If for Any Reason (Nantucket Love Story #1) - Courtney Walsh Page 0,5
or worried about something.
Emily Ackerman. How many years had it been? And why did his pulse quicken at the thought of her? He’d been a kid the last time he’d seen her, not even old enough to call his little crush “first love.”
But Emily had stuck with him. How many times had he wondered what had happened to her after that awful night?
And when had he stopped wondering . . . ?
“Earth to Dad?” Jolie dropped her backpack on the ground at her feet.
Hollis picked the bag up. He needed to stay focused. This summer was about redeeming himself. He’d already lost so much time—he knew he didn’t have much left. After all, his only daughter wasn’t getting any younger.
“Sorry, kiddo,” he said. “Did your mom and Rick get out okay after the wedding?”
She shrugged. “I guess.”
“Your mom said you’d have pictures from the big day.”
“You really want to see them?”
“’Course I do.”
After a pause, she pulled her phone out of her back pocket.
Hollis flashed her a smile. “Just show me the ones of you.”
She swiped around on her phone, then finally turned it so he could see an image of his daughter, wearing a yellow bridesmaid’s dress, holding a small bouquet of orange roses.
He grabbed the phone out of her hand. “This cannot be you.” Her hair was swept up, a few loose curls around her face, like a high schooler heading off to the prom. How had they gotten here?
How had he let himself miss so much of it?
She tried to hide her smile, but clearly his response was just what she was hoping for. She knew she looked gorgeous in this photo—she must’ve felt like a princess. He wished he could have seen her for himself. Not that he’d been invited to the wedding. Not that he would’ve gone anyway.
“Yellow isn’t really my color.” She tossed a strawberry curl over her shoulder.
“That’s not even true,” Hollis said. He swiped the screen, hoping to see another photo of Jolie, but was met with the image of Jana and her new husband, Rick, arms wrapped around his daughter and looking more like a real family than Hollis and Jana ever had.
His expression must’ve changed because she quickly snatched the phone out of his hand and clicked it off, the image of the happy trio disappearing.
“Looks like it was a great day,” Hollis said.
“It was fine,” Jolie said. “And now they’re off in Hawaii and I’m here.” She raised her eyebrows and let out a quiet sigh.
“I’m glad you’re here,” he said. And he meant it.
“I’m glad you’re here too,” she said. “My bags were getting heavy.” She half smiled, and he knew that while he wasn’t her favorite person, he hadn’t completely fallen out of her good graces—not yet.
In spite of his many attempts to screw things up, Jolie had turned out to be a pretty great kid. At least he thought she had. He’d find out for himself over the next few weeks.
“Your mom looks happy.” He picked up her bags and led her toward his car.
“She is,” Jolie said. “Rick’s good for her. Helped her settle down. Makes her feel pretty. You know, all the stuff she needs.”
He studied Jolie and wondered how she’d gotten so wise in her long twelve years on this earth.
“Does it upset you?” she asked.
For a second, he thought maybe she hoped that it did—after all, she was their daughter and she’d probably had visions of the three of them one day—finally—becoming a family, no matter how many times he and Jana both told her they were sorry, but that wasn’t going to happen.
“No, I’m happy for your mom.”
Hollis wanted Jana to be happy. He wanted her to fall in love with someone who would treat her well and take good care of her (and make her feel pretty, he guessed), but he didn’t want that someone to take his place as Jolie’s dad.
Not that he’d done much to secure that place over the last twelve years.
“Are you hungry?” Hollis asked as he tossed Jolie’s bags in the back of his Jeep.
“Starving, but I can’t have anything with gluten.”
Hollis tried not to roll his eyes. He wanted to be supportive of his daughter, but really?
“Or dairy.”
“No, that’s where I draw the line,” he said. “We’re going to the Juice Bar—like every day this summer.”
She stared at him. “No other species consumes cow’s milk into adulthood, Dad. Do you know how hard it is to digest?”