know that she was here for him. His chest rose, then fell, and after a few breaths he gave her a little squeeze back.
“It doesn’t make me happy, P,” he finally said, his voice three octaves lower than it had been moments ago. “Seeing you upset would never make me happy.”
Paisley didn’t answer, just let his words hang in the air while she stared out the window and silently cried in the back seat. Emmitt looked as if he was debating between grounding her for life and buying her a convertible to get her to stop crying.
Annie let the silence go on for another few streets before she had to say something. She glanced again in the rearview mirror and saw Paisley curled into herself. Emmitt looked about as miserable, only he wasn’t crying.
“What if he does talk to you again?” Annie asked, and before Paisley could answer, Emmitt was already shaking his head.
“Are you crazy?” Emmitt shot her a hard look. “He’s eighteen. She’s fifteen.”
This time she shot him a look before returning her attention to the rearview mirror. She waited until Paisley met her gaze before saying, “What if he did talk to you again, and he wanted to be more than friends? Your being underage is a natural concern for your dad. Especially when you weren’t up-front about today.”
“If I was up-front, he would have said no,” Paisley said with a sniffle.
“He is sitting right here. And he not only knows teenage boys, he knows the law. Sam is eighteen and you’re a minor. End of story.”
“I can only imagine how flattering it would be to have a senior guy ask you to hang out,” Annie said gently. “How embarrassing it would have been to explain that your dad wouldn’t let you come over. But if you love someone, you have to trust them. One doesn’t work without the other. Do you love your dad?”
“Sometimes.”
“Then you need to trust that he’s doing what he thinks is the right thing for you.”
“He thinks the right thing is for me to die a virgin.” Paisley sat forward. “It’s my body, my choice.”
“Not until you’re eighteen and living on your own,” he said.
“Can’t wait!”
Silence filled the car until it was thick enough to choke on. No one said a word, not even when Annie pulled into the driveway and put the car in Park. She undid her seat belt and turned to face Emmitt. He didn’t turn her way, so she just waited until he finally looked back. When their eyes met, instead of being pissed, he took a deep breath and then gave a small, defeated smile.
“I’m trying my best to see why this is such a big deal,” Paisley said.
Emmitt closed his eyes, and Annie could almost see him counting to ten.
“Seriously?” He turned in his seat to face his daughter for the first time since they’d gotten in the car. “That’s your takeaway?”
Emmitt silently stared at his daughter and, as the seconds ticked by, he looked more and more overwhelmed by exhaustion. Finally he shook his head and said, “Then try harder, kiddo.”
Annie gave Paisley a soft smile to let her know that while she had screwed up, she wasn’t alone. Then she rested a hand on Emmitt’s leg. “Or you could say, ‘Loving someone means trusting them. And pushing boundaries is what kids are supposed to do. So starting now, I’ll trust you enough to sit down and have an open and honest conversation about anything, as long as you promise to be honest back with me.”
“Holy shit,” Paisley said.
“Language,” Emmitt scolded.
“You guys are totally dating,” Paisley scolded back.
Annie jerked her hand off his leg as if it were on fire, her head rapidly shaking back and forth. “God, no. We’re just roommates.”
“Good.” Paisley grabbed her backpack. “Because you deserve way better than my dad.”
* * *
The slamming of the car door was like a gunshot right through Emmitt’s chest. It did a pretty good job of rattling his skull too.
“I blew that.” He closed his eyes to keep the overhead light from piercing his retina. “On a scale of She’ll get over it to Imminent emancipation, how bad was it?”
“It was like you were walking through a minefield and decided to wear clown shoes,” she said, and he laughed.
Even though he heard her shift closer and smelled the cool evening air on her skin, he was still surprised when her soft hands settled against his forehead, moving in slow circular sweeps.