It was damn near impossible to comprehend what was happening. He’d defended me. More than that, he’d been on social media. I didn’t know how else he’d seen that photo.
“I don’t know what question is more pressing,” I said. “How you know your way around Instagram, or how you discovered Sebastian’s account.”
Dad huffed, and his mouth twitched a little. “Your sister sent a link about a minute after it’d been posted.”
Of fucking course.
“I haven’t seen you smile like that in years, son.” He sobered again. “He, uh, he makes you happy, yeah? It’s serious?”
“Very.” On both accounts.
“Good. That’s good.” He nodded slowly. “He posts a lot of pictures of your dogs.”
I smiled faintly.
“I was sorry to hear about Rosie, by the way,” he added. “This new one, though—Nala? She sounds perfect for you.”
He must’ve seen the post Sebastian had made about her. I’d found it heartwarming. He’d officially welcomed her to our little family with a picture he’d taken during one of our walks, and he’d written a sweet note about her energy, her protectiveness, how smart she was, and how quickly she’d taken to her new daddy.
“Yeah, I’m lookin’ forward to goin’ huntin’ with her next season,” I replied. “She’s sharp.”
Dad glanced at me, hesitating. “I’d like to hear about that from you, not your brother and sister,” he said. “Do you think you can forgive me?”
Sweet Jesus, only one answer existed. “Of course, Dad.”
I wasn’t good at holding grudges, nor did I want any regrets. It stung bad enough to lose my mother. I didn’t have to lose my father too, it seemed.
“Thank you.” He cleared his throat and averted his stare to his hat once more. “I won’t push to include Mama for any holidays, you have my word. You deserve to be surrounded by those who accept you for who you are. But I do hope I can invite y’all to the ranch for other occasions. Maybe when she goes to visit her sisters. I don’t know. Truth be told, I haven’t dared think that far ahead.”
For the first time in my life, I found my father endearing. It was clear that this was new territory for him, and he wasn’t a fan of fumbling.
“We’ll make it work,” I said. “When do you fly home? Maybe we can have dinner together all of us before you leave.”
“My flight’s on Monday night,” he replied. “Dinner would be nice. I should buy something for Teddy, then. Is he too young to receive money? I don’t know what your mama sent for his birthday.”
I chuckled. “She sent clothes and a video game from both’a y’all.”
“Ah. So an early Christmas gift,” he decided. “Soph will have to help me. And to the little one—Isabella? What do babies like?”
“To scream until everyone goes deaf,” I laughed. “I don’t know, to be honest. Teddy’s easier to shop for.”
Dad tested a little grin, and it was good to see him relax. “It’s real nice to see you happy, son.”
The feeling was unreal. I smiled and went with the truth. “I’m glad you came out here.”
“Me too.” He gave my shoulder a squeeze before he spun in his seat to face the rest of the house. “You’ve done a great job with this place, but I have questions about the staircase.”
Oh, here we go.
“What’s wrong with it?”
“I didn’t say wrong,” he insisted. “I’m just wonderin’ why you placed it along the wall. If you’d built it so it went straight out—” he started gesturing to the middle of the floor “—you would’ve had a nice room divider, and you’d have more storage space. The underneath coulda had shelves on both sides or been a closet.”
I chewed on my lip and cursed internally, because the bastard had a point. “I was going for a more open space,” I said. “In case they want a table or somethin’ here.” Then I knocked on the bartop. “This one can be moved. I didn’t attach it to the floor.”
Dad hummed thoughtfully and rubbed his chin.
Easier topics were gonna follow, and now I welcomed them. It felt like a fresh start, and we had some bridges to repair. Common interests were a great way to get started.
Perhaps we could even watch the rest of the game together.
Either way, I was suddenly certain that my evening with Sebastian would involve a lot less comforting and much more optimistic planning for the future.
Epilogue
The house finally got quiet around midnight.
Sebastian and I snuck outside with a couple blankets and bourbon, and we sat down on the porch swing.
It’d been a wild Christmas Day, with kids running around all over the place—dogs, too—music, presents, and more food than I should’ve eaten.
Despite that, despite how full I was, I couldn’t stop thinking about leftover breakfast. It was a thing in my brother’s house. For years, they’d hosted a Labor Day picnic and, in the fall, a harvest get-together. Breakfast the day after was always a big affair where Melissa turned the leftovers from the previous day into breakfast sandwiches and side dishes.