was beginning to wonder if she didn’t want me to move to Chicago with her. “Pine Hills will be fine without me. Our child won’t.”
She wiped at her eyes. “I hate how emotional I am now. It’s ridiculous.” She pressed her hands to her face for a moment and then over at me. “That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said. I’m going to write that in the baby book.”
“You don't have to decide right now. We have plenty of time.”
“I know what I want.”
“So tell me.”
“I want to stay here. We’d be insane to leave your mother and sister, and Barrett too. We have such a great support system. Now that I’ve been reading about child raising, everyone agrees that having people around that you trust is crucial. We don’t have that in Chicago.”
If she truly wanted to stay here, then that was a better solution than I’d hoped for. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“My mother is going to be beside herself.” I took her hand and kissed it. “What about your career? There’s not many opportunities for journalism here in Pine Hills.”
“I’ve thought about that. There are online companies I can work for. I can do freelance articles for larger publications.”
“No more gambling ring investigations though, okay?” I said. I’d had enough of watching Ava risk her life.
“No. No more of those.”
She wrapped her arms around me. “We’re really going to do this. We’re going to be parents.”
Ignoring the twinge in my side, I scooped her into my arms and kissed her. “Yes we are.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ava
For several days, my phone screen had been flashing. The screen read, ‘Dad. ‘
I didn’t answer. I’d already listened to his messages.
Two days after Thanksgiving Tyler woke me up from a nap. “Your father’s been indicted on federal charges,” Tyler said.
I felt like I’d been holding my breath for a week.
I pushed the afghan off of my legs. “I should go visit him. He’s been calling me non-stop. Every voicemail begs me to forgive him and asks me to come back home.”
Tyler put his hand on my belly. “I don’t know if a visit is a good idea right now.”
“It will be fine. You know he’s been writing me letters and sending them via email. Will I be allowed to see him?”
“You can. He’s already out on bail. But he’s only allowed to travel about five hundred feet from his home.”
I wasn’t going to put this off anymore. I wanted it over before I was too pregnant to travel far from home. “I’m going to text him and let him know I’m coming up.”
“Let him know that we’re coming up. You are not going alone.”
As Tyler drove closer to the city, and the vibrant blue water of Lake Michigan came into view, he reached over and tugged on a lock of my hair. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“I’m sure.” I wasn’t sure, not at all. But I wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity. My father had called me twenty times and left ten voicemails.
My father was at home, but he wasn’t allowed to leave, so if I wanted to see him, it was up to me.
We pulled up to the imposing white mansion on the edge of the city, closest to Lake Michigan. “Turn left here,” I said and I guided him to my father’s house.
“So this is where you grew up,” Tyler said.
I tried to picture it through his eyes. A thirty-million dollar mansion, 20,000 square foot home in the middle of the bustling city, surrounded by a wrought iron fence, with manicured shrubs that surrounded the property.
Nearby there were museums, schools, restaurants and boutiques.
Oddly enough, it didn’t feel like my home anymore. My home was in Pine Hills now, in a rambling white farmhouse.
I rang the doorbell.
My father answered the door. “Hello,” he said.
I’d never seen my father answer a door in his life. I’d also never seen him so hesitant. He shuffled to the side a little when he saw me looking around. “No staff now,” he said. “For obvious reasons. The FBI let me give everyone a severance package, at least.” He pulled the door all the way open.
I’d miss seeing all of our staff, although I doubted they’d miss us.
Tyler stepped into the marble foyer and held out his hand. “Mr. Ackland. I’m Tyler Whittaker.”
At that moment, he was not meeting his girlfriend’s father. He was every bit of the sheriff I’d seen in action. I watched my father’s face. He could tell Tyler was less than