Chapter 10
Rowan
We walk out to the main road to meet Rodney, my fingers laced together with Fritha’s.
At the sound of his truck engine, Fritha drops my hand and steps away from me.
She gives me an apologetic look. “I need to do this one surprise at a time.”
Which I understand. I stand next to her, letting her know I’m here for support.
She tucks her hair behind her hair and bites her lower lip, a nervous gesture that I’ll have to train her to smooth out if she wants to win more poker games.
Rodney’s truck barrels around the corner and pulls up when he sees us. He’s out the door as soon as the engine cuts and pulling Fritha into a tight hug.
There are deep worry lines on his face, and the dark smudges under his eyes suggest he hasn’t slept much.
“Are you okay, princess?” He grips her by the shoulders and scans her face, looking for signs to her welfare.
“I’m fine, Grandpa. Rowan looked after me.”
Rodney gives me a curt nod. “I appreciate it.” He holds out a hand to shake. “This one’s precious to me.”
I take his hand and look him square in the eye. “She’s precious to me too.”
Rodney’s sharp eyes narrow, and maybe he can sense what we’ve just been up to, or maybe he can sense there’s always been something between us. But before he can say anything, Fritha steps in.
“I’m not going back to law school.” She says it quickly in one breath then pulls her lips together tight, waiting for Rodney’s response.
His frown turns to her. “What do you mean?”
Fritha licks her lips nervously, and her gaze darts to mine. I give her an encouraging nod.
“I don’t want to be a lawyer. I don’t want to go back.”
Rodney looks between us, and his sharp instincts picks up that something’s different. Confusion turns to anger, and he grips me around the collar.
“What the fuck is going on here, Rowan?”
He’s got a firm grip for a man in his sixties, and I don’t try to fight him. There’s no way this news was going to land well with him, and we just have to wait till he accepts it.
“What the fuck did you do to my princess?”
“It’s got nothing to do with Rowan.”
Fritha tries to come between us, but I hold up my hands and give her a quick shake of the head. The motion doesn’t go unnoticed by her grandfather.
“Two days ago, my little girl was on track to go back to law school. Two days stuck with you, and she’s changed her mind. What the fuck is going on?”
“It’s got nothing to do with him, Grandpa,” Fritha says. “Law school was Dad’s dream. I want to do something on the mountain. I love it here. All my best memories are here. And the only two people in this world I care about are here.”
Grandpa loosens his grip on me and turns to his granddaughter.
“Don’t stay here for me, princess.”
“I’m not.” She takes my hand, and Rodney’s eyebrows pull together in a deep frown. “I’m staying for myself.”
I’m proud of my girl for standing up for herself.
“Then what the fuck is this?” He indicates our locked hands.
“I love her,” I say simply. “If Fritha wants to stay, then we’re going to be together.”
Rodney snorts. “Is this what you want, princess?”
She nods. “Yes. I’ll continue to study. But I want to be with Rowan.”
Rodney scrutinises me, and it’s worse than when he interviewed me for the firefighting job.
He’s probably weighing everything he knows about me as his employee and as a man. I hope I’ve proven myself over the years as a man worthy of his granddaughter.
“Your father only ever wanted you to be happy, princess. He saw that you were smart, and when he mentioned law school, everyone thought that’s what you wanted too.”
“I’m not a little girl anymore, Grandpa. I’m a woman, and I’m making decisions as a woman.”
Rodney harumphs. “You’ll always be a little girl to me, princess, and I’ll never stop looking out for you.”
She breaks into a smile and throws her arms around her grandad. He hugs her back but scowls at me over her shoulder.
“If I hear anything about my girl quitting her studies, then I’ll have you fired.”
I can’t keep the grin off my face. The old man wants the best for his granddaughter, and so do I. That’s all I ever wanted, for Fritha to be happy.
“I reckon your dad would be okay with your choice. If you have to grow up, princess, then at least it’s with a decent man.”
I take Fritha’s hand, and this time Rodney’s scowl is only a small frown. It’s going to take him a while to get used to seeing us together, but I’m sure the old man will come around.
“I saw your pickup a few miles back, Rowan. There’s a shit load of road to clear and vehicles to pull out of the mud. So, if you’re done with hand holding, we could use some help.”
Fritha and I bundle into Rodney’s truck, and then we’re bouncing back down the mountain.
The storm brought us together, and when I find my pickup half submerged I don’t even care. If it wasn’t for the damn thing getting stuck, I never would have found my girl.