“I love you, Tucker McCoy. I love that you’re a man of your word. I love that you will do anything for Claire and me. I love that you’re a SEAL despite what they’ve done to you; you’re able to overcome and look past the transgressions of one person, to continue to serve a country that loves you. Most importantly I love that you’re mine.”
She closes her eyes and I feel her body go soft. The last thing I want to do is sleep, but maybe she needs a nap. We have the rest of our lives to make up for what we’ve missed. There doesn’t need to be a rush on tonight.
“Sleep, my sweet Penny. I’ll always protect you.”
IT’S THE FIRST day of my new school. The school I likely would’ve started if my mom and I hadn’t been forced to move. She still doesn’t talk about that day, and I’m okay with it. I don’t think I want to know, at least not yet. My mom assures me that the person who ruined our lives will never do so again. Sometimes I have to remind her my life isn’t ruined, but when I do that I feel like I’m not honoring my dad, Ray.
It’s odd to think I have two dads, but I do. I don’t know what I’m going to tell kids when they ask me about my life, it’s not something I practiced, but everyone knows now. We’ve been all over the news, and I hate it. For a while the news people were sitting outside our house and they made my parents angry. My Aunt Ryley says the news never came around until Senator Lawson pleaded guilty and everything was out in the open. She’s angry, too, mostly for EJ. She says the news in Washington have been following them everywhere. My escape has been at the Clarke’s. I have spent a lot of time there this summer. I feel safe there and Jensen reminds me of Ray.
I miss Ray. He’s not a secret in our house. My dad, Tucker, he talks about him. He asks questions and tries to make him a part of my life. My mom says that Tucker is trying to make sure I never forget about the man who raised me. And I like that, even though I know it hurts Tucker’s feelings.
As I stand looking in the mirror, I wonder what other kid has gone through so much. I’m sure there are a few, and they probably have memories. The only time I remember something is when my mom is talking to my dad and I overhear. I think they’re memories, but maybe they’re figments of my imagination being pieced together by my mom’s story.
Today is going to be a new day for me, and I’m scared.
“Of what?” I hear behind me, causing me to jump slightly. I hadn’t realized I actually said the words out loud, but it makes sense. I’m often talking to myself, catching my dad off guard.
My dad stands in the doorway, leaning against the doorjamb. He’s dressed for work, but according to my clock, he should already be gone.
“I’m scared about school.”
“Why?” he ask
s, motioning toward my bed. I nod and he comes in and sits down. I stay where I am, though for only a second, and quickly sit down next to him.
“What if the kids don’t like me?”
“Impossible.”
“You’re biased. You have to say nice things because you’re my dad.”
He nods and pretends to contemplate something. He does that a lot when he’s thinking of the right thing to say, dragging out the thought process. Mom says he does it to make him look like a genius.
“You’re right, but I also know you as a person. You have to remember that I didn’t get to be here while you were growing up, but these past few months I’ve gotten to know you and I think you’re a pretty cool kid. You have a lot to offer your new classmates.”
“Like what?” I huff.
“Like you’re really smart and you’re fun to hang out with. Your dad is like really awesome.”
I can’t help but roll my eyes and punch him in the arm. He pretends to fall over, but pulls me into a hug instead.
The day he made me breakfast, after Ray died, I wanted to hate him. I didn’t want him to be a part of my life and I definitely didn’t want to move here. When we came to visit, everything changed. He made his house a home for me and never pressured me into calling him dad, or tried to make me do bonding things. He invited me everywhere, though, and going to work with him quickly became my favorite thing. It was one of his trainees who opened my eyes to the great dad Tucker already was.
“Can I invite friends over?”
“Of course you can. Are you ready to go to school?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Well I’m taking you today, so if you’re not ready, we’ll skip work and school and hit the beach. Or we can take our bows over to the Clarke’s and shoot.”
I love that Tucker loves to do one of the things Ray taught me, and now I’m teaching him. I think that is when I knew everything was going to be okay here.
“Or we could go shopping?”
My dad shakes his head. “No, no way in hell. If you want to shop, your mom can play hooky. You and I are going to do sporty stuff, like scale walls and repel from buildings.”
The thought of hanging out at SEAL beach all day does excite me, but making new friends is important, too.