Chapter 27

Bethany

"Did you have fun tonight?" Damon reached for Bethany's hand as they walked toward the house.

"Yeah. You sure you don't need to go back to the office? I honestly understand if you do, Damon." She squeezed his hand and moved in front of him.

He wrapped his arms around her as she fumbled with the keys. As silly as it was, there was something so right about them being there together, waiting to walk into the house they shared. It was dreamy and a little overwhelming.

"No. I'll put in some extra hours next week. Tomorrow is your graduation, and then Matt comes in on Sunday. I have my office here at the house if I need to wrap something up. Stop worrying. I'm yours for the next few days." He kissed the side of her neck, causing chill bumps to race down her back.

"Good. That sounds incredible." She pushed the door open and walked toward the kitchen, the sound of her heels filling up the hallway. "You go change, and I'll make us something to drink."

"That's my line." He popped her butt. "Go get out of those heels and that dress. I'll meet you in the living room in a few minutes with a bottle of wine."

She purred and walked toward the bedroom, shaking her hips a little more than was necessary. Her phone buzzed in her purse as she walked into their bedroom. Pausing, she pulled it out to see the same number that kept calling the day before.

Bethany dropped down on the bed and pressed the phone between her ear and shoulder as she worked on her first heel. "This is Bethany. Hello?"

Nothing. Complete silence. Then, breathing. Soft, masculine?

"Hello? Who is this? I'm hanging up and blocking your number if you don't-"

The call ended, leaving her with silence again.

"How frustrating." She reached up and grabbed the phone, tossing it onto the bed behind her before getting her heels off. It rang again, and she turned and flopped down on her stomach, barely able to reach it. "What do you want?" she screamed into the phone.

"Um, a cheeseburger, a massage and for you to enjoy your graduation tomorrow?" Matthew's voice surprised her but brought her to her senses.

She narrowed her eyes. "Have you been calling me and breathing into the phone like a weirdo?" She got up and pressed the phone between her cheek and shoulder again as she started to work on getting her dress unzipped.

"What? Oh man, I wish. Hell no. I've been knee deep in this art showing tomorrow with Jonathan. Erica was too busy with the firm to help me with this one, so it's been all me. I thought you weren’t actually an adult until you hit forty. I'm not sure it's fair to have to act like one this early in the game," he growled.

Bethany finally got her zipper down and moved back as her dress fell to the floor. It would have been the perfect time for Damon to come in and find her half naked, but he was in the living room by the sound of the TV in the background.

"Okay, well, someone keeps calling. Never mind." She huffed. "I wish you could be here tomorrow. I know it's selfish, and I'm sorry for that, but I miss you. Like, bad."

"I miss you too. I'm so sorry I didn't coordinate being back home with our showings better. That was stupid of me. I swear I only have so many brain cells to use, and walking and breathing are taking up A LOT of mine right now." He chuckled, and Bethany smiled.

There was no use in trying to be mad at Matt. It was impossible.

She walked to her dresser and pulled out a black nightie, the silk soft in her hands. "It's okay. I'm just ready to see you."

"Good. I called to make sure you or Damon were picking us up from the airport."

"Us? Is Erica coming early with you?" Excitement filled Bethany's chest.

"I’m not sure. I think so. Either way, she's going to work from the downtown office for most of the week, but she'll be free when we need to do this or that. It's going to be a pretty busy week, right?"

"Yeah. I saved a lot of stuff for the end just because I work better under pressure and I hate making decisions too far out. I always change my mind ten times, so this time I just waited."

"Smart girl." Matt cleared his throat. "Is Damon around? He's been so fucking busy that I haven't talked to him in a week. It's getting old trying to leave a voicemail message on his already filled up phone."

Bethany walked toward the living room with her nightgown in her hand, hoping to give her man a show. "Let me see where he is. He misses you too. He mentioned it yesterday."

She rounded the corner and stopped. The wine glasses sat on the table, the wine next to them and the TV playing softly in the background. Damon was on the couch, his hands clasped across his stomach, his eyes closed. The soft snoring coming from him was endearing and yet disappointing. He'd put himself under too much as of late. Why wouldn't he be exhausted?

"Well, not sure if you'll believe this, but he's passed out on the couch." She turned and walked back to the bedroom, trying to keep her voice down. "He's been working non-stop trying to get ready for the time off that I asked him to take for the wedding."

"Guess that's good and bad. At least he was willing to take the time."

"True. I'll have him call you tomorrow."

"No, I'll be in the showing all day. I'll just text you the time and flight number for Sunday. Just make sure someone is there to pick us up. If nothing else, send one of my dad's drivers."

"All right. Be safe. Love you." She tossed the nightie onto the chair beside her.

"Love you too. See you Sunday. I can't wait!"

She smiled and pulled the phone away from her ear before setting it down and undoing her bra. No need to wear something sexy seeing that Damon wasn't going to get up again until morning. She yawned and walked to her dresser to pull out a cotton t-shirt and sleeping pants, almost happy to get to wear them instead.

"Maybe him falling asleep early isn't such a bad thing." She snorted as she pulled the shirt over her head and the pants up her legs. She'd muscle him into the bed and lay in the circle of his arms until she passed out. It was something she loved to do, watch him sleep and wonder what he was dreaming about.

Hopefully her.

***

"You ready to go?" Damon moved around the bed, working on his tie and trying to get his feet into his shoes as Bethany stood behind him, checking out her dress in a full-length mirror.

"Yeah. I'm sorry about the alarm. That was stupid of me. I finally got you in the bed last night, put the wine up and crawled into the bed to snuggle with you a little before you fell back asleep. I figured I would get back up and read a little. I never got back up." She huffed and brushed her hands down the front of her dress. "Does this-"

"It's beautiful." He moved toward her, gripping her hip and pulling her toward him. "Fix my tie and let's get out of here. You have to line up in thirty minutes and traffic is going to be a bear."

"Okay. I'm sor-"

"No more apologies, Beth. It was an accident." He touched the side of her face, smiling as she worked on his tie.

"What? I keep thinking I know that grin, but it means something new every time I see it." She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and tilted her head, trying to concentrate on getting his tie just right.

"I'm not telling you. My secrets are my own, but I will say this... I'm proud of you. You're graduating with your master’s from a great school and you're doing it with a 4.0. I'm rarely impressed, but you just keep pulling off feat after feat."

She finished with his tie and touched the sides of his face. "I just expect a lot from myself. High standards. High rewards."

"Who taught you that?" He pulled her hands down from his face and leaned down to kiss her a few times. "You know what? Tell me in the car. We're late!"

"My dad did, though I don't know why. He obviously had no standards at all." She pulled back and walked toward the hallway. "We'll be fine. It's not like the ceremony starts anytime soon. We practiced the lineup yesterday. What in the world could they want from us now?"

"It takes time to get that many excited people in the right order." Damon moved up behind her. "Just look for us in the stands."

She smiled and reached for the door. "Am I going to be able to find you out of the thousands of people there?"

"Yep."

"Why does this worry me?"

He laughed. "Because it should?"

***

The big pink signs Damon, Kent and Bethany's mom waved for her as she walked across the stage weren't easy to miss. Their voices weren't very loud, but their efforts were heard loud and clear. Her eyes filled with tears as she walked down the far end of the stage, diploma in hand. It was a great honor to complete her master’s, but even more than that, she had three people in the stands that thought the world of her. And a few more coming into town the next day.

"I'm proud of you." Kendal stood at the bottom of the stage with a smile on his handsome face. He was decked out in his master’s attire and looked studious.

"Thanks. I'm pretty proud of me too." She extended her hand, knowing that he hated any public display of affection. His past didn't allow for too many questions to be asked about involvement with a student.

"Cocky thing. You're taking after Damon now." Kendal shook her hand before pulling her into a quick hug. "You know I could always get you a job at the college. Just say the word."

She smiled. "Maybe down the line, but for now, I'm going to figure out where my place is beside Damon at M&B. I'm not sure it's there, but we'll see."

"Good. We'll talk soon. Congratulations." Kendal moved back to let her pass.

She glanced back and noticed that the line was getting a little ridiculous behind her. Time to let everyone else have Dr. Tarrington's attention. It was coveted in the accounting department, no doubt.

Bethany made her way toward her seat, but something caught her eye. A man stood by the exit closest to the graduate seats. He turned about the time she really got a good look at him, but she didn't need much more than a few seconds. She'd know him anywhere.

"Dad?" She walked past her row, ignoring the urging of the professor in charge of getting the graduates seated again.

The guy walked out of the Coliseum and into the chilly night air, stopping just outside the door and glancing up at the sky.

Bethany picked up her walk to a jog. Maybe she saw what she wanted to see. Maybe he wasn't who she thought he was, but she couldn't not test out the theory. If it was him? What the fuck was he doing there? Did she really want to see him after all the years of living without him? She was only twelve when he left. Seemed like ages ago.

She stopped just in front of the door, her hands on the bar, shaking. "No way. There's no way."

The guy stiffened as if he felt someone's eyes on him. He turned slowly, the moment engraving itself in Bethany's memories.

"Bethany." His eyes widened, and the horror on his face told her all she needed to know.

She pushed the door open though everything inside of her screamed to pull it closed. To protect herself. "Daddy?"

"Yeah, baby." He stood stone still, only his lips moving. A million words crossed between them, but nothing was said. The air around them crowded with the white clouds coming from their lips as their breath hit the cold.

She waited as long as she could, her mind trying like hell to process what to do next as her heart ripped open in her chest. She asked the question that had plagued her for years after he left, night after night, crying herself to sleep with the same useless question on her mind.

"Why? Why did you leave us?" The sadness in her voice melted into anguish as she reached up and pressed her hand to her mouth.

Where was Damon? Or her mother? Or Matt for crying out loud. Anyone would have been a comfort.

"I had no choice, baby. I had to run. I made some horrible choices when I was younger, and your mother put up with them, but one night I decided no more. I didn't deserve either of you, and you didn't deserve the life I led you into. So, I ran... so they would follow me. I got what I deserved."

"And what about what I deserved?" Anger burned through her so bright it almost blinded her. She stepped forward, closing the gap between them and slapped him as hard as she could. "What about what mom deserved? We went through hell without you, because of you."

He nodded and glanced down, his shoulders rounding. "And for that, I'm sorry. You can't see it from my side of the street, Beth. Because you've never stood over here, and I pray to God you never have to. I'm sorry for coming tonight. They had your name in the paper, and I wanted to see you. Forgive me."

He turned and walked toward the street, his demeanor that of a broken man.

"No. You don't get to show up and walk away again," she called after him.

"What would you have me do, Beth? Tell me, and I'll do it."

"It's Bethany, and I don't know!" She forced her tears back down. She could cry later. She wasn't a broken little girl anymore, and he wouldn't get another tear from her.

"It's always been Beth, baby. That's my nickname for you."

"Well, don't-"

"Beth? You okay?" Damon's voice pulled her from her thoughts, and she turned to face him as a sob rose up in her chest.

"I was just... this is my..." she glanced back to find him gone. "Wait. Wait!" She jogged toward the street, half-tripping on her gown as Damon called after her. "Where did he go?"

"Who, baby?" Damon caught up to her and pulled her into his arms. "What's going on?"

"My dad was here, Damon. He watched the ceremony, and I followed him out."

"You sure?" He pulled her in tighter and kissed the top of her head. "Come back inside with me."

"Fine, but yes, I'm sure. He was standing right here. I slapped him in the face and talked to him for five full minutes." The fact that she'd slapped him hurt her. She could have let out her rage another way. He was still her dad.

"Bethany?" Her mother called from the exit door, her and Kent walking out. "What's wrong?"

"Don't say a word." She glanced up at Damon. "Promise?"

"Anything for you." He leaned down and kissed her before turning to her mom and Kent. "Nothing. She got a little overheated and came out for air. Everything is fine. No biggie."

Bethany let her eyes scan the street one more time. It was a biggie. A really big biggie.