Lillian was one thing. She thought that she had everything figured out. However, she didn’t know Kane. Brent did, and as she entered the familiar house, her knees knocked together.
“Dad?”
“In here.”
Brent Wilkins was in the kitchen, and she expected to see him sitting at the table, fighting against the need to stand.
To her great surprise, Brent stood at the sink, rinsing a bowl. When he was done, he shuffled towards her without the support of his cane. His steps were sloppy, but he did not fall as he drew closer. Seeing him like this, nearly whole, Angeline’s mouth went wide, and she flung her arms around his neck.
“Dad!” she cried. “This is excellent! I’m so proud of you!”
He fell into her arms, and she held him close. In that moment, it felt like everything was coming together, like she was waking from a long dark dream. Kissing his cheek, she was exhilarated at the feel of him leading her to the table. He sat with a groan, but he made every move under his own power.
“Hey,” Brent said. “Why the tears? This is good, no?”
“It’s the best, Dad,” she said, as she took his hand. “I couldn’t ask for anything more. And I have my own surprise for you.”
Easing his hands to her belly, it took Brent all of a second to understand. When the baby kicked on cue, Brent’s eyes filled with tears, and his head fell into her shoulder. “Really?” he murmured. “A little one?”
“Yes.”
Lifting his face to hers, Angeline smiled widely, and she told her father that Kane was going to take care of her. Of both of them.
Brent’s touch grew tense, and he started to pull away. “Dad?” she whispered. “Wait.”
“You’re having his kid?” Brent asked.
He didn’t need to know the whole truth, the supposed truth, and she was tired of explaining it to everyone.
To herself.
“Dad, this is a good thing,” she started. “Kane wants this. So do I. We—”
“Christ, Angie.”
Standing away from her, Brent moved back to his previously abandoned cane, and Angeline’s heart wilted at the sight of him needing the stick to support his weight.
“Dad? You know what he did for me. For us. He’s a good guy.”
She hoped that that would be enough, but Brent leaned forward with a wary gaze.
“I get that,” Brent started. “And you like him, but—”
“No, Dad,” she said. “I love him.”
How could she not?
Brent hesitated, and Angeline clung to the hope that he would simply take her at her word and hold her again. However, her father managed to stay on his feet, as he narrowed his eyes. “Angie,” he started. “You just can’t do this. You’re putting a target on that sweet baby’s back if you stay with him. Maybe…maybe—”
Suddenly, she cried out, “Dad!” He had released his cane; but, he grabbed hold of her thighs, stopping his fall. Steadying his shaking form, he peered up into her eyes.
“Let’s leave,” he said. “I still have some money from the settlement. And you’re a nurse! You can get a job anywhere. It’s better if we just—”
“No!” Pushing him away, Angeline winced as he changed his grip to her abandoned chair; but, as soon as she saw that he had not collapsed to the floor, she straightened her shoulders and brought her hands to her belly. “I can’t… I can’t take this way from him,” she murmured. “He wants this. So do I.”
Brent struggled to his feet. Clutching his cane again, he pointed it towards her unborn child. “Really?” he challenged. “He wants you two in danger at every turn?”
As her father’s words bruised her soul, Angeline was struck by the realization that his objections had been far less furious when he thought that she was the only soul at risk. Be careful. Those were his words to Kane right before he lifted her onto her bike and drove her off into the night. But now, now that there was another life, he went all lion, desperate to protect his pride from the man that had saved them both. “Nice to know where your priorities are, Dad,” she said.
Brent called after her, but Angeline had other plans, plans that might confuse her father but would still keep them all safe in the space of the same second. Returning to her old room, she stripped the bed and started to bring fresh linens to the mattress.
“Angie?” Somehow he had followed, and when he saw what she was doing, his voice tensed around a new question. “So, are you coming home?”
“Yes,” she said, avoiding his eyes. “So is Kane.”
Even without looking, she could sense her father’s fury and fear, and she shuddered at the sound of his cane crashing to the floor. He gripped her shoulders, forcing her to face him, and she saw her father’s head shaking wildly as he spoke. “You are not bringing him here! You want them to know where to find him? What kind of a mother will you—”
“Stop!” she yelled, silencing him with a firm slap and catching him before he fell. Even as her arms surrounded him, she wanted to shake him, to make him understand. However, she couldn’t hurt him; so, she held him. “I’ll be a good mom,” she whispered. “And Kane will be with me. Dad—”
Brent interrupted her, launching into a fresh tirade. He rambled on about how the kid ran with the wrong crowd and the danger was all too real.
“Dad?” Holding his face in her hands, Angeline sighed. “If it’s as bad as you think,” she started, “then we’re better off with him close. So that he can protect us.”
Brent still seemed to doubt her words, but when Angeline kissed his brow and ran her hand down his back, he relented and told her that he would try to follow her lead if it would make her happy.
It would. It had to.