One corner of Cody’s mouth ticked up slightly.
“See?” Cash said with a grin. “But more importantly, when Bella told me you were missing tonight, it felt like someone tore out a piece of my heart. I know for a fact that I’d do anything to make your life better, or to keep you from hurting, and I think that’s what makes someone a parent, not DNA. I might not have been around for you before, and I’ll always regret that, but I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere. And if it’s still what you want, I’d be honored to be your dad.”
“Really?” Cody asked softly.
“Of course,” Cash assured him. “You and me, kid. That’s all that matters. I couldn’t care less about some stupid test. And it ticks me off that the kids at school gave you such a hard time that you thought you needed a piece of paper to prove something to them.”
“It wasn’t the kids at school,” Cody said softly. “They’ve actually been really cool.”
“People online,” Cash realized out loud.
The ferocity on his face made Bella’s heart pound with gratitude.
Cody nodded.
“Those people don’t matter,” Cash told him. “They’re not real. It’s the first thing I should have told you the night we met, and I’m really sorry I didn’t. They say things they would never say in person, and they’re all just looking for a reaction. Best thing you can ever do is not give them one.”
“You really don’t care,” Cody murmured, his voice soft with wonder.
“Not even a little bit,” Cash said. “Now can we just forget about it and get on with the important stuff? We have plans to make for your school vacation.”
“But you’re leaving,” Cody said.
“Why would you think that?” Cash asked him.
“Your band is here,” Bella put in. “It’s all anyone in town is talking about.”
“Yeah,” Cash said, understanding dawning on his face. “And in case you didn’t notice, I’ve been blowing up your phone, Cody, because they all want to meet you. In fact, we were hoping you might want to make some music with us. They were never here to take me away. They headed out tonight, but they’ll be back. At least now I know why you’ve been ignoring my messages. I guess you had a pretty big distraction.”
His eyes went to the papers that Bella only now realized were still clutched in her hand.
“You know, I never did get a chance to look at that,” Cash said, holding out his hand. “Can I just…?”
Bella looked to Cody, who nodded.
She handed off the papers and she and Cody watched in surprise as Cash ripped them to shreds and shoved the scraps in the pocket of his leather jacket without ever looking at what was written on them.
“That’s better,” he said with satisfaction when he was finished. “Now, I have a little surprise for you back at the house. Any chance you two are free right now?”
Cody turned to Bella.
“Of course,” she said right away. “We’re definitely free.”
And for the first time in a long time, Bella’s heart felt light as a feather. No matter what else happened, Cody was going to be just fine.
26
BELLA
About a half hour later, Bella was deep in thought as Cash’s truck bumped over the planks of the covered bridge on the way to the farm.
“Listen, I hope you like this surprise,” Cash said.
They had decided to stop home to grab all the cookies Bella had made plus an overnight bag, since it was snowing harder now, and Cody was determined to spend Christmas morning on the farm. He’d spent most of the ride over looking at Cash like he was a superhero.
And, as far as Bella was concerned, hewasa superhero.
All the way here, Cash had kept them entertained with tales about his bandmates and the stuff they wanted to do after the holidays. They were all planning to come back to Sugarville Grove to get in some writing and recording time, as soon as Cash had his home studio up and running.
