white breakfast table. “Probably, although I don’t have much stuff. Can we deal with it later, though? It’s been a long day.”
“Yeah. For me, too.”
“Dad, I swear I didn’t see the guy in the street. It was an accident.”
“I know.”
“Is he going to be okay?”
He took the chair across from me. “Yeah, I talked to one of his brothers on the way over here. He’s fine. Just a broken leg. He’ll sleep in his own bed tonight.”
“He looked awful.”
“Well, he’d just come in from the front line of the wildfire up north.”
My eyes widened. That was even worse. “Are you kidding?”
“Nope. He saved a guy’s life today, then almost lost his. I have a feeling he was going for a celebratory beer when he stepped out in front of you.”
“So he’s one of your firefighters and basically a hero.” And the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen, but I was absolutely not thinking about that. “I almost killed him. Clearly I’m going to be the most popular girl in town.”
“Don’t worry. You know how it is. Everyone will talk for a while, but it’ll die down. Sooner or later, something new will come along and give them something else to talk about.”
I tucked my straight brown hair behind my ear. Actually, I didn’t know what it was like. I barely remembered living in Tilikum. But I decided not to point that out. “Should I go see him at the hospital?”
He shook his head. “No, you don’t need to do that. Like I said, they won’t keep him overnight.”
I glanced away, feeling an odd dip of disappointment. Why was I so preoccupied with seeing him again? “I still can’t believe I did that.”
“Accidents happen. Even Gavin knows that. Truth be told, I’m surprised it took this long for him to get hit by a car.”
“What?”
He hesitated for a moment. “Gavin Bailey hasn’t exactly grasped the concept of his own mortality yet.”
Gavin was a Bailey?
“So you don’t just know him because he’s a firefighter. He’s that Gavin.”
“Yeah, you remember Gavin Bailey, don’t you?”
I didn’t. Not personally. Only the things Dad had said about him, as well as his brothers, over the years. It seemed like he always had stories to tell about the Bailey brothers.
“I haven’t actually seen any of the Baileys in a long time,” I said. “But I guess this will make for an interesting ice breaker.”
Dad cracked a smile. “I suppose so.” He paused again, like he was thinking about something. “Speaking of ice breakers, I know you just got here, but your mom said you might need some help getting to know people.”
“You talked to Mom about me already?”
“We’re your parents,” he said with shrug, as if that explained everything.
Not that Mom was wrong. I’d always been shy, and I had a hard time meeting new people. It made me nervous.
“I’ll be fine, Dad. And I already met Gavin Bailey.” And maybe I really should go see him at the hospital.
“I think she probably meant you might need help making a friend or two.”
“And by that you mean a girlfriend or two, not a firefighter I hit with my car.”
He chuckled. “By that I mean not a playboy firefighter with a very charming smile.”
God, his smile had been charming. Hypnotic, even.
“You don’t have to worry about that. Guys like Gavin Bailey aren’t interested in girls like me.”
He looked skeptical. “You’re a pretty girl, Skylar. Guys like Gavin Bailey are always interested in pretty girls.”
I tucked my hair behind my ear, not sure how to reply to my dad’s compliment. “Well, he and I didn’t exactly get off to a great start. And I’ll be fine. I’ll admit, meeting people is not my best skill. But Mom’s only worried because she’s such a social butterfly, she doesn’t understand my introvert ways.”
“Hmm.” He rubbed his chin. “I realize you’re an adult who can take care of herself. But I’m still your dad. I worry.”
“Thanks, Dad. I’ll be okay. I just need to get my feet under me.”
He nodded slowly, but I could tell he wasn’t convinced. “You’ve been through a lot recently. A breakup is never easy.”
I glanced away. That wound was still open—raw and fresh. “It’s hard, but I’ll get over it. And I know I could have gone to live with Mom, but I don’t know. I just needed to get out of town for a while. Get my head together.”
When Cullen had come clean about his affair with one of his other clients—a married woman, no less—he’d