THEA
It was sheer madness for an hour. There were police all over the place taking pictures and talking to me and Lucas. I felt like I was caught up in a tornado. Every so often, Reese would venture over and touch my arm or the small of my back. Just when it felt like I was getting swept away, his touch grounded me. I had to go through and do an inventory to give to the police. The damage was enough to earn me the extra attention.
While I was dealing with a detective, I happened to notice men show up with sheets of plywood. Reese and my father got busy boarding up the broken windows. Ally was never far either. If Lucas thought she was a helicopter mom before, I had a feeling he was in for a rude awakening. She was never going to let him out of her sight. I didn’t blame her.
“I think that’s all we need,” the detective said. “We’ll be in touch.”
“Thank you,” I said with a tired smile.
Ally and Lucas were just finishing the sweeping of the glass. The place looked almost like it had before the incident, minus the plywood on the windows. A man was replacing the locks on the front door. I knew that was Reese’s doing. No way would I get someone down here this late on a Friday night.
“Dad?”
He was sipping coffee that had been delivered, also courtesy of Reese. He bought enough for all the police as well.
“All done?” he asked.
“Yes. Can we talk? Or we can go back to my place.”
“Let’s talk here,” he said. “You’ll have company later.”
“What?”
He smiled as we walked to one of the quiet rooms. “That man isn’t going to be letting you out of his sight anytime soon. I’m glad you’re back together. He truly cares about you.”
“You know about that?”
I flopped in one of the chairs and leaned my head against the wall. “We had a chance to talk before we decided to come over here. I’m sure Rich will get on board too. Just give him a little time.”
“Thank you, Dad. It means a lot to have your approval.”
“You have it.”
“So,” I said. “Is this goodbye?” I asked softly.
He offered a small smile. “I hope not.”
“Are you leaving tomorrow?”
“No,” he answered.
“When?”
“I don’t think I’m going to,” he said. He rubbed his jaw, which was always his tell. Something was wrong. More wrong than it already was.
“What is it?”
He blew out a breath. “I was wrong,” he said. “I’m sorry. I should have listened to you. I don’t have a good excuse. Things just got out of control. I didn’t realize how much so until I woke up today to find out the house had been sold.”
My mouth dropped open. “What? How? Already?”
The man looked so ashamed. “I should have been paying attention. I wasn’t and she got one over on me.”
“One?” I snorted. “Sorry.”
“No, you’re right. I’ve been a damn fool. I’m so embarrassed and ashamed. I’m sorry for the way I treated you. I’m sorry for the way I let her treat you. It was terrible. I look back and I can’t believe I let myself get down that far. I gave up. I gave her control and she ran with it.”
“What happened?” I asked.