Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 29556 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 148(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29556 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 148(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
“Tell me what’s going on in that beautiful mind of yours,” I said.
She let out a humorless chuckle. “Beautiful? Hardly. It’s a tangled mess up here.” She tapped her temple. I wanted to kiss her forehead, but I held back, letting her speak. “I feel so fucked-up. I should be disgusted by what you just told me. He’s my dad. But…”
I wiped away a fresh tear as it slid down her cheek.
“But you’re not disgusted?”
She shook her head. “I know it’s wrong. But the thought of him wanting me the way that you do makes me so horny. It scares me how much it turns me on. I feel like a freak for saying this, but while you were touching me just now, all I could think about was my dad watching me and getting hard and…” She scrubbed at her face with both hands. “God, this is so messed up. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked you to do that.”
“Hails, it’s okay.” I brushed the damp hairs from her tear-streaked face. “I want to help you through this however I can. Talk to me.”
She nodded. “I miss him. I’m still angry about what he did, but I can’t pretend I don’t miss having him in my life. See what I mean? A tangled mess.”
“No,” I said. “That’s not what I see at all. I see a beautiful, sensitive, passionate girl who has every reason to be angry with the men in her life.”
“I am pissed at you,” she said, laughing.
“Good. You should be. I lied to you and betrayed your trust. You should fucking hate me.”
“I could never hate you. You’re my family. And so is my dad, so I guess I can’t hate him either.” She frowned at the book in her lap. “But I can still be mad at him.”
“Maybe it’s time that you told him why you’re so upset.”
She took my hand, intertwining our fingers. I waited patiently for her to think about how she wanted to proceed. This had to be difficult for her. I was prepared to go along with whatever course of action she chose. She might not have been ready to speak to him face to face, and that was okay.
“Maybe you’re right,” she said softly. “I’ll talk to him.”
“I’m proud of you for deciding that for yourself.” I squeezed her hands. “We can call him on the phone if you want, or you can write him a letter—”
“I want to visit him in prison.”
That certainly wasn’t the option I was expecting her to choose.
“Are you sure you’re ready for that, Hails? It might be better to take things slow.”
“If I’m going to reconnect with my incarcerated father to lay out all the reasons why I’m still mad at him, I think doing it in person is the only way to honor that conversation.”
I couldn’t argue with her logic. Tracing a finger down Hailee’s ruddy cheek, I couldn’t help thinking that I was proud of her for taking this next step. “Well said. I’ll call Graham’s lawyer and have him initiate the visitor-approval process for both of us.”
Hailee nodded, smiling for the first time since I’d made my confession.
“Okay,” she said. “Let’s go see my dad.”
7
HAILEE
The visitor waiting area at the medium-security prison was colder than I’d anticipated. I regretted wearing a skirt. Finding a comfortable position on the hard plastic chair proved almost impossible. Uncle Logan rested his heavy hand on my bare knee to stop it from bouncing.
“You’re okay, Hails,” he said quietly. “Breathe.”
“I’m breathing.” I glanced around at the off-white cinderblock walls and speckled linoleum, at the gaudy orange chairs and gunmetal-gray doors with big locks. I wasn’t expecting a palace, but the realization that this was where my dad had been living all this time made my eyes burn. The three-bedroom home we’d shared in Eureka wasn’t fancy, but it was cozy. This place was the exact opposite of cozy.
Uncle Logan stroked my knee with his thumb. “If it’s too much for you now, we can leave and reschedule.”
As tempting as his offer was, I shook my head. “I’ll be even more anxious if I put it off.”
“That’s my girl.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and held me against his side. “You can do this, Hails.”
I closed my eyes, letting his warmth soothe my rampant nerves. I was about to see my dad for the first time in four long years. What if I burst into tears at the sight of him? What if he’d changed so much that I didn’t recognize his face?
I flinched as the gruff-voiced guard behind the security barrier called out another prisoner’s name. A wiry, dark-haired woman rose from her chair and marched toward a door that opened upon her approach. A second, younger guard spoke to her briefly before allowing her to pass through. The door slammed shut behind her.