Wild Hearts (The Wilde Brothers #5)

Chapter 21

21

WALKER

I was starting to regret this trip to Virginia. I'd only grown more anxious with each day that passed. Was it a good idea for Dakota to be exposed to so many things that would remind her of her mother?

Would her grandparents be respectful of my role in her life? Or would they insist on seeing more of Dakota? I wasn't prepared for a fight over custody.

I hadn't seen much of Addison since Christmas, which only increased my anxiety. I needed her by my side to soothe my worries. She was my voice of reason.

On the morning of the flight, we packed and headed toward the airport.

"I wish Addison was coming with us. I could show her my school and introduce her to my friends."

"I hadn't thought about asking her to come." This was one of those trips that felt like it was for just me and Dakota. But I couldn't lie to myself and say it wouldn't have made things easier. Addison helped me to see things in a different way.

Dakota rolled her eyes. "Is she part of your life now or not? Sometimes it seems like you're purposely keeping her apart from us. At some point, you have to make a decision to go all in with her."

The advice was so profoundly spot-on I was speechless for a moment. "That's good advice."

Dakota grinned. "I'm good at this stuff."

"I don't even want to know why."

"I haven't had a boyfriend, if that's what you're asking."

"I wasn't," I growled as the familiar panic set in.

We parked, took the shuttle to the ticketing counter, and then went through security. Dakota put her headphones on, leaving me to mindlessly scroll on my phone.

Addison: I hope you have a good trip.

Walker: I wish you were with us.

Addison: You've got this.

Addison always knew what to say, and she'd be the perfect buffer between me and Dakota's grandparents. But I shouldn't need a buffer. I could handle this situation on my own.

On the plane, Dakota pulled off her headphones. "Do you think I could change my last name to Wilde?"

My heart skipped a beat. "You want to change your name to mine?"

Dakota tipped her head to the side. "Don't most kids have their father's name? I know why Mom didn't give me yours, but we live with your family now, and I feel weird having a different name."

"I don't know how to do that, but I'll research it."

Satisfied, Dakota put her headphones back on while I was still reeling from the shock. She wanted my name. She wanted to be mine. That soothed the uncertainty I'd been feeling about this trip. She loved her grandparents, but I was her father. Nothing would ever change that .

I might have missed her first thirteen years, but we were building our own relationship. One that would have lasting impact on both of our lives.

At the airport, we rented a car and headed for her grandparents' house. We were staying in a hotel, but they'd insisted on hosting us for dinner. Then Dakota was scheduled to hang out with her girlfriends. She was giddy with excitement about seeing her friends again, whereas I was nervous about seeing her grandparents.

I parked in front of their home which was a modest house in an older neighborhood.

Blanche opened the door and immediately pulled Dakota into her embrace. When she pulled away, she asked, "Where's your luggage?"

I threw a thumb over my shoulder in the direction of the sedan we'd rented. "We got a room at a hotel."

"Nonsense, Dakota can stay here." My heart paused. This felt like a big moment. One that I didn't want to screw up. "We discussed our arrangements over the phone. If you want to do something different, that's something we would need to discuss prior to our visits."

"Mmm," was all she said as she gestured for us to follow her inside.

Dennis crossed the room and hugged Dakota. "We missed you."

"I missed you too." Dakota grinned at him, and my nerves dissipated somewhat. She loved these people. They were a connection to her mother. I could be more understanding about their relationship with my daughter. They took care of her until I could get home.

Blanche clapped her hands together. "Dinner's ready."

I followed Dakota into the dining room where the table was already set. The cloth napkins signaled a more formal meal than I was anticipating. I felt grungy from the airplane and wished I could wash up.

"Can I use your restroom?" I asked Blanche.

"It's down the hall and to your right."

I nodded my thanks, eager to escape for a minute. I ducked into the small bathroom and locked the door.

I washed my face and my hands. Then I pulled out my phone to text Addison.

Walker: We're at her grandparents, and I'm struggling.

Addison: Remember they love her too.

Walker: You always know the right thing to say.

Addison: I'm not in the situation like you are, so it's easier for me.

I forget that they lost their daughter and their granddaughter. I could allow more leniency when it came to visits. I was just worried they'd overstep my authority.

When I returned to the table, they were already passing out food.

Blanche peppered Dakota with questions about her new school and friends.

"I like school. Friends are harder because I'm coming in so late. A lot of the kids have known each other since preschool."

"It's a smaller town," I said by way of explanation.

Blanche frowned. "It's too bad you couldn't stay in your school here."

"I really liked meeting Dad's family. I have so many cousins. They live close, and we hang out together."

"You hang out with your adult cousins? Shouldn't she be with kids her own age?" Blanche looked at me .

"I think it's important for her to get to know her family."

Blanche pursed her lips but didn't respond.

"It's not like here. But that's okay. I really like our cabin and the Wilde family. I'm happy, and I know that's crazy to say. I feel guilty feeling happy when—" Dakota broke off, her tone filled with emotion.

I rested a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay to feel however you feel. No guilt."

Dakota smiled at me. "No guilt."

"That's my girl," I encouraged her softly, and when I turned back to Dennis and Blanche, there was respect and understanding in their gaze. This was a hard situation.

The talk turned to her art and the books she'd been reading and even her excitement about the drop-in volleyball clinics this spring.

After dinner, we helped clean up, and then Dakota started texting with her friends.

"What are you doing tonight?" I asked her.

"We decided to all meet at Ivy's house and watch a movie. Each of us is supposed to bring food or drink. I'll need to stop at the store to get something."

"We can do that. What time do you need to be there?"

It was soon, so we said our goodbyes and headed out.

In the car, Dakota said, "Grandma wants to take me shopping tomorrow and to lunch by herself. Is that okay?"

"Is that what you want to do?" I asked, wanting to be cognizant of her wishes.

"Yeah."

"Then it's fine with me. I wasn't sure how you'd feel about staying overnight with them. I'm a stranger to them."

"I'm fine staying with you, Dad."

"Good." I helped her pick out cupcakes and drinks for the party, then dropped her off at Ivy's house after talking to her mother for a few minutes .

Everyone seemed nice, and it eased my mind that I could communicate with Dakota since she had her phone. When I was alone in my room, I checked my phone for messages.

Addison: How'd it go?

Instead of texting, I called her. "It was fine."

"They didn't threaten to file for custody or anything? I know that's what you were worried about."

I hadn't even expressed that out loud. Addison knew me so well. "Actually, no. Blanche wanted Dakota to stay with them overnight. I said we already had plans to stay at a hotel. That if they want to change plans in the future, we'd need to discuss it prior to the visit."

"Good for you for sticking up for yourself."

I blew out a breath. "Am I doing the right thing with Dakota? She has friends here. They get together frequently. She's happy with them. She doesn't have that at home."

"Are you asking whether you should move to Virginia?" Addison asked slowly.

"Yeah, I guess I am." My heart was beating faster, but I wasn't sure why. This felt like a monumental decision.

"Only you can answer that." Addison's tone was quieter than before. "I can't really help you."

I ran my hand through my hair. It was such a mind twister. My home was in Colorado, but I could move. I was used to moving with the military. What was one more change? Except I liked our cabin and the proximity to my family. But was I hurting Dakota by taking her from her friends and grandparents?

"I'm going out with my sister for drinks. I'll talk to you later?" Addison asked.

I was hoping we could talk for longer, but I wouldn't keep her. "Sure. "

We hung up, and I felt more alone than ever. I wasn't sure what to do in this situation. There was no right answer.

I'd need to ask Dakota what she wanted. It was her life that stood to change drastically.

I n the morning, I dropped Dakota off at her grandparents. They said I didn't need to come back until dinner, where they'd be serving us again. It was hard to let Dakota go, but right before I turned to leave, she hugged me and whispered, "I'll be fine."

I squeezed her tight. "Have fun."

She smiled. "I will."

Then I had the whole day to myself. I drove past her old school and her mother's home. Her grandparents had been handling the estate, but I'd scheduled an appointment this morning to meet with the attorney.

He immediately took me into a conference room. "I'm so glad you could meet with me while you're here."

"I wanted to tie up any lose ends."

"Her mother left everything to Dakota. The majority of the estate is wrapped in her home. Blanche and Dennis have been handling the sale of the house, but you might want to go through things and see if there's anything Dakota might want. She'll receive the proceeds from the sale of the house. You'll want to put that somewhere for her, whether it's in a trust or other custodial account."

"I can do that. Did the grandparents get anything in the will?"

"She left them a few personal effects, but the bulk of the estate goes to Dakota. When Tammy knew it was terminal, she wanted to provide for her daughter."

"Okay." I was glad that I'd come to the appointment. I had a few things I could do. I took the keys for the house and headed straight there, after picking up packaging tape and boxes just in case I needed them. I'd pack up whatever I thought Dakota would want or need. She could go through them whenever she was ready.

The house was tidy because it was for sale. There wasn't anything left in Dakota's room. Her grandparents had already shipped a bunch of boxes to us.

After I was satisfied there wasn't anything left for Dakota, I went to the hotel to wait for dinner.

I was anxious to get home and see Addison. I knew her sister was in town and didn't want to interrupt their time together.

Instead, I went to the hotel gym and worked out until I was sore. Then I showered and headed over to Dakota's grandparents' house.

There were bags of items by the front door. I wondered if they liked to buy things for Dakota. When I saw Dakota, I asked, "How was it?"

"It was fun."

"Good."

Blanche smiled. "We hope you'll be able to visit more, and maybe we could come to Telluride."

"That would be fine. Just call me ahead of time so we can arrange it around Dakota's schedule."

After that, the evening was relaxed and jovial. I didn't get the sense that her grandparents wanted to do anything official with the courts. That was just my anxiety taking over. If they did something like that down the road, I'd handle it. But for now, this arrangement was fine.

When Dakota went to the bathroom after dinner, I said, "I went to her mother's house, but I didn't see anything that she might want."

"I put aside everything Tammy wanted her to have. We talked about it at the end. Some of the things she wanted us to wait to give her until her death wasn't so fresh,” Blanche said.

Dennis nodded. "And I can give you the Realtor's information so that once the house is sold, you can handle the transfer of money to an account for Dakota. Tammy wanted her to have something for college."

"I can put it in a college fund for her. I have plenty of money to support Dakota. I saved for years in the military and didn't spend much of it. I'm happy to put her mother's money in a fund for later."

"That was important to her. Not that you can't use the money if you need it. But if you could put some aside, that would be nice," Dennis said gruffly.

"I want to honor her mother's wishes," I said, and Blanche teared up.

At the end of the night, Dakota hugged her grandparents, and when she was inside the rental car, Blanche said, "Thank you for taking care of Dakota. You seem like a great dad, and she's happy. She couldn't stop talking about you and your family all day."

Pride filled me. "I'm just so happy to have her in my life. I'm cherishing every second."

Blanche's eyes filled with tears. "I don't know why Tammy didn't do more to find you."

"I try not to think about that. It's upsetting, and the important thing is to move forward," I said.

"I think you're right.”

We embraced, and it felt good.

"We want to be a part of Dakota's life," Dennis said as I pulled away.

"She has a phone. You're welcome to call and visit. I just ask that we talk before visits so the timing works with her schedule. "

We'd come to an agreement that we could all live with. I just had to talk to Dakota about one more thing.

In the car, I drove toward the hotel. "You wouldn't want to live here with your grandparents and your friends?"

"I like Colorado and spending time with your family."

"You know the Wildes are your family too now," I glanced over at her, and she smiled. "But what about your friends and family here?"

"My life is in Colorado now. I'm okay with visiting."

"You can visit as often as you want."

"Then I'm happy living in Colorado with you and Addison."

I grinned, loving that she'd included Addison.

She rested her head on the seat. "I like our life together."

"I do too." I was eager to get home to Addison. To tell her how I felt. It wasn't a conversation to have over the phone or via text message.