Give Me a Reason (Redemption Hills 1)

His throat bobbed heavily as he swallowed, his nod slow and full of disappointment. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

My head shook. “Because you’d worry. You’d say it wasn’t necessary. You’d say the burden was all on you, and I couldn’t sit around and let that happen. I needed to be there for you, fight for you, the way you’ve always done for me. It’s not exactly the kind of place I’d typically find myself in.”

I wasn’t ashamed of working there.

It just was the truth.

Until I got to know the people behind the doors, it’d felt foreign.

Removed.

A place I could never call home.

And that’s exactly where I’d found myself—home.

“You should have told me, Eden.”

“I know, but there are some things we just have to do, and that was one of them.”

“And you…met him there. Fell in love with him,” he surmised.

“I did.”

It might have been messy and fraught with uncertainty, but I had.

“When I found out he was Gage’s father, when he realized I was Gage’s teacher, we tried to ignore our feelings for each other. Knew it would be frowned upon at the school. We tried to keep in our lanes and pretend we weren’t drawn. I think it was impossible for both of us.”

Some gravities were too strong.

Daddy scrubbed a palm over his face.

“He’s so different…” He trailed off. He didn’t say it. Still, I heard what he’d meant.

So different than Aaron.

Everything my daddy never would have imagined for me.

Ruthless and hard and intimidating.

“I know, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t fit me perfectly.”

At that, my daddy flinched. “I’m happy for you, Eden. You know the only thing I’ve ever wanted in my life is to see you find the full joy of yours. But I…”

He wavered, hesitated, contemplating if he should say it. “I need you to be careful…there’s…there’s a darkness inside him. I met him at the church last week, and I felt it then. Felt it just as strong as I did this morning.”

I nodded. “He has demons.”

“We all do, but I’m not sure his are in the past. There’s something, right there, just below the surface.”

God, I’d been keeping so much from my father. But the last thing I wanted was to add more to his burden. Deepen his worry. Not when we were barely seeing hope lighting at the edge of our horizon.

And I doubted much that the pain of my sister was ever going to go away, and at some point, I needed to find a way to tell him about the letters she’d been sending. Once I figured out her intentions.

With all of that, there was no way I would saddle him with the weight of what’d happened to my car.

Besides, I’d started to hope it was random. That there was no threat. That Trent didn’t need to keep looking over his shoulder.

Weeks had passed and…nothing.

That’s the way I wanted it.

I looked back up at the man who’d always been my rock. The one who’d taught me to believe. “We all deserve forgiveness, Daddy. To be loved in spite of what we’ve done, to move beyond it when we’ve made the choice to live our lives the best that we can.”

Chuckling out a self-deprecating sound, he looked to the sky. “I know that in theory, in God’s way, but as your father here in the flesh, it’s harder to accept, looking at someone and seeing they might be dangerous. It makes me want to wrap you up and run away with you.”

He forced lightness into it. A wistful smile. His love flooding out.

I jostled my shoulder into his leg. “Which is exactly why I didn’t tell you. Because I didn’t want you to feel like you needed to protect me.”

My voice tightened in emphasis. “And I know you’ll always think of me as your little girl, but he is a choice I have made. And even if his demons are right there…alive…I will choose to fight them with him. At his side.”

My daddy touched my chin. “You’ve always been such a beautiful, brave girl. Every life you touch, you brighten, and I hope that man is smart enough to let you brighten his.”

This time, I curled both my arms around his leg, hugged him tight. “I think you wouldn’t worry so much if you understood the way he’s brightened mine.”

“Uh, think I don’t need that information, thank you very much.”

“Daddy.” I giggled a discomfited sound.

He stood, his smile soft as I followed. “Like you said, I’ll always think of you as my little girl, but you’re a woman. A woman who’s been through hell and back. And I want you to experience the most beautiful things in this life. Have it all. Just promise me you’ll demand it, Eden. That you don’t fall into a temptation that you’ll regret later.”

“I could never regret him.”