by SJ McCoy
“I’d like to think you’re right.”
“I am, and on your wedding day I’ll remind you of this conversation.”
Hope smiled. “That’s one I told you so that I’d be more than happy to hear.”
After lunch, Gina walked her back to the Land Rover and gave her a hug. “I hope I’ll see you again before you leave?”
“Me too. Can I call you?”
“Any time. If you and Chance want to come over for dinner one night, just let me know. Mason would love to have you. We talked about inviting you, but we haven’t wanted to take up the little time the two of you have together.”
“Thanks. I think I need to get to work on figuring out how we can extend our time. It’s going to be down to me to figure that out. Chance’s life is what it is. He’s here; his work takes up most of his time. If I want to be with him, I need to adapt to that somehow.”
“And, are you okay with that?”
“I am, it’s my choice to make. I’ll be a lot happier with it if I can figure out what I’d do with my time here, though.”
“Would you mind if I talk to Cassidy about it? She’s great at ideas; she’s sees possibilities and opportunities everywhere.”
“Okay. I’m not coming up with anything by myself; maybe she can see something we can’t.”
Gina smiled. “She usually does. I’m going to pop into the gallery before I go and pick Phoenix up. I’ll have a chat with her.”
“Thanks.”
Hope had a lot on her mind as she drove back down to Oscar’s place. If she was going to make the leap, decide that she was going to do everything she could so she and Chance could be together, then she had a lot of decisions to make. The biggest one was whether she should invite her dad to meet him. Maybe she should figure out what she could do to make a life for herself here first? Her dad might be more receptive if he could see that moving here would be a good move for her personally and that it didn’t depend totally on her relationship with Chance. Hell, she’d be a lot happier if she could see that, too.
When she approached Uncle Johnny’s, both he and Aunt Jean were sitting out on the front porch. She stopped the Land Rover and rolled down her window. “Hi there.” She knew something was amiss from the look on their faces. “What’s wrong?”
“You haven’t heard from your father?” asked Uncle Johnny.
Her heart began to race. “No. Is he okay?” No matter how strained their relationship might be at times, she often woke up crying after nightmares that he’d died. She dreaded that someday he’d be gone and he wouldn’t know how much she loved him.
“He’s fine.” Uncle Johnny gave her a reassuring smile. “He’s coming here.”
“Here?”
Uncle Johnny nodded solemnly.
“Oh. Why?”
“His exact words were, he’s concerned about his daughter running around with some cowboy. He’s also concerned that your aunt and I are not doing enough to keep you in check.”
Aunt Jean smiled. “In fact, we’re probably a bad influence, or at least I am.”
Uncle Johnny shook his head at her. “He didn’t say that.”
She laughed. “No, but he thinks it. He always has.” She looked at Hope. “Do you think Chance is ready to face an inquisition?”
Hope blew out a sigh. “I don’t know, but I guess we’re about to find out. When did Dad say he’d be here?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
“Wow! That soon?”
“Yes, and he said he’s prepared to take you home with him if he doesn’t like what he finds.”
Hope let out a bitter laugh. “Which of his houses is he calling home these days? The one in the Caymans? The only place I’ve ever called home was our house here, and he took me away from it when I needed it most. He has no right to say what I do or where I will call home.”
Uncle Johnny looked shocked by her outburst, but Aunt Jean smiled kindly. “You’re bound to be upset, Hopey, but you should calm down before you talk to him. Prepare your argument with logic that he can’t deny.”
Hope nodded.
“Do you want to come in for a while?” asked Uncle Johnny. “Maybe we can plan your defense?”
“Or your line of attack?” suggested Aunt Jean.
Hope checked the clock on the dash. It was only two-thirty. Chance wouldn’t be finished with work till at least six. She’d do better to hang out with them than to sit at Oscar’s place fuming over her father’s imminent arrival. She nodded and got out of the truck.
~ ~ ~
Chance loved coming home to the cabin and finding Hope sitting out on the back porch waiting for him. It made him feel like this was his life, and that his life was complete. He smiled at the sight of her. She smiled back, but something was wrong. He could tell straight away.
“What is it?”
She shook her head and blew out a sigh. “Is it that obvious? I haven’t even said hello yet.”
“Yeah, but there’s something wrong. I can tell by that little line on your forehead, and by the way, the corners of your mouth turn down the tiniest bit.”
She smiled. “That better?”
“Kind of, your mouth is smiling, but your eyes aren’t. Are you going to tell me?”
“Yeah. My dad’s coming.”
“Oh. He knows you’re here then?”
She nodded.
“And he knows you’re with me?”
She nodded again.
Chance closed his eyes and pressed his lips together. “Last night I told you that I want to fight against all the obstacles in our way.” He shook his head. “I don’t want to fight your dad. I don’t want to come between the two of you.”
She met his gaze. “What are you saying?”
He held up a hand. “I’m not backing out. I’m just saying I don’t know how to handle this.”
“Well, you said you’ve got my back, right?”
“Yep.”
“And you’re not going to try to make my decisions for me?”
“No. I’m not, but I don’t want to cause friction between the two of you.”
“You won’t. If there’s any friction, it will be caused by him not having my back and trying to make my decisions for me. I want him to respect me, to respect what I want, and I want him to accept that I want to be with you, that I want to live here.”
“You do?”
She nodded. “Yes. I need to find something I can do with my life here. I can’t just be a porch ornament in your life.”
He smiled at the way she put it, but he understood what she meant. “What about your business, though?”
She shrugged. “There are a lot of details to be worked out and decisions to be made, but that’ll all happen with time. The big decision is made. I’m moving here.”
Chance looked at her for a long moment. He didn’t want her to rush into this just to defy her father. He didn’t want to be responsible for her giving up the life she had. Especially when he didn’t know what kind of life she could have here.
“Unless you don’t want me to?”
“I do! It’s not that.”
“What then?”
“I want you to do what’s best for you.”
She got up and came to him. Sliding her arms around his waist, she looked up into his eyes. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re what’s best for me.”
He lowered his mouth to hers. Her plump, pink lips were so soft against his. The way she kissed him back told him she wanted him. This wasn’t about defying her father; it was about being with him. Her kiss told him that.
When he lifted his head, he nodded. “So, how are we going to approach it? What do you want me to do?”
“How do you feel about meeting him?”
“Determined, nervous, a whole mix of emotions. I’d love to think he’ll like me, but I doubt he will. I understand where he’s coming from—he wants to protect his daughter. I can relate to that. He perceives me as a possible threat. At the very least, he thinks I’m not go
od enough for you. I’d like to prove him wrong, but I don’t know if he’ll give me the opportunity to do so. If he’s determined not to like me, if he doesn’t want me to be in your life, then we’re going to have a real problem.”
She nodded. “We are, but as far as I’m concerned, it will be his problem. Not ours. He has to accept that I make my own decisions, and he can like it or lump it.”
Chance chuckled. “I haven’t heard that expression in years.”
She smiled. “He used to say that all the time to me when I was little. It’s helped me learn that sometimes we just have to accept what we can’t change.” She sighed.
“What?”
“I just know he’ll think he can change my mind.”
“Maybe he will.”
She frowned at him. “No way.”
“If you say so, but I don’t want this to make you lose sight of things.”
“What things?”
“Before you knew he was coming, we were going to just take it as it comes, we were aiming for a possibility, but no more than that. I don’t want you to get so busy fighting your dad that you forget to decide if you really want us. When someone tells you you can’t have something, you end up fighting to get it, just out of defiance. You forget to question whether you really wanted it in the first place.”
She smiled. “You’re right, but this is different. I do want you, I want us, but I’m not going to rush us, just because he’s trying to put a stop to it.”
“Is that what he’s doing?”
She shrugged. “Not yet, but I know that’s what he will do if we can’t win him over.”
“Okay, I’d better do my best to win him over then, huh? When does he arrive?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
“Should I get the guys to cover for me and take the day off?”
“No. I’ll see him by myself during the day, then we can figure out if we’re all going to have dinner together or something.”
Chapter Sixteen
Hope sat on the deck at Oscar’s place. Her dad should be here any time now. She could have gone to the airport to meet him, but she didn’t want to. She felt like that would be going running just because he’d snapped his fingers. He’d be staying up at the house. She didn’t want to go there. It wasn’t her home anymore. She was more comfortable here, in her cousin’s house. Being here felt like she had her own territory; he could come into it. She wasn’t going to sit and wait for him in a house full of childhood memories. She wouldn’t do it. She blew out a sigh. She needed to calm down before he arrived. She was angry with him. Angry that he felt he had the right to dictate what she did with her life and angry that he hadn’t even called her. He’d talked to Uncle Johnny and now just expected her to be there waiting for him when he arrived. She sighed again. She really needed to calm down.
Her heart began to race in her chest when she heard a vehicle coming down the lane. This was it. He was here. She watched as the SUV pulled up out front. Her father climbed out of the passenger seat. He rarely drove himself anywhere anymore. His bodyguard did all the driving.
He looked up at her, and her frosty attitude melted a little when he smiled. “Hey, Hopey.”
“Dad!” She ran down the steps to meet him and wrapped him in a hug. She couldn’t help it. She loved him despite everything.
He hugged her to him for an all too brief moment, then stepped back and held her at arm’s-length. “You look well. Very well. You’re healthier and happier than the last time I saw you, aren’t you?”
“I am, and I think you know why.”
His smile disappeared in an instant. “Are we going to get straight into it?”
She shrugged. “I thought that was what you came for? It’s not like you normally just drop in to see me, is it?”
“No, it isn’t. I try to let you get on with your life.”
“I wish you would.”
He fixed her with a hard glare. “I do. Mostly. Until you get too far off track, then I feel the need to offer a little parental guidance—because I love you, not because I’m trying to control you or your life.”
Hope drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. There was no point getting angry. It wouldn’t help anything; it’d only make matters worse. “I know you mean well, I really do. I just hope you’ve come with an open mind.”
“I have. I won’t deny that I have some major concerns, but I’m prepared to keep an open mind, and to listen to you—and to him if you’ll let me. If he’s up to it.”
“He’s up to it. He wanted to be here to greet you when you arrived. Don’t think he’s trying to hide from you because he isn’t. I was the one who said he should wait. I wanted to talk to you by myself first.”
Her dad nodded. “That’s good to know—about both of you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I’m glad to hear he’s got the balls to want to meet me and glad to hear that you wanted to talk to me alone first.” He smiled gently. “It makes me think that maybe there’s still a chance for you and me. That you’re not just going to cast me aside because of him.”
“No! My goodness, no, Dad. I always wanted there to be a you and me. I wanted to be able to come to you first—about boyfriends and everything else, but you … you didn’t have room for me or time for me, or you were trying to make me stand on my own two feet. I never felt I could.”
He closed his eyes for a moment. “I’ve always been here for you, Hopey. I just don’t know how to be. I don’t know how to …”
Hope was stunned by the pain that shone in his eyes. At that moment, she understood something about him that she never had before. He and Chance were the same kind of animal. “You want to love me, but you don’t know how to let yourself?”
He shook his head. “I do love you. I don’t know how to show you.” He visibly pulled himself together. “Are you going to invite me in?”
She nodded and led him up the steps to the front door.
“Why didn’t you stay at the house?” he asked as he followed her through to the kitchen.
She shrugged. “I can’t bring myself to stay there. It hurts too much.” As she said it, she was getting at him, letting him know that she hadn’t forgiven him for taking her away from that house after her mom died. His response knocked her for six.
“It hurts me, too, but I can’t come here and not stay there. That’s why I come so rarely. That place is all about your mom. It’s a mausoleum to the life we lost, the life I’ve never stopped wanting back.”
Hope had to turn away and wipe her eyes. He really was just like Chance. She understood so much more about him now than she had before. If she tried to understand him in the same way she understood Chance, everything looked so different.
“I’m sorry. I’ve been on the go for the last several days. I’m sleep deprived, and, apparently, a little emotional. Forgive me?”
She turned around and let the tears roll down her cheeks. “I forgive you, Daddy. Can you forgive me? I never understood how it must feel for you. All I could see was my own pain and how you made it worse. I think I understand you now. I’m sorry.”
He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her to his chest. “You were just a little girl. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t see past my own pain. I’m sorry.”
She sobbed into his chest and hugged him back, feeling closer to him than she had since she was twelve years old. “I love you.”
“I love you, Hopey.”
They stood that way for a long time. This couldn’t be further from the meeting she’d expected to have with him.
Eventually, he straightened up and wiped his eyes. “I’m still concerned about this cowboy.”
She nodded. “His name is Chance. I know you’re concerned, that’s why I want you to meet him. Before I heard you were coming here, I was trying to figure out a time I could bring him to meet you.”
“You were?”
She nodded. “He’s important to me. I need you to understand that.”
“What’s so special about him? You’ve never wanted me to meet any of the others.”
“None of the others mattered much. Chance does.”
“What do you see in him?”
She smiled. “He’s a decent, honorable man. He reminds me a lot of you.”
Her father’s eyes widened. “How?”
“He has high standards; he doesn’t have much faith in people.” She drew in a deep breath before she said what she’d only just understood herself. “He’s wasted half his life mourning the woman he loved.”
He stared at her for a long moment.
She wanted to say something to break the silence, but she forced herself not to. She wanted him to think about her words and what they meant before he responded.
Eventually, he nodded. “And you find that an admirable trait in him?”
“I respect it, both in him and in you, but I also see the damage it’s done. To both of you.” She smiled. “I’d like to think I can be the catalyst that helps you both rejoin the living.”
He frowned.
“At first, Chance didn’t feel as though he should allow himself to get close to me because that would mean he’d have to let go of Chloe. I told him he doesn’t need to let go of her; she’s a part of him.” She held his gaze. “Just like mom is a part of you and a part of me. We don’t have to shut ourselves down to feeling anything for anyone else. Mom’s inside us, no matter where we go and no matter who we allow ourselves to love. Mom will always be a part of us.”
Her dad wiped his eyes and nodded slowly. “So, this isn’t going to be a case of me buying off an undesirable who’s got his hooks into you?”
She let out a bitter little laugh. “Do you really think I’m that stupid?”
He sighed. “No, I suppose I was just hoping it could be that simple. When do I get to meet him?”
“I told him I’d call him about coming up here for dinner this evening.”
“Do I get you to myself until then?”
She smiled. “I’d love that. What would you like to do?”
His lower lip trembled. “Would you come up to the house with me?”
She grasped his hand tightly. “Yes. Maybe it’s time we went in there together.”
~ ~ ~