to Lincoln? How will that affect your relationship with him?”
“Honestly? I don’t care what he thinks about it at this point. He made a mistake. A big one. As I said, I hope we’ll move past it, but I don’t know when that’s going to happen. In the meantime, I want to be closer to you and Lincoln. I can help you out with the deli’s marketing and promotion and be there for Linc. Being closer will also help when Dad and I start getting our relationship back on track.”
“You don’t have to help me,” she said. “It’d be great having you closer, but I think you need to put the time you could spend helping me out toward your studies.”
“True, but I could do both.”
She chuckled. “You’re brilliant at school, but not even you are that good. Trying to juggle your studies, promotion for the deli, and whatever is happening with Lincoln and with your dad won’t end well.”
“Maybe.” I nibbled at the back of my bottom lip. “It doesn’t have to be a full-time thing, though. I could help you out when I have time, be there for Lincoln, and still focus on school.”
She reached out to squeeze my arm. “Thanks for the offer, but I’d rather you use the time you would have been helping me on your schoolwork. Depending on what happens with Lincoln, he might also need your help more than I do.”
I snorted. “Even if he does, he’ll never admit it.”
“Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean he won’t need you.” She paused for a beat. “Do you really think he’ll leave the military?”
“I don’t know. Whatever he decides, I’ll support him. I just hope he gets to make a decision and that it isn’t made for him.”
“After everything Eden said, do you think your dad would have changed his mind about him and give him another chance?”
“I have to believe he will.” I closed my eyes and sent up a brief prayer. “My dad might be strict and set in his ways, but surely, he can’t continue with a crusade as irrational and unreasonable as this one. I have to keep my faith in him. No matter how pissed off I am, I have to believe he’ll do the right thing.”
“What if his idea of the right thing and yours aren’t the same?”
Pain lanced through me at the thought. “Then I guess I’ll just have to make peace with the fact that he’s not the person I thought he was. Talking about honor and living with it are two very different things.”
“I guess that’s true.” Both of us fell silent after that. After a while, Haley flipped her light off too and I felt the mattress move as she got comfortable. “Try to get some sleep, okay? We don’t have to figure everything out today.”
“Thank God for that,” I said. “Good night, Haley. Thanks again for letting me vent to you.”
She laughed softly. “Anytime, friend. Any damn time.”
Despite thinking I wouldn’t be able to sleep, I drifted off surprisingly fast. When I woke up the next morning, Haley was already making coffee.
It was mid-morning, and she had to rush to open the deli, so we didn’t get much more talking done. I took a quick shower, dressed in a pair of old yoga pants and a tank top I kept at her house precisely for all the nights I’d stayed over spontaneously, and headed home.
My father’s car was in the driveway when I got there. I hadn’t expected him to be home, but I was kind of glad he was. I had to face him at one point or another. It was probably better to get it over with.
Dragging in a deep, calming breath, I opened the door and hated the anxiety I felt over having to see my own father. He was sitting at the kitchen table reading the newspaper but looked up as soon as I walked in.
“We need to talk,” he said, motioning toward the coffeepot. “Fix yourself a cup and come have a seat. Thank you for letting me know you were staying at Haley’s, by the way.”
I nodded stiffly, taking my seat without getting a dose of caffeine. “What do you want to talk about?”
Dad’s hazel eyes settled on mine. “I brought Lincoln back.”
I sat bolt upright, my palms suddenly sweaty. “You did? Where is he? What did you do to him?”
“I didn’t do anything to him,” he said gruffly. Drumming his fingers on the table, he sighed and