like his work.”
“Yeah, right.” She curled her lip. “What were you doing with him at the beach last night?”
“How do you know I was at the beach with him?”
“Because I got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and walked on sand in the hall.”
“Oh, boy. Now you’re a detective.”
“Am I right?”
She closed her eyes, wishing she could lie to her daughter. “We… talked. About what happened and how he was wrongfully accused of something, and cleared of it. Actually, he was helping someone out. He had a lot of explaining to do and I listened to him.”
“Is that what you call it? Because if I did what you’re doing, I’d be grounded for the rest of my life.”
“First of all, I’m not doing what you think.” Because Ashley couldn’t even imagine anything like what went on in the water last night, so that wasn’t a lie. “And, secondly, I’m almost thirty-seven years old, Ashley.”
“And he’s twenty-nine! Don’t you see how gross that is?”
Lacey almost smiled. “Depends on your perspective.”
“It’s gross.”
“Look.” Lacey reached for her daughter’s hands, but Ashley pushed her away, glaring. “Honey, the point is I’m an adult and I can be with who I want to be with.”
“But why can’t you be with Dad?”
“I don’t have feelings for—can you not call him that?”
“Why not? He’s my dad. He’s my father.” She said the word with so much pride it twisted Lacey’s heart. “And I know, I know. He’s been a craptastic father for all my life, but I’ve decided to forgive that and start over.”
“As we’ve discussed, that’s very mature of you, but—”
“Then why can’t you?”
“Forgive him?” Lacey shook her head. “I’m not still mad at him. I have forgiven him,” she said, picking her words like fragile flower petals. One poor choice, and the whole conversation could fall apart. Farther apart. “I understand why he made the decision he did, and went off to live his life instead of settling down.” Instead of taking responsibility for his child. The one he suggested she abort.
But she loved Ashley too much to play that card.
“Then why can’t you give him a chance? Why can’t you be in love with him?” She whined the question. “Then my life would be perfect.”
Oh, no it wouldn’t be. “I can’t make myself love a man I don’t have any feelings for. And, I’m sorry, Ashley, I simply can’t manufacture those kinds of feelings.”
“You’ve been too wrapped up in Clay Walker, that’s why.”
Was that true? “I don’t think that’s it. And, Ashley, it would mean the world to me if you’d give Clay a chance. Talk to him and get to know him.”
She folded her arms, narrowed her eyes, got into full adolescent-anger mode. “Only if you give Dad a chance.”
“I gave him a chance fourteen years ago,” she said softly.
Ashley didn’t answer, thinking long enough to have another idea. “Why don’t you go diving with us? He said we could drive up to this river, the Itcha-something.”
“Ichetucknee. And, sorry, you’re not going. I knew two UF students who died cave diving there.”
“Not with a tether!” She threw back the covers and leaped from the bed toward her laptop. “Let me show you the YouTube videos. Dad’s in one of them, Mom. It’s so cool. He’s done it all over the world, in Indonesia and Africa!”
Her head almost exploded. How dare he talk Ashley into things like this? Fisting her hands, Lacey shook her head. “No, you’re not going. No arguments.”
Ashley turned from the computer to fire a look of pure contempt, Princess Pot-Pie completely morphing into Nastina. “Why do you always say that? All you want to do is be with that stupid loser guy when Dad is right here trying to win you back!”
Lacey gathered every single bit of calm she could find, taking a breath and refusing to get dragged into this argument.
“That’s not true,” she said, purposely controlling her voice. “I’m offering to spend the day with you.”
She curled her lip. “No thanks. Dad and I are going cave diving.”
“No, you’re not.”
“You can’t stop me!”
“Yes, she can.” David stood in the door wearing nothing but sleep pants and a morning beard. “Your mom is your legal guardian, Ashley, and she has to sign a permission form for you to dive up there. So, if she says no, the answer is no.”
Ashley looked stricken, blinking back tears. “You’d really say no? You’d really stop me from having the most amazing day of my entire life