“The young man in the guard’s gatehouse is a member of my church. I told him I was here to see you. He’s seen the news. I’d imagine the whole darned congregation has by now.”
Joe excused himself and headed out to the gate, and I hoped that whoever the guard was, he would still be employed when Joe got there. If Gabriel’s expression meant anything, he might fire the poor man.
He gave my dad a once over, as if making sure there weren’t any injuries. “Again, my apologies, but next time feel free to have them notify us so we can anticipate your arrival.” Gabriel straightened his cuffs and led the way inside, where he offered my father a seat. “We’ll be having dinner soon. I hope you can join us.”
Gabriel’s sincerity was refreshing and put me at ease, but as my father fidgeted, I thought he might still be a little shaken by Joe’s attack. “When you called me from the car, I got online and found the address. I wanted to check on you.”
Dad hadn’t gone that long without seeing me since the day I was born. Not even college had taken me away from home, and when I moved out, I’d at least see him once a week at church and twice during the week for dinner.
Judy walked out from the kitchen and announced that dinner would be ready within the hour. As Gabriel asked her to bring out some wine, she smiled at my father.
Dad stood a little taller as he smiled back. “Judy?” I exchanged a shrug with Gabriel as the woman stepped forward and shook my father’s hand.
“I wasn’t sure you’d remember me.” The two exchanged a warm smile.
“It hasn’t been that long, though I am getting older. By the way, I saw your son out at the gate. He’s always been a great kid.” Well, that explained that. As a pastor, my dad knew so many people. We’d never been able to go anywhere without him seeing at least one person he knew.
Judy gave a final nod. “Thank you. I’m glad he’s had a fine man like your son-in-law to look up to.” She tilted her head toward Gabriel and winked, then she retreated herself to the kitchen.
I exchanged a smile with my father, who was still beaming from greeting Judy, although his lip had curled at the mention of son-in-law. At least he couldn’t complain about the type of people I was around, and I was grateful that Judy had put in a good word for Gabriel. Maybe my dad would start to lighten up.
“So, Mr. Grant, what are your intentions for my daughter?”
So much for that. “Dad,” I scolded under my breath.
He sat up a little straighter and looked down his nose, but he didn’t go on, and Gabriel didn’t answer. I imagined he wasn’t too interested in explaining himself, and I doubted that my father would like what he had to say.
But as I gave up hope for his response, he leaned forward, steepled his fingers, and rested his elbows on his knees. “Despite the haste of our marriage, I care about your daughter very much and intend to do right by her.”
My father narrowed his eyes. “Does that mean you’ll give her a speedy divorce?”
Though my face reddened with embarrassment, I anticipated his response.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Gabriel
Being home wasn’t going as well as I’d thought, and after seeing Luna’s dad tackled to the ground and treated like an intruder, I didn’t think it could get much worse.
I was wrong. His question put me on the spot, in more ways than one, and I feared my question could throw his daughter under the bus. It wasn’t as if I’d been in this alone, although the fact that the annulment wasn’t already in the works had more to do with me.
Though I respected him, I think his persistence about the situation was uncalled for. He’d forced his way into my home when I would have welcomed him and had proceeded to inflict his attitude on me at the discomfort of his daughter.
“Your daughter and I will take care of things together. Any decisions about our future will be made in the same manner.”
“First you lure her down to Las Vegas for work, and then after a night of poor decisions – which, I might add, were also your influence – you manipulated her into a marriage she didn’t and doesn’t want.
“Now because you’ve landed yourself in hot water due to the company you keep, you’ve decided to force her to stay in it. It’s obvious my daughter isn’t capable of making adult decisions or resisting the vile temptations you’ve no doubt exposed her to.”
My face burned red hot with anger. “Your daughter is a grown woman, and it’s well past time you treated her as such.”
“How you treat my daughter is my concern, no matter h
er age!”
“Your coddling had a big part in her intolerance for alcohol and her desire to rebel. So we can make excuses all day long – the fact still remains that this was her choice. Drunk or not.”
Luna stood up and turned on me. “That’s enough from the both of you. I won’t have the two of you going at it and laying blame. And I will not stand for you disrespecting my father.” Her eyes were wild, her chest heaving with emotion as her face reddened.