they have, or that if I lose someone, I’ll have to look into that mom’s face and explain.”
“I can understand how hard that would be. Tell me something, Roxanne. Are you happy here? Or are you only staying around for that boy?”
This was not a conversation she wanted to have with her father, but she felt the need to defend Zep. “He isn’t a boy. He’s a man.”
Her father chuckled. “You’ll have to forgive me. At my age, you all look like boys and girls. It’s hard to remember that at your age your mother and I already had Brian and she was pregnant with you.”
Yes, what she needed was a lecture on how her generation was immature. “I’m a late bloomer, I guess.”
Did she and Zep have more in common than she realized? They both seemed to struggle with expectation versus reality, and she’d been guilty in that with him, too.
“You’re not. You always knew what you wanted. You were focused and centered until the last few years,” he replied as though he’d given this subject a lot of thought. “You were excellent at your job. The divorce threw you off. I was surprised you acted so emotionally.”
Why wasn’t there a hurricane? Maybe a robbery. She wouldn’t want anyone hurt, but a nice, potentially violent distraction would be good around now. “Divorce is hard on a person. You and Mom are lucky.”
Another chuckle. “I don’t know about that. You make it as long as your mother and I have and you just kind of keep going.” He sobered and stared out over the town square. “I know you struggle with your mother sometimes, but she loves you.”
Her heart constricted because it could be easy to forget that her mom had been the one who packed her school lunches and included little notes about how much she was loved. Her mom could be obnoxious, but she’d been a good mother. “I know. I didn’t turn out the way she hoped I would. You would think somewhere around the time I joined the military, she would have figured out I wasn’t going to settle down and be some good wife.”
“Would that have been so bad?”
“Would it have been so bad for Brian?”
He held a hand up. “Understood. I’m sorry. I know it’s not very modern of me, but it’s different to send your daughter out. And you are good at your job. Your boss speaks highly of you. He seems to be a solid guy. He was a detective in New Orleans.”
Her father often liked to point out the obvious. “Yes, I know that.”
“Are you sure that things can’t work out between the two of you? He seems much more like a man who I could see you with.”
Since her dad had thought her ex-husband was the perfect man, she wasn’t giving great credence to his thoughts concerning her love life. He also was forgetting one important fact. “He’s married. You met his wife.”
“She wasn’t very friendly. Well, we both know marriages don’t have to be forever.” Her father finally glanced her way, a concerned expression on his face. “I want to talk to you about that Guidry boy. Man. Whatever you want to call him. I know your mother likes him, but we both have grave concerns. Do you honestly believe he would make a good husband? Don’t get me wrong. He’s a charming, attractive young man, but he belongs here. You don’t.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” It didn’t matter that she’d thought the same thing before. She didn’t like her father judging her relationship with Zep. It was something between the two of them.
Zep had been judged enough.
“It means it’s time for you to come home, and I don’t think he’s going to fit in,” her father said bluntly. “You have to know he’s got a record.”
Well, naturally her father had run a trace on him, too. She should have known he would do it, but she’d hoped he would understand that they weren’t too serious. “Of course I know. I’m not planning on marrying him. I like him. His offense wasn’t violent.”
She watched as a sedan passed them, making its way toward the stop sign ahead. Why wouldn’t it speed by and instigate a chase? A chase might get her out of this uncomfortable conversation.
Her father wasn’t saying anything she hadn’t thought before. He was giving her back all the reasons Zep was a bad bet. But the night before had changed something between them. She’d seen the