Page 55 of Under Their Watch

“I want to see him,” I say.

“Are you sure?” Theo asks.

“Yes,” I say. “I deserve to say my peace.”

“Okay, but I need a promise that no one is going to try and go after him, even if he does deserve it,” Casey says. “He’s with his lawyer right now.”

“Why?” I ask.

“His lawyer is trying to get him to plead guilty. He is determined to take it to trial,” Logan says.

“He thinks he can manipulate me,” I say. “He thinks I will defend him.”

“Yeah,” Casey says.

“Well, I can clear that up for him real fast,” I say.

“Let me go over and talk to his lawyer,” Logan says. Casey nods and he walks away.

“How am I supposed to address him now?” I ask. “I’ve only ever known him as my dad, but he’s not. It’s…”

“First of all,” my father says turning me to face him. “I don’t care what you call me, but he is not your father. Fathers don’t hurt their little girls. They don’t let anyone hurt them. They protect them. He is not your father, Rhea.”

“I just… I want to call you dad,” I say. “You are my dad. You wanted me and you fought for me, even when you couldn’t find me. That is more than either of them did. If it weren’t for Quinn and Jace, I wouldn’t have survived childhood. I know if I hadyou, I would have been safe and loved. I wouldn’t have suffered like I did.”

“Want to hear something I’ve never told anyone?” he asks.

“Yeah.”

“I still have your room set up,” he says. “It stayed as a nursery until your second birthday, and then I changed it all out for what I thought a toddler would like. When you turned five, I changed it again. I did that on your birthday almost every year and updated it to what I thought you’d like… Right now, it looks like a teenager’s room. The rocking chair I held you in the morning before she stole you, it’s in there. I sit in it every night and read. When you were little, I’d read children’s books out loud. It felt nice to pretend you were curled up in bed listening until you fell asleep. As you got older, so did the books.”

“That’s heart-breaking, Dad,” I say. I catch myself saying it, but it feels natural.

“She’s an author,” Emma says.

“I’m a writer. I am not an author,” I say.

“Anika is going to help her publish,” Theo says. “You two have a lot in common.”

“That’s wonderful,” Dad says. “We’ll get you set up when you are ready.”

“You don’t have to do that,” I say.

“But I’m going to. I didn’t get to be a dad to you growing up, but I can be one now, if you want,” he says. “Dad’s go above and beyond for their kids. I want to do that for you.”

“Did you ever have any other kids?” I ask.

“No. It would have felt like I was replacing you. I didn’t want a replacement, I just wanted my little girl back,” he says. “I’ve not even dated anyone.”

“You should change that,” I say. “Oh, you know what.”

“What?” Theo asks.

“Jace’s Mom is single. Jace has been trying to force her to date lately. You two should meet,” I say to him.

“Rachel,” he sighs. “I mean, Rhea. That’s going to take a bit to get used to.”

“You can call me whatever you want,” I say as I hug him.