I hadn’t updated my father on anything that had happened between us. It was still so new, and we wanted to keep it to ourselves.
I shifted, hands twisting in my lap.
“You’ve sacrificed so much for me,” he said quietly.
He had it all wrong. He was the one who sacrificed for me and my mother. He gave us a home, he made us into a family.
“But no more sacrificing. Because that is what this has been. You need to live your life, Emma. Do what makes you happy.”
“What about you?” I burst out. “Who will make sure you take your medicine? Eat well?” I placed a hand on his chest. “Take care of your heart.”
“That’s not your job, dear girl, and I am beyond sorry that I ever made you feel like it was.” His face filled with so much anguish at that my heart squeezed. “I fell apart after your mother died, and then I had my heart attack, and you left the institute to take care of me. We fell into a rhythm that I got comfortable with. We both got comfortable. Too comfortable. But seeing you with Riven, the way your face lights up around him, seeing you going out and making friends...” His voice shook.
I thought of Layla and how nice it had been to get to know her.
“It’s been a joy,” he said. “I can take care of myself. I promise. I will take my medicine, I will learn how to cook myself healthy meals.”
“But I can do all of that,” I said.
“No,” he said, voice firm. “Not anymore. I am not your responsibility. You don’t owe me anything. I love you no matter what. No strings attached. No conditions. I love you because you’re my daughter.”
Tears filled my eyes for the millionth time that day. He roped me into a tight hug. “And I’m not going anywhere,” he whispered.
I pushed back, wiping more tears with the sleeve of my dress. “I don’t even know what I want. I’ve never let myself dream of anything other than this life.”
“You did,” he said. “Once upon a time. You and Riven dreamed of a life traveling around the Witchlands, beyond, even. You talked about it all the time when you came from from the institute.”
“That’s not a job.” I grabbed his handkerchief and dabbed my eyes.
“You are smart, resourceful, and driven. You will find your path.And I have a feeling a certain bard will be more than happy to accommodate you until you do.”
My jaw locked. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” I thought of his tour. He hadn’t asked me to come. I wouldn’t invite myself and impose upon him like that. We were having fun these last few weeks, but I didn’t know if it meant anything more to him.
“So talk to him.”
“What about the tea shop?” I asked. “I can’t just leave it.”
“Do you want to run the tea shop? Is that your dream?”
I liked Steeped in Love. It was comforting. Comfortable. But that was it.
A knowing look flashed in his eyes. “You don’t have to decide anything today, but whether you stay in Thistlegrove or leave, I will no longer be the thing that holds you back.”
I nodded, and he slung an arm around my shoulder and drew me in, then pressed a gentle kiss to my head.
“Now we covered how you think you’ve ruined your own love life.” He paused. “But how do you think you’ve ruined someone else’s?”
Chapter Eighteen
EMMA
Ipaced outside the tea shop. The moon hung high in the darkened sky, stars glittering overhead. Floating lanterns lit the dirt road with a dim glow, people flitting in and out of the businesses still open this late into the night.
After my talk with my father, I’d been too restless to go back home with him. I’d visited The Brewhouse and a few other businesses, hoping I’d find Layla, but I’d had no luck. I wanted to be the one to tell her that I’d been all wrong about Sarise.
“Emma?” Layla approached from across the street.
Her hair hung in loose waves down her shoulders, and she looked lovely wearing a light pink frock that cinched around her waist and flared out around her ankles.
