“Actually, I kind of do. We’ve been exchanging emails with each other for months now. I know a bit more than a stranger would. Come on.” He took her arm again and gave a slight tug. “You’re not going to catch them.”
Daphne went because he was right. She was hours behind her daughter, and it wasn’t as if she could put an APB out on her grown daughter who wasn’t actually missing . . . except for maybe missing her common sense.
Evan’s hand was warm on her elbow. She wished it felt comforting, but she wasn’t sure if she could be comforted at this point. Her heart felt completely broken, and her stomach churned with adrenaline.
“I’m sorry you didn’t know about Ellery going with Gage,” Evan said, sinking onto a cedar bench that blended perfectly with the landscaping. “That wasn’t very well done of her.”
“How does she even know him? I guess they met that weekend, but . . . I just don’t understand what has gotten into her lately.”
“They’ve been a bit more than acquaintances from what I understand and from what I’ve seen over the last twenty-four hours. But you don’t have to worry about Gage. He’s a good guy, more responsible than any other twenty-nine-year-old I know.”
Daphne crunched through the fallen leaves, trying to grapple with all Evan had revealed. “They were here overnight? Why didn’t you call me? We talked yesterday, and you said nothing about Ellery being here.”
He held up a hand. “We didn’t talk. We texted, and it was about brining a turkey. I assumed you knew Ellery was going with Gage. Besides, I didn’t know she was here until last night when Gage and Ellery came up to the restaurant. And I called you this morning, but you didn’t answer . . . and I texted you to give me a call when you had a chance.”
In that he was right. She’d planned on calling him that afternoon once she finished with the last storyboard. Asking for an extension was something that went against every fiber of her being. She didn’t like to sign a contract and then break it, but the last few weeks had been more than stressful, and since her publisher had requested the book tour after she’d signed the contract, she didn’t feel as bad asking for a few more weeks. Still, she’d rededicated herself to setting aside time to work, putting aside her worry so she could do her job. “You did. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound accusatory. I’m just really upset that she would do something so ridiculous, and not tell me that she was doing it.”
Fresh heartbreak welled inside her. Her daughter had pulled herself so far away that she didn’t want or need Daphne in her life. How had that happened so quickly? Sure, they hadn’t been the same for the last half year, but to leave home and say nothing to either of her parents? It was immature, inconsiderate, and thoroughly selfish. Irritation burgeoned inside her, fighting for a place beside the hurt.
“It seems extreme, but she’s searching to find herself,” Evan said, his voice soft.
“Find herself? What a stupid millennial concept . . . and I don’t even know if she’s a millennial, but either way, it’s an excuse for bad behavior. Her father and I have given her a pretty spectacular life, and this is how she treats us? This is how she treats her mother?” Daphne stood up abruptly, the anger taking hold now.
“Daphne, I don’t think she’s doing this to hurt you. I think she’s trying to be an adult.”
“An inconsiderate jackass of one,” Daphne said, turning and staring down at Evan. “You’re not defending her, are you? Because it sounds like you are.”
“I’m not necessarily defending her. I’m trying to get you to see this from her point of view.”
“Well, I could have done that if she would have bothered to tell me that she was taking off to the West Coast with a stranger. Maybe I could have shown her just how stupid it is to make such a snap decision and leave all her plans and family behind for a whim. She doesn’t have a job, she doesn’t have a plan, she doesn’t—”
“—need one. She’s twenty-three and will have to figure out how to get a job, pay her bills, make mistakes, and live her own life on her own terms.”
Daphne rolled her eyes. “Really? And you know this because . .