Chapter 43
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
PERCY SLEDGE, “WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN”
Kyle
I left Eve with Josh while I trekked through the snow to ask Peter’s permission to take his daughter to Colorado. I knew the answer, but I did it anyway.
“No.” He shook his head as we talked in the living room.
Janet handed me a cup of coffee before sitting next to her husband. She offered me a sad smile as well.
“Well,” I shrugged and took a sip of the coffee, “we’re still leaving tomorrow.”
“Then why on earth are you asking me if you don’t care about my answer?” Peter asked.
“Because it’s the right thing to do.”
He scoffed. “The right thing to do is leave my daughter alone.”
I nodded slowly. “I understand why you feel that way.”
“You don’t,” he argued.
“I do. I see it from your side, but you can’t see it from mine. And that’s okay. But if you could step into my shoes, all you’d see and feel is love. I love Eve beyond words. Every day I will love her, protect her, and move heaven and earth to give her a beautiful life. When she stumbles, I will catch her. If she can’t walk, I will carry her. I’m fully invested in her happiness. My son lights up like the sun when he sees her, and I can’t put into words how that makes me feel.”
I set my mug on the coffee table and folded my hands in front of me. “I don’t see the young woman who hid alcohol by the creek or backed into a utility post or missed curfew. I don’t see her job as a sign that she’s lost without a dream. I see the person who dealt with a child vomiting on her and wetting his pants. I only see her patience and kindness. The meals she made for us, the laundry she folded. The costume she sewed. The times she gave up going out with friends to watch a five-year-old on a Friday night.
“Don’t be angry that I love her. You should be shocked if I didn’t fall deeply in love with her because she’s amazing. You raised a wonderful, loving, compassionate woman. And I just want to spend the rest of my life proving to her and everyone else that I’m worthy of her heart.”
Janet pressed a tissue to her cheek to dry her tears, and then she squeezed Peter’s hand.
I gave it my all. And I knew from the look on his face that it wasn’t enough, and that was okay. Had I been in his shoes, I wouldn’t have given a twenty-eight-year-old single dad my blessing to take off with my eighteen-year-old daughter.
The front door creaked open, and a few seconds later, Eve and Josh poked their heads into the living room.
“Eve said I can help her pack,” Josh said with excitement. “She’s coming to Colorado with us.” He beamed.
Peter bowed his head, rubbing the back of his neck while Janet smiled at Josh and stood, wiping a few more tears.
“I’ll help too,” she said, taking his hand and leading him up the stairs.
I grabbed my coffee and headed toward the kitchen, stopping to kiss Eve on the cheek as she stood at the threshold, staring at her father. As I stepped past her, she moved closer to him. I stopped just around the corner to listen.
“I love you,” she said softly to him. “I’m going to make you proud, but not because I have to, just because I want to.”
“Eve,” he said her name, and his voice cracked with emotion.
She sniffled, and I continued to the kitchen.
It wasn’t going to be easy, but it would be worth it.