The Path to Sunshine Cove (Cape Sanctuary #2) - RaeAnne Thayne Page 0,14
if she absconded with any of his family’s valuables.
“You’ve already gone through your father’s bookshelves and taken the books you wanted. Do you want to go through his office one more time to see if there’s anything else you would like to keep, before we start purging things tomorrow?”
No. He wanted his father back, he didn’t want to try holding on to the memory of Jack Whitaker through inanimate objects.
“I’ll take a look,” he said.
He hadn’t spent much time in his father’s study in the six months since his death. The scent of dusty old books and leather furniture hit him like a two-by-four to the gut.
He stood helpless for a moment, lost in his grief for the man who had wanted so much for Nate to follow in his academic footsteps.
He was picking out a book on tying flies and another collection of short stories by an author they had both admired when Sophie came in.
“It smells like Grandpa in here,” she said.
“Yeah.”
She inhaled, closing her eyes as if to absorb it into her skin. When she opened her eyes, he thought he saw glimpses of his sweet daughter before she looked away.
“I’m done with my assignment. My friend Maria texted while I was working and asked if I could go to a slumber party at her house.”
“When?”
“Friday. Her mom will be there so you don’t have to worry about that.”
Which gave him only about a million other things to worry about when it came to his child.
“Who’s going to be at this slumber party?”
“Just some kids from school.”
“Which kids?”
“I don’t know all of them. She goes to the Catholic school and some of her friends from there will be going.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Boys?”
“I don’t know. She hasn’t told me everyone who’s coming. Do you need every single name on the list?”
By her defiance, he suspected there was far more to the story than she was letting on. “Yes. Or at least the number of Maria’s mom so I can ask her.”
“That is so stupid. You don’t trust me. I feel like I’m living with the NSA or something. Why do you have to know every detail of my life? I’ll be fourteen years old in only five months.”
“Right. So that’s four years and five months longer during which I’m still responsible for keeping you safe and out of juvenile detention.”
“I might as well be in jail. Even prisoners get time off once in a while for good behavior.”
Maybe you could show some good behavior once in a while. Then we can talk.
He opted not to inflame the situation more by saying that. “I’m sorry you feel that way. I’m only concerned for my daughter’s physical and emotional safety.”
The look she gave him would have soured the milk of a whole pasture full of cows.
“I’m going home. My head hurts.”
“Fine. Put your phone on the charger when you get home. I’ll be there in a minute.”
She glared at him and stomped out. He followed and saw that she at least lifted her cranky mood long enough to hug her grandmother.
“Night, Gram. I had a really fun day today.”
“So did I, darling.”
After Sophie left with their black Lab, Cinder, in tow, Nate turned to his mother.
“You think I’m too hard on her, don’t you?”
She shrugged. “I think you’ve never been a thirteen-year-old girl.”
“Thank the Lord.”
She laughed. “She’s a good girl, Nate. But if you push her too hard to be who you want her to be, she’s going to instinctively run in the other direction.”
“What happened to my sweet little girl who a few weeks ago thought I was the coolest person in the world?”
“She’s growing up. Finding herself. Figuring out who she is. If you’ll recall, you and your father certainly butted heads plenty when you were around Sophie’s age.”
“And after that. For quite a few years. You don’t have to say it. I was a little shit, wasn’t I?”
Eleanor smiled. “I wouldn’t go that far. You wanted your own way and didn’t want to listen to us or follow any of our house rules. But we made it through and by the time you left for the army, you and your father had a good relationship. He was so proud of you.”
“I’m sorry I put you through that.”
“We all survived. And you’ll survive Sophie’s teenage years, too.”
“I hope so.” He hugged his mother, too, feeling the thinness that hadn’t been there before his father was diagnosed with cancer. Caring for him in his last days and then