years. Sometimes you need someone to step in and save you from yourself. So true.
“Anyway, thanks. I won’t go back to his class until this is taken care of.”
Gavin turned to Sarah. “Will you be all right for a little while?”
“Of course.” She smiled. “This will give Kaylynn and me a chance to get to know each other a little better.”
Kaylynn grinned through a sheen of tears. “I’ve got stories.”
“Oh . . . do tell.”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-EIGHT
OCTOBER
Sarah stood in the doorway of her empty apartment and drew in a deep breath. “Bye, Mom,” she whispered.
“Anything else?” Gavin asked, coming up the steps. Sweat dripped from his temples in spite of the cool October air.
She turned. “No. Thank you for helping.”
“Of course. Are you sure about this?”
“It’s time. Your sister was right when she said sometimes we need someone to step in and save us from ourselves. I had people who tried to do that. Dustin, Caden, Brooke . . . all of them. And you. And I suppose my father too, even though it’s harder to see it that way. But I need to deal with the past and Brooke is going to help me do that.” She shot him a small smile. “She just doesn’t know it yet.”
He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. “I’m here for you.”
“I know. I’d be in a puddle on the floor if you weren’t.” She patted his cheek. “You’re a good man, Gavin Black.”
“I try.”
“So, how’d it go with Kaylynn’s professor?”
“He’s facing charges of sexual harassment and will lose his tenure at the university. Kaylynn didn’t want to tell our father about what was going on because she was afraid he’d do something he’d regret. But she’s told my parents, the school, and the police everything. She also said she plans to testify if he decides to plead not guilty and force a trial.”
“She’s a brave girl. One who’s very blessed to have you looking out for her.”
He straightened. “I see someone who wants to look out for you.”
She drew back and frowned at him. Then looked over her shoulder. “What’s he doing here?” Her father walked slowly, his hand pressed to his shoulder.
“General?”
“Sarah.”
He’d called her Sarah. Hope sprung. She sighed. “I just want you to know I’m glad you’re not dead.”
“I’m glad you’re not dead too.” His gruff voice held a lot of emotion that wasn’t reflected on his face.
“Mom lived here before she met you,” she blurted.
He blinked. Realization dawned in his eyes. “And that’s why you wanted to live here.”
“I told myself that, but I wonder if it was more that it made you mad. And I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry for a lot of things.”
He cleared his throat. “So am I.”
Sarah nearly fell over.
Her father glanced at Gavin, then back at her. “I wish I’d done things different, but I can’t go back and redo them.”
“No one can,” she said. “I figured that out a while ago.”
He rubbed his chin, then stuffed his hand in his pocket. “But we can make changes going forward, can’t we? I’d like to try anyway.”
It was all Sarah could do not to let her jaw drop to her chest. “So would I. That’s why I’m giving up the apartment and moving in with Caden for now. As much as I love some of the residents, it’s time for me to leave.”
The general nodded and a smile glimmered in his eyes. “You just want to live with Caden because he keeps ice cream in his freezer.”
He knew she liked ice cream. And he’d made a joke. Tears gathered and she swallowed the lump that refused to completely go away. “Yeah, he does.”
“So do I.”
Surprise and joy grabbed her and she nodded. “I’ll have to come visit.”
“I’d like that. Sarah.”
“Me too. Dad.”
Her father cleared his throat again. “Right. Right. Uh . . . one more thing.” He reached into an inner pocket of his dress coat and pulled out an envelope. “I need to say something and it’s not easy, but I’m learning that the things worth fighting for don’t come easy. I never told you this, but my father basically paid me off to join the Army. I took the money and never looked back.” A pause. “Okay, I looked back in moments of weakness.” He let his gaze run over her. Sarah stood still, sensing he wasn’t done and not wanting to miss a minute of whatever else he had to say. He waved the envelope at her.