Page 102 of Callow

“I thought that if maybe you were having some fun, you wouldn’t be mad at me for having fun.”

“Oh, honey. I’ve never been mad at you for having fun. I get it. Trust me, I had more than my fair share of fun when I was your age. I just don’t want anything to happen to you.”

To that, she nodded.

“I think I’ve had enoughfunfor a while,” she admitted.

“I shouldn’t be as happy as I am to hear that.”

“I am gonna stick to this kind of fun for a while,” she said, patting her book.

“Nerd,” I teased, tugging a strand of her hair.

“Don’t you have a boyfriend to be hanging out with? The hero is about to break out of captivity,” she said, waving toward her book.

I got up off the bed but gave into the urge to lean down and press a kiss to her forehead. “Really glad you’re okay, kid.”

“Me too,” she said, giving me a smile.

By the time I got to the door, I’d already lost her to her book.

“She okay?” Callow asked, standing in the kitchen leaning back against the counter.

“Thanks to you,” I said, walking right into his arms, melting into him as he wrapped me up tight.

“You would have done the same thing,” he said, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “But you didn’t have to.”

“Yeah, I did. She’s a pain in the ass, but I really like Daph,” he said with that mix of annoyance and affection that so many parents could relate to.

“She claimed she’s done having fun for a while.”

“Thank fuck. Gotta at least let my knuckles heal before she gets out there again.”

“How did that happen?” I asked, pulling back, then reaching to grab his hands, looking at the damage that had been done again. “Didn’t you have a gun?” Daphne had mentioned gunshots.

“I did,” he confirmed. “But I was really fucking pissed off. And… sometimes that brings out an ugly side of me.”

“I think if that side beats men who want to hurt my daughter, it’s not really ugly,” I told him, reaching to take his hand, careful not to touch his knuckles, and leading him with me to the couch.

We curled up there together for the rest of the day, watching TV and just enjoying each other’s company.

“So,” I said sometime later, looking up at him. “What now?” I asked.

“Now, I think I owe you a third date.”

Callow - 1 week

Daphne was having a sleepover at Allie’s place. The two girls wanted to gush about the book series Daphne had been staying up late every night to read, leading to her being grumpy and slow in the mornings.

It was something Sabrina decided not to be upset about since the kid clearly earned a little escape after the shit she’d gone through. Besides, the late night reading meant she wasn’t trying to sneak off to go anywhere.

Surprisingly, Sabrina had welcomed Tammy into the apartment the day after the kidnapping. She’d brought a basket full of snacks and self-care shit and had been apologetic for not being more responsible for the underage girl.

She wasn’t a bad kid either. Just kind of adrift in the world, having grown up with two parents struggling with addiction who treated her like shit and barely kept a roof over her head. No one could blame her for getting out early and finding the easiest way to make a boatload of money that would let her be independent of them.

That said, I think Sabrina and I were both pleased that Daphne had reconnected with Allie. At least we knew that when she was with her, she was also with Britney and Sam, who would keep an eye on the two of them for us.