She winces slightly but doesn’t engage in the very awkward conversation that would ensue about her moving out of my apartment while I was gone. Instead, she says, “Detective Blanton interviewed Kevin. He thinks he was involved with my attack, but Kevin won’t admit anything.”
I nod. Bridger had kept me in the loop. “Bridger’s buddy, Kyle, came through. Identified the guy who attacked you. It wasn’t sanctioned by the MC, so they’re going to share that info with the police. They’ll put a warrant out for his arrest.”
Cat’s gorgeous mouth forms into an “O” of surprise. “I didn’t know that.”
“Well, hopefully, they’ll find the guy quickly and he’ll roll on Kevin. Then you can put all of this behind you.”
She nods, gaze dropping to the ground… clearly indecisive about what to say. When her face lifts, she turns to look at her dad standing in the doorway waiting for her, and then back to me.
“I can’t believe you went to all that trouble for me,” she says quietly and with such earnest gratitude, I actually feel a little hot under the collar.
My gut says to play it cool with her, but fuck that… I missed her too much and I want her to know that this isn’t over between us. “I’d do anything for you, Cat. Come find me when you’re ready, but for now… go get to know your dad. He’s a great guy.”
Her eyes shimmer as she smiles at me brilliantly. She inclines her head to me… a silent gesture of acceptance and pleasure over my words… and turns to race back to the house like a little girl who is having her first Christmas. I watch until she hits the porch. Her dad moves to the side to allow her to come through, and they link arms as they turn to go inside. When the door shuts, I get in the rental car and head home.
Chapter 26
Cat
It’s been a week since Rand brought my father to me. Since that amazing man went out and tracked down the missing puzzle piece in my life. I didn’t realize how badly I needed that piece until it was presented to me.
I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to adequately convey to Rand what that means to me.
Did to me.
The way it changed me.
Not many people can really understand my background. It’s hard to comprehend what it does to the human spirit… the belief that someone doesn’t want you. I knew my mom didn’t want me, and I only had her telling me my father abandoned me to complete my familial unit.
I told my father everything during his visit.
And I mean everything, even down to telling him about Samuel and how he used me. I didn’t give him vivid details, but I gave him enough that my dad started crying, which made me cry too. He then assured me that he wants me. That even when he didn’t know I existed, he wanted me. That was lovely, and I cried harder.
My dad then pointed out that given my history and not having the most important people to depend upon—that being parents—he said it was no wonder I accepted what Samuel wanted of me as his wife. He thought it spoke to perhaps my inherent need to be wanted, even as vile as the circumstances were. He reiterated to me something that Rand has said on more than one occasion… that I was a survivor.
The five days I had with my dad were not nearly enough. We spent every moment together, just talking endlessly. We had twenty-four years of catching up to do. While my life’s details were not easy for him to take, I reveled in hearing about his. He was a career Army man and a true hero. I apparently have amazing grandparents back in Green Bay that cannot wait to meet me. His wife, Marsha—my new stepmom, so weird to say that—is the freakin’ bomb. We’ve talked several times by phone and she’s everything that my mother was not. I also had a tentative talk on the phone with my new siblings. My brother, Jared, is fifteen and really into soccer. This was an awkward conversation because I know nothing about soccer or fifteen-year-old boys, but in the end, it was okay because he said, “I can’t wait to meet you, Cat,” and that made my day.
Now my sister, Natasha, is a spitfire at age eleven. I do know something about eleven-year-old girls so we talked about music, Snapchat, fingernail polish, and boys, not necessarily in that order, and well… mostly about boys. I did this while my dad listened in on my end of the conversation and rolled his eyes, muttering, “I don’t want to know about this stuff.”
It was a perfect five days.
I was completely reborn, and I say completely because the process started before my dad came back into my life. I realize now that process started the night Rand found me in my car and made me start believing in a better life.