilt. A feeling I knew well. “Sean, it’s not your fault. Maybe you could have been more aware of the problem, but if you’d pushed her about Owen, chances are that she would have just pushed back.” I’d seen enough of Libby’s fiery, defiant, stubborn personality to guess that much.
Sitting back in my chair, I let out a long breath of my own. I tried to remember all the things Josiah used to tell me when I’d first joined his support group. “Don’t obsess over the past. You can’t change it. What’s important now is the future. Libby knows you love her. Just worry about being there for her now. Let her know she can talk to you, if she wants. Remind her that you love her no matter what. Give her opportunities to talk to you often and let her know you’re paying attention, but don’t push as long as she keeps taking steps in the right direction. She’ll open up to you when she’s ready.”
Sean was quiet for a long time. My heart really went out to the man. He looked lost, and he reminded me a lot of myself a few years ago. He set the letters down again and looked at me like a desperate man. “Just tell me one thing. Is she in trouble? This guy, has he been hurting her?”
I hadn’t fully understood the severity of his distress until that moment, having never considered the possibility of physical abuse between Libby and Owen. I thought back on the conversation I’d had with Libby’s parents yesterday, and felt terrible for not being more specific. “I don’t think it’s like that,” I assured him quickly.
He let out the breath he’d been holding. I cringed when most of his anxiety melted away. I hated to be the one to burst his relief bubble, but he deserved to know the truth. “It’s still bad. Owen may not hurt her physically, but he’s still abusing her.” I tapped the letters on the table and said, “These changes in Libby are all because of him—because of the way he treats her.”
“And how, exactly, does he treat her?”
I opened my mouth and then snapped it shut again. How was I supposed to explain Libby and Owen’s relationship to her father?
“Please.”
The word was a plea. Desperation returned to his face, and he refused to break my gaze. I had to answer him. “He just…” I couldn’t believe I was about to say this. I crossed my fingers, praying he wasn’t the type to kill the messenger. “Well, to be blunt, sir, from what I’ve seen and heard from her friends, he treats her like a prostitute that he doesn’t have to pay. He hooks up with her whenever he feels like it, but he won’t do anything else with her. He won’t take her on real dates, he sees other girls, and he refuses to get into any kind of actual relationship with her. He keeps the fact that he sees her a secret from everyone, even Avery and Grayson, even though they both know.
“The changes in her behavior are because he’s destroyed her self-esteem.”
Sean slammed his fist down on the table hard enough that he sloshed some of his coffee out of his mug. “Damn it! I’ll kill the bastard. How could she do that to herself? Why would she ever stay with a guy like that?”
He cut his words off when he got too angry to keep speaking. I couldn’t blame him. I’d wanted to act just like him a dozen times yesterday—still wanted to. “She ended it,” I reminded him. “She asked for help.”
Sean unconsciously crumpled the intervention letters in his hands, still not quite able to settle down. “Hey,” I said, gaining his attention so that he would hear me. “We’ll get her straightened out. That’s why we’re doing this.”
Sean searched for something in my expression, and eventually found whatever he was looking for. Slumping back in his chair with an exhausted sigh, he sat there rubbing his head as if it hurt, and his eyes fell shut. I gave him a moment to pull himself together. Once he regained his composure, he studied me again with a different kind of appraising look. I couldn’t tell exactly what he was thinking, but the knots returned to my stomach.
“You and Libby must be pretty good friends if she’s trusted you with this. I’m surprised she’s never mentioned you.”
I shook my head. “We aren’t really friends. I’ve known who she is since we were kids, but we’d never spoken until last week, and then I basically chewed her out.”
Sean was startled, but he let me finish my explanation. Not wanting to go into detail about the first time Libby and I really met, I said, “She made some really bad choices. She caused some trouble that really hurt her friends, and could have gotten herself arrested. She could have gotten Avery fired. I’m afraid I’m a little too protective of the people I care about, thanks to having to protect my sister from my mom for so long. I don’t have many friends, but Avery is one of them, so I came down on Libby pretty hard. I felt bad about it, but she needed the wake-up call. I think that’s why Avery asked me to help. Honestly, I’m surprised Libby agreed to it. I’m pretty sure she can’t stand me.”
Sean’s face went from perplexed to knowing. He took another sip of his coffee, as if stalling while he figured out how to say whatever was now on his mind. “What do you intend to get out of this?” he finally asked. “What are your intentions toward my daughter?”
I sighed. Of course it would come back to this. “I just want to see her happy. I told you: I don’t have any romantic intentions.”
“Except you were lying, weren’t you?”
The accusation startled me so badly that I reared back as if he’d punched me. “No, sir.”
Sean shook his head. “You’re subtle, but it’s definitely there. I’m sure of it.”
I was startled. I had a feeling I knew what he meant, but I still asked. “What’s there?”
Sean shook his head lightly, a smirk stretching across his face. “Come on, Adam; be straight with me. I know the look of a guy pining over a girl. I invented that look. It took me two years to ask Libby’s mom out. You’re in love with my daughter, aren’t you?”
The tips of my ears burned. I wished I had my own drink to sip. In fact, I was so uncomfortable I was tempted to grab the bagel off his plate and shove it in my mouth so that I wouldn’t have to have this conversation.
I’d known this would happen eventually. I’ve never been good at hiding my emotions. But after last night, I’d really hoped that maybe Sean and Makayla would give me a chance to prove myself before they told me to scram.
Pinching the bridge of my nose in an attempt to release the tension building behind my eyes, I let out a long breath and said, “Look, I wasn’t lying to you. Romantic desires and romantic intentions are different. I swear, I just want to help her. I want to get her away from that asshole. I want to see the old Libby come back. I want her to be happy and confident again. That’s all. Yeah, I like her. I’ve always liked her. But you don’t have to worry about that. She deserves better than me. I know that. I won’t do anything to hurt her or hold her back.”
The bell on the shop door chimed, and Sean and I both watched a group of teenagers come in. I was going to use that as my excuse to end this conversation, but when I started to get up, Sean said, “Can I ask why you didn’t graduate? You seem to have a good head on your shoulders. It doesn’t make sense that you’d drop out.”
I slumped back down in my chair. There was no use dodging this line of questioning—he already knew I was a dropout. It was better for him to have the real explanation than let him think I was just lazy and irresponsible. “I had no choice. My dad split when I was seven, and my mom’s drinking started to get bad. By the time I was twelve, she couldn’t keep a job. She’d get work every now and then, but that never lasted long and she spent all her money on booze. Somebody had to put food in the fridge and keep the heat on in the winter. It was either get a job or call the police and let social services split my sister and me up.”
Sean’s eyes widened, which was the only way I could tell he was horrifi
ed by my story. I stared at the table, feeling defensive. “I started working when I was fourteen, but I secretly had to have four different jobs to avoid the labor laws about minors and hide the fact that I didn’t go to school. Josiah figured out what was going on when I was sixteen and let me come to work for him full-time. As soon as I turned eighteen, I moved out and cut all contact with my mom. I brought my sister with me, and about six months ago Josiah helped me make it legal through the court system. Now I’m officially Kate’s guardian.”
I swallowed a lump that had formed in my throat. “My sister is everything to me. She’s worth being a dropout who will never have money or a future. She’s a good kid and has a great shot at getting a scholarship for college. I have no regrets.”
I was completely worked up again and had to take a calming breath. Why couldn’t I control myself in front of this man? I’d gotten used to people judging me and signing me off years ago, but it stung that this man—Libby’s father—knew I wasn’t worthy of his daughter.
He blinked a few times, trying to recover from the surprise of my story. “I appreciate your honesty.” He looked around again and saw that a line was forming at the counter. “I suppose I should let you get back to work. Thank you for speaking with me today.”
I forced a smile as I stood up, but my heart sank in my stomach. I was serious that I had no regrets, but I couldn’t help feeling ashamed. I was a loser and I knew it—the kind of guy parents dreaded their daughters dating. Even if Sean liked me, even if we had a lot in common, he’d never approve of me for Libby. I could never give his daughter what she deserved.
Sean held his hand out to me one last time, and as I shook it, he said, “I just want you to know that having a high school diploma doesn’t make someone a man. You don’t give yourself enough credit. You’d be a boyfriend a father could be proud of.”
I stumbled back. His words were so unexpected that I couldn’t make sense of them. I knew what he meant; I just didn’t understand how he could feel that way. “What?” I asked, still unable to grasp the possibility.