Sitting in a cubicle and staring at a screen for the next several decades until I retired simply didn’t compare to that feeling of excitement that constant unpredictability gave me when I was chapter president.
The more I thought about it, the more I had to concede that the very thought of working in an office,anyoffice, filled me with utter dread.
Had I wasted four years of my life? I didn’t think so. At least, not when it came to my frat. But my studies…? That was harder to argue against.
Why hadn’t I pushed back harder against my family’s insistence at me studying finance?
And then along comes Rose, asking me if I was lost. A twelve-year-old with a tragic upbringing that had forced her to grow up too quickly. She’d known me for less than three days and yet seemed to recognize more about me than I knew about myself. How was that even possible?
She wanted me to stick around. For her dad, she’d said, even though she’d heavily implied that it was what I needed too. Was she right?
Maybe.
Maybe she was right about me being lost.
Maybe staying in Rockdale a little longer would let me work out what to do, give me a sense of direction that I clearly needed. If I continued my way back home, I’d never have the space or the time to properly let me think things through.
Maybe the twister that had stranded me in Rockdale had been a blessing in disguise.
I sucked my bottom lip, then took another sip from my cup, the delicious aroma tickling my nose and making me hum.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
I smiled and held my cup to my sternum before I turned around and found Daniel standing behind me, a soft look on his face. “Honestly, I don’t think they’re worth a penny.”
“That can’t be true.” He reached out and tucked a stray lock of hair behind my ear, his fingertips lingering against my temple.
Humming noncommittally, I felt myself lean into his palm before I realized what I was doing and straightened. Bringing the cup to my lips, I took another sip and watched Daniel’s eyes flick down to my lips when I lowered the cup. Deciding it wouldn’t hurt to tease him a little, I licked my lips and was gratified when I saw his pupils dilate.
Coughing to clear his throat, he focused his attention over my shoulder. “I’m going to get her that kitten.”
Raising an eyebrow at his words, I smirked as I took another sip and turned around to watch his daughter too. When he stepped forward to stand next to me, I nudged my shoulder with his. “I thought ‘no was a complete sentence’?”
Chuckling, he shook his head as he tilted his face down to stare guiltily at the floor in front of us, his hands firmly in his pockets as he nervously bounced on the balls of his feet. “I changed my mind.”
“How come?”
He shrugged, looking remarkably like a guilty teenager caught out. After dealing with so many at the frat, I was used to the tense shoulders and the slight blush on cheeks.
The poor thing was embarrassed.
I lifted the cup to my lips again to hide the smile threatening to appear.
How adorable.
Just when I was convinced that he wouldn’t respond, he shrugged again and sighed. “It was something Rose said when she was talking to you.” Slowly he raised his eyes to glance at me before looking outside again. “She was right when she said I was lonely. I’ve been trying to hide it from her, but she’s perceptive.” He narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. “Sometimes too damn perceptive.”
“Yeah, I kind of picked up on that,” I said under my breath before I took another swig, reminding myself that he didn’t needto be burdened with what was currently occupying my thoughts. One existential crisis at a time was plenty, thanks. “And you think bringing home the kitten will be the answer to your loneliness?”
A small pang ofsomethingprickled at my heart. It felt like jealousy, but that didn’t seem right. Why the hell would I be jealous of a tiny cat?
He nodded outside toward Rose and Bucky, still playing fetch. “She has Bucky. I originally bought him to be a companion for her, but he’s become more of a therapy dog for her over the years. Nothing else seems to calm her as quickly as he does.”
I pressed my lips together so I wouldn’t argue, because I didn’tquiteagree with him on that. I’d seen how Daniel himself had calmed her in the gas station’s storm shelter. Did he not see how he helped her? Sure, Bucky was her constant companion and seemed to help calm her more subtle emotional shifts, but for anything truly harrowing, it was her dad who helped her the most. How could he not see that?
“I’d like to feel that sort of comfort again,” he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. “To have something warm and living lean against me on the cold nights. Just for me.” He shrugged like what he was admitting wasn’t a big deal. “I’ve missed that.”
Longing swept through me as that out-of-place feeling of jealousy grew larger in my chest. We’d had that last night, and I couldn’t deny that the warmth and contentment I’d felt then was something I wouldn’t mind chasing in the future.
