Until You (The Redemption, #1)(80)

“Shouldn’t Tenny be here?” Paige asks.

“Why?”

“Well, she’s part of our family, right? Shouldn’t she be part of our family meeting?”

Paige’s words put a hitch in my step as I move to sit in the chair opposite the girls. And just like that, the girls have accepted Tenny into our family as if it’s a no-brainer. Whereas I’m overthinking and struggling with every minute detail of it.

What I’d give to be a kid again so I could just go with the flow and allow change to happen without fighting it.

“Well, true,” I finally say, “but this is about us, and so I wanted it to be just the three of us.”

“Don’t tell us we’re leaving yet,” Paige says matter of fact.

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“We don’t want to leave yet,” she says. “We’re having so much fun with our friends and with Tenny . . . and you’re so . . .”

“I’m so, what?”

“You smile more here,” Paige says, averting her eyes to her sister.

“Or maybe we don’t want to leave at all,” Addy adds and effectively knocks me on my ass.

“What?” I ask.

They both shrug in unison. “We like it here, Dad.”

“But you only know summer here. You don’t know what the school is like or what—”

“We know enough,” Paige says.

“Plus, there’s no Ginny.” Addy winces for show.

“Girls . . .” It’s a half-hearted sigh because isn’t this partially what I wanted to hear? But now that I’m hearing it, I’m silently freaking out.

“What did you want to talk to us about? What’s the big family meeting over?” Addy asks.

I shake my head and chuckle. “Honestly? I wanted to see what you guys thought of Redemption. If you liked it or if it made you miss back home, is all. Just a temperature check.”

“Temperature check?” Paige looks at her sister and giggles. “That’s the weirdest phrase ever.”

“I guess it is,” I mutter.

“We like it here, Dad. There are no George Vinson’s to be gross in class. We can go outside and hang out until dark when at home we can’t do that. You let us have more independence here. And we have a lot more friends here too,” Addy says.

“And there’s Tenny.” Paige’s eyes hold mine, and I swear to God she’s waiting for a reaction from me.

I meet her stare and nod. “There is.”

“And we’re pretty sure she’s a big part of why we’re all smiling more so . . .”

“So?” I ask.

“So, it wouldn’t bug us if Uncle Ian called and asked you to work more on the house so that we had to stay longer,” Paige says.

“Okay. Well . . .” I run my hands down the tops of my thighs, more than blown out of the water at how this conversation just went. I expected groans and protests. Drawn out dads and huffed breaths. No way in hell did I expect them to tell me it’s okay to stay here in Redemption Falls. To move here.

They were supposed to be the ones grounding me. The ones holding me back from taking this ridiculous leap of faith that I’m being completely tempted by. The voice of reason.

Instead, they fanned the flames.

“Earth to Dad?” Paige is waving her hands in front of my face.

“Yes. Sorry. I was thinking.”

“Hopefully about what good thing you’re going to cook for dinner, right?” Addy asks.

“Smart aleck.”

“Always.” She stands and takes a bow, looking almost like a clown with the vibrant eyeshadow and half-blue, half-red lips. “Can we go now?”

“Yes,” I say.

Long after they’ve run upstairs and started filming again, I stay where I am, running the conversation over and over through my mind. Making a mental pros and cons list. Thinking about the repercussions of staying. Of going. Of everything in between.

My sighs fall heavy.

My head is still confused.

And when Tenny opens the front door, a few shopping bags in hand and a soft smile spreading on her lips when she sees me, I finally have my answer.

It may not have come as easily as the girls’, but they were right. Tenny needed to be here.

Because all it took was one look from her for me to know the answer.

And honestly, I’m pretty sure it’s been looking at me right in the face this whole time.





CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR


Crew




“Crew?” Adele asks. “We don’t have an appointment scheduled until next week. I got your message. Is everything okay?”

I close my eyes for a beat and smile, feeling like a thousand tons have been lifted from my chest with my decision.

“Everything is great. I just wanted you to know, you were right.”

“About?”

I chuckle because I sure as hell won’t miss the ever-constant question to answer a statement. “About my new metrics for how I measure my happiness.”

“How so?”

There’s another one.

“Being on the force was my profession. It isn’t who I am. It doesn’t define me.”