Secrets, Lies, and Summer Skies

Epilogue

Someone grasped my arm, but it wasn't Grayson.

"Dad!" I exclaimed.

Of course, it made sense that he'd be there. Honestly, I thought he'd come up and meet me alongside Jenny. I wasn't going to gripe about it. Not on such a happy day. It just seemed out of character for him to hang back when he'd always been there to celebrate milestones with me.

He tugged me against his chest and left me winded. I didn't mind. A girl wasn't about to complain about the embrace of her favorite parent. Also, notably, the only one who'd bothered to show up. That we'd recovered our relationship at all after everything had happened was a miracle. To see the pride in his eyes and to feel his arms around me was more than I could've ever expected after that day he'd come home and caught me with Grayson.

"I'm so proud of you, sweetheart." He kissed the top of my head. "I always knew you'd make something of yourself, and here you are with a degree, and you've got the whole world at your feet."

I pulled back to smile up at him. "True, but the world can probably wait a little while, right?"

Dad paused. His smile faltered, but it was back a moment later. "I'd say you've earned a break after all your hard work. Then again, what I say shouldn't matter. You're an adult and you can make your own decisions. After all, I told you that you should stop living for my sake, and I stand by that. It's your life, sweetheart. Whatever you plan to do with it, I'll support you."

"Even if Jenny takes me across Europe?" I teased.

"Well... I'll support you within reason."

"I'm kidding," I assured him. "But... I don't have a plan, Dad. Not in the long term. For once in my life, I just want to take each day as it comes. Sure, I'll look for a job, but for a little while at least I just want to breathe and live in the moment."

"Is that a hint that I'm interrupting one of those moments?" he asked. "It looked like you were trying to find someone, and I'm not stupid enough to think that person was me."

"You were one of the people I was looking for..."

"You don't need to spare my feelings." Dad jerked his thumb back over his shoulder. "He's over that way."

My eyes pinched in suspicion. "How do you know?"

"I might have had a little word with him after the ceremony."

"You didn't say anything weird to him, did you?" I asked.

"Depends on what you'd call weird. Is it weird that I reminded him about my threat to hit him with my car if he upsets you?"

"Kinda, yeah," I said.

"Oh, then I absolutely said something weird." Dad squeezed my arm. "Go on. I'll see if I can find Jenny. Don't want her wandering off when we've got a reservation to make in a little while."

A small part of me wondered if it was wise to leave Dad and Jenny alone. While he'd never shown any interest in her as anything other than a daughter, she'd made a few comments about him that made me wonder if she would try to get him into bed.

Gross.

The image of my dad and my best friend together wasn't one I wanted in my head when I needed to find a man about a promise.

I followed Dad's vague directions and found Grayson at the edge of the field. I'd hoped to find him alone, but a few single mothers had stopped to introduce themselves. I couldn't say that I was surprised. They probably thought that he was there to celebrate his kid's graduation and, as there was no ring on his finger, he was fair game. The thought of all these women clamoring for his number made me laugh quietly to myself. Perhaps I should've stepped in and helped him get away, but Grayson had always been charming and confident, so I trusted that he could extract himself from the situation. I hung back and waited for him to make eye contact. Once he realized I was there, he began to make excuses and pulled away from the group.