“Why don’t you guys help grab these suitcases and head upstairs. You three can campout in my room for tonight. Like a slumber party. We’ll explore more in the morning.”
Jenna’s face, tight and drawn before, softened as she nodded gratefully.
Sure, Daisy’s bank account might be barely balanced and the car—and the terrifying total it would take to bring it to working order again—might drain that balance quite a bit, but she was here with her favorite people, staying in a beautiful home thanks to her sister-in-law’s generosity. She was determined they were going to have a great time.
The worst was over. Now she just needed to relax.
…
“Why didn’t we fly again?” Jack’s thirteen-year-old daughter asked probably for the fifth time since they left Salt Lake early that morning.
As he’d already told her, he’d thought it would make their impromptu summer vacation even more fun if they drove to Tahoe in his prized 1967 Ford Mustang convertible. But he was certain Lily wasn’t looking for a reminder, just a chance to whine, so instead he said simply, “Because I wanted to torture you as much as possible.”
“Well, congratulations, I’m officially bored.” She kicked her legs up on the dashboard, balancing her phone on her knobby knees. She blew a bubble with her chewing gum, then snapped it back in her mouth.
A flash of lightning split across the sky followed swiftly by a rumble of thunder and immediately Oliver, their five-month-old chocolate Lab, jumped to a sitting position in the backseat.
“Ollie, don’t even think about it,” Jack warned, having settled the dog a few minutes before, after the last break of thunder had stirred him into a frenzy.
So maybe the convertible idea—with its small interior confines and minimal luxuries—hadn’t gone quite as planned, particularly since the rain made taking the top down impossible. Good thing they were only a few minutes away from their destination.
Lily read an incoming text and moaned. “You’re totally ruining my life, you know. Both Emma and Caitlyn are at a sleepover at Tasha’s house while I’m stuck a million miles away with my dad.” The way she said the word “dad” was anything but excited.
“Try not to drain that battery, kiddo. It’s the only thing we have until we reach the house.” Thanks to him forgetting his own charger at home, something he didn’t discover until his iPhone died an hour ago. He’d have to pick up a new one in the morning, but for the time being, Lily’s would have to be their backup.
“If you’d got me that iPhone instead of this wannabe phone like I’d asked, you wouldn’t have this problem.”
It had taken him a while to come around to the idea of getting his thirteen-year-old daughter her own cell phone in the first place; giving that same thirteen-year-old something as pricey as a new iPhone was another story—no matter how many of her friends had one. “You used to love coming here,” he said instead. “Playing out on the beach, going to the fireworks show. Eating pancakes at your favorite diner—”
“Yeah, when I was eight. And that was back when Payton was there and would hang out with me. You wouldn’t let me bring any of my friends this time, so I don’t know what you think I’m going to do all day.”
“You could hang out with me and Ollie for a change.”
Jack didn’t need to see her face in the dark to know she’d rolled her eyes. “Joy.”
Maybe he hadn’t thought this through enough. Now that she mentioned it, it was true that in the past, Payton Vaughn—well, Payton Sorensen now—had been around to help keep Lily company.
But when the governor had called Jack into his office on Monday to share the incredible news that he was accepting a position in the cabinet of the president of the United States, it only took Jack a few seconds to realize the importance of what was about to happen. As the c
urrent lieutenant governor, Jack was, by law, slated to become the state’s next governor.
Which meant his and Lily’s lives were about to be seriously altered. Again.
And if Lily balked at what she saw as Jack’s obsessive overprotectiveness of his only child, she was going to hate the restrictions that would be placed upon her as the daughter of the governor.
At Governor Pratchett’s urging, Jack had decided that before the news reached the press and their lives were irrevocably changed, he and his daughter needed to get away, just the two of them, to spend some quality time together. The Vaughns’ vacation house in Tahoe had seemed the perfect solution, and after a call to Payton’s mother, Emily, he’d been assured he and Lily would have the place all to themselves.
Well, Payton or not, there were bound to be other families vacationing nearby, Lily would simply have to make an effort to meet some new people.
At just past eleven and the worst of the storm finally over, Jack turned the car down the drive that led to the Vaughn property. His heart lightened when he saw the estate come into view as he was reminded of all the good memories he’d experienced here, beginning back when he and his dad were first invited to vacation with the Vaughns. He hoped that maybe this week he and Lily could make a few more memories.
As soon as Jack parked the car in the driveway, Lily threw the door open and bounded out, Ollie on her heels. Lily laughed as she chased the puppy in a circle, bringing Jack a sense of relief.
This was going to be good, despite his daughter’s reservations.
Lily was a tough kid. Always had been, even before losing her mom when she was only seven years old. She’d survived that heartache—they both had—and she would survive what was to come as well. She was a Harrison.
His arms filled with their bags, Jack headed up to the house, fumbling a couple times over the security code before they reached the dryness of the house. The alarm beeped again as it reengaged.