“Who are you?” Rachel asks.
“I’m Maeve,” the woman next to me says. “Nice to meet you.”
Before Rachel can say anything else, I give her a hard look in the rearview mirror. “Talk to me.”
“I just decided I didn’t want to go do what my friends wanted to do.”
“Why in the ever-loving hell were you out in the first place? You know you’re supposed to be at Gram and Gramps’ while I’m out of town.”
“Well, apparently, you aren’t out of town. You’re just having a sex weekend with this…person.”
“Watch it,” I warn her. “Why did you leave the house?”
“Because I wanted to go hang with my friends.”
“That’s not a good reason.”
I pull through the gate to my house and drive up the steep driveway toward the garage.
“Why are we at home?” Rachel asks. “Aren’t we going to Grams’?”
“No.” I pull up to the house and get out of the car, holding the seat for Rachel. As soon as she’s standing next to me, I smell her breath. “You’ve been drinking.”
“I had one beer.”
“You’re fifteen fucking years old,” I remind her, my voice like steel. “You’re not an adult.”
“You treat me like a baby,” she counters. “I called you because they were snorting coke, and I didn’t want to do that stuff.”
“Coke?” I stare at her in disbelief. “Jesus Christ, Rachel. You’re done with them. You’ve just lost your phone and every other privilege you enjoy.”
“Dad—”
“Wait.” We both turn at the sound of Maeve’s voice. My chest is heaving, my blood rushing through my ears. “She just told you what happened. She called you for help. I know that what she did was wrong, but she also did the right thing by not doing the drugs and calling you instead. You can’t punish her for her friends’ decisions.”
I narrow my eyes, but I know she’s right.
“I like her,” Rachel decides and turns to Maeve. “Not that you’ll be around for long because no one ever is. But I like you.”
My daughter tosses her phone to me and then stomps into the house, leaving me out in the driveway with Maeve.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have interrupted,” she begins, but I shake my head.
“No, you were right. I was upset, and I can’t punish her for what her friends decided to do. I’m glad she called me, but I’m so damn pissed that she snuck out in the first place.”
“Absolutely.” Maeve checks her watch. “I’d better hunt down a hotel room. I’d call an Uber to take me back to the island, but I think I’ve missed the last ferry for the day.”
“Ah, hell. I’m so sorry. Why don’t you stay here tonight? I’ll take you home first thing in the morning.”
She calmly looks back to the front door where Rachel just slammed it and shakes her head. “I think, under the current circumstances, that’s not at all appropriate.”
She looks back at me and raises a brow.
My heart skips a beat.
“Maeve.”
“It’s okay.” She walks forward and takes my hand in hers, giving my fingers a little squeeze. “I’ll grab a room.”
“I’ll pick you up in the morning and take you home.”
“I’d like that.” She smiles and then reaches up to cup my cheek. I feel my heart, the one that just skipped a beat, shift. “She’s going to be okay. And so are you. I enjoyed tonight.”
“I wish you’d stay with me.”
Her smile is quick and full of female satisfaction. “Another night. When there isn’t so much teenage angst going on.”
“That could take five years.”
She laughs and taps on the screen of her phone, then leans in to hug me.
“My car will be here in three minutes. I have to meet them down at the gate.”
“I’ll walk you down.”
We start down the driveway. “Aren’t you afraid she’ll sneak out again?”
“Nah. This place is like Fort Knox. She’s not going anywhere else tonight. But I might sneak out later and come find your hotel.”
Maeve’s laugh fills the air. “You’d best set a good example for your daughter.”
“You’re a bossy one, you know that?”
She leans her head on my biceps. I can’t get enough of her touch. “Yeah. I am.”
Her car pulls up to the gate. I watch her get into the backseat and then stare at the red taillights as the car pulls away.
I have to go up and have a long talk with my daughter.
Chapter 5
~Maeve~
“What hotel?” Maggie asks with a frown as she stares at me on FaceTime.
“Uh, the Four Seasons,” I reply with a chuckle. “I figured if I’m stuck in Seattle for the night, it might as well be at a really nice place.”
“Fancy,” she replies with a grin. “I’m sorry that happened, though.”
“He has a teenager.” I shrug and sip the wine I had brought up. “I just feel bad for him. Sounds like she’s a handful.”
“I think Ma and Da had it kind of easy with us. I don’t remember any of us pulling stuff like that.”