Tightrope

Chapter 12

Previously:

He touched his lips to hers in a brief kiss and she moaned softly. He smiled down at her. "I'll tell you everything."

"Come home with me, Can," she said. The way she was looking at him and the way her voice came out low and raspy exposed her true desire. His smile grew and he raised his eyebrows. "So we can talk, Can! Serseri!"

He laughed and kissed her cheek. "Yes, let's go talk," he said.

***

Can and Sanem walked hand-in-hand through the grounds of Mihriban's estate. Sanem had Can park far from the house so they could walk a little. They kept looking at each other and smiling as they walked, and they were both deliriously happy. She knew she still loved him, but she wasn't sure if she loved the memory of who he was, or the man he was now. She couldn't make any decisions until she got to know the man he'd grown into and she was sure that they were still compatible and that they were still right for each other.  Her heart told her to give in, but her head was telling her to wait.

She knew a private place to talk and was leading Can to it, but as they passed the house where her father lived, they saw he was outside watering the flowers. Sanem let go of Can's hand quickly, and his heart clenched in disappointment. Nihat looked up with a smile, expecting only Sanem. When he saw Can, his smile was replaced by a look of confusion, then recognition, then wariness.

"Nihat amca," Can said, walking toward Nihat with his arms open. "It's so good to see you," he said, giving the older man a bear hug. Nihat closed his arms around Can and patted his back. Sanem teared up and she sniffled, emotional at the reunion of the two most important men in her life. Can stepped back, his hands still on Nihat's shoulders. "I've missed you. You haven't aged a day."

Nihat smiled and ducked his head in embarrassment at the compliment. "Thank you, son. It's good to see you, too," he said, patting Can's face. "You've aged quite a lot! You're not a boy anymore!" he said.

Can took his arms down and stepped back to stand next to Sanem. "No, I'm not."  Sanem looked up at him, her eyes vulnerable, her expression transparent. Nihat could see that whatever had been between Can and his daughter was still there.

"How is this? That you're here, I mean," he said, looking to Sanem with questions in his eyes.

"Sanem and I have a friend in common, coincidentally, and we met by chance at his party last night," Can answered, pausing to let Nihat digest the information. "I moved back to Istanbul after I graduated from college. My family moved suddenly, as you know," he met Nihat's eyes, and Nihat nodded sadly.  "We went to Switzerland. But I was only there for a year while I finished high school. I attended university in Italy." He explained. "I came back to look for your family—for Sanem—after I graduated from high school, but I couldn't find anyone who knew where you were."

Nihat looked straight into Can's eyes, his face serious. "My daughter's spirit was broken for a long time after you left. She cried all the time. I didn't know if she'd ever be happy again."

"Baba, don't," Sanem pleaded.

Nihat's words felt like a punch to the gut. "I know, Nihat amca. I was devastated, too. There's nothing that makes me more upset about the situation than the idea of Sanem feeling hurt and abandoned. You know she's always been special to me. If there was anything I could have done to change things, I would have done it."

"I believe you, oğulum. I just hope nothing like that ever happens again."  His voice carried a warning: Don't hurt my daughter, or you'll answer to me. Can understood it. Nihat has always loved Can like a son. And he knew Sanem was in love with him from a very young age; he wasn't blind.