Chapter 34 Duke
DUKE
Duke:
Thinking of y’all today
Duke:
Let me know if y’all need anything
Duke:
I can bring Charlie home if you need me to
I blew out a breath and tossed my phone on the dashboard. There was no use in staring at the damn thing. It sure as hell didn’t make messages appear out of thin air.
I would know. I’d been doing it all day.
The sky, a perfect reflection of my mood, was cloudy and grey. By this evening, there’d be a massive storm rolling in, which would scare away even my regulars. No one wanted to be caught on those roads in the dead of night while it was pouring rain.
Harper and I would be lucky to make it home before it hits at this point.
When the school bell rang, students poured out of the doors, hurrying to their parents’ cars. Harper’s auburn hair stood out amongst her classmates. She walked up to my truck, tossing her backpack on the floor before climbing into the backseat and buckling up.
She murmured a hello before turning her head and staring out the window.
“How was school?” I asked, starting the truck. “Did you have a good day?”
Harper shrugged. “It was fine, I guess.”
I didn’t consider myself an expert on much, especially when it came to my daughter, but I did know a thing or two about women in general. Like when they said something was fine, it was inherently not.
Drumming my fingers on the wheel, I tried again. “It doesn’t sound fine. Wanna talk about it?”
She was silent for so long that I assumed the answer was no, but then she surprised me. “Charlie got signed out of school early today. Her Uncle Lukas stopped by to get her.”
“She did, huh?” My drumming immediately stopped. “What for?”
Harper’s eyes met mine in the rearview mirror. “She said it was probably because her mom was leaving town and she had to go see her before she left.” Fuck, fuck, fuck. I tightened my grip on the wheel. “Is that true, Dad? Is Miss Olivia leaving?”
“Well, sugar, Miss Olivia has to go back to work for a little bit but she’ll be back.” I fucking hope. “It’s only for a little while.”
“But I didn’t get to say goodbye.” My daughter was trying so hard to hold in her emotions, but in the end, they won out. A quiet sniffle escaped, and I realized she was quietly crying. “I’ll miss her.”
Goddammit. I fucking hated this. Everything was out of my control, and there was nothing I could do about it. How the fuck was I supposed to tell my daughter everything was going to be okay when every alarm bell was ringing in my mind, telling me otherwise?
This scene was so similar to Sarah leaving, except that, instead of being too young to understand, my daughter was, unfortunately, aware of being left in the dark this time.
“Harper, baby, don’t cry. I’m gonna miss her, too.
” I reached back with one hand and squeezed her knee for comfort, but it didn’t help.
If anything, she seemed to cry harder. I glanced at my phone on the dashboard and grabbed for it.
“What if we give her a call? She may already be in the air, but we can leave a voicemail. Would that be okay?”
I was setting us both up for further disappointment. There was no way in hell Olivia was going to answer, especially when she saw my name on her screen, but if it stopped Harper’s tears even for a second, I’d try.
My daughter nodded and reached for the phone. She found Olivia’s contact and pushed the call button. Loud ringing filled the cab as we both sat in tense silence, waiting to see if she would pick up.
I was about to give up hope when a soft-spoken, “Hello?” reached my ears.
It’d only been a day, and I was already weak in the fucking knees for the sound of her voice. How the hell was I supposed to go days and weeks and months without it?
“Miss Olivia, I just wanted to tell you bye before you left since I didn’t get to before.”
It was impossible to miss the little catch of her breath at Harper’s woeful voice. “Oh, Harper. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you yesterday. It’s just that I was hoping I could stay a little while longer.”
“But you can’t?”
“Not this time,” Olivia whispered. “But when I come back, I’ll make sure you’re the first one I come to visit, okay? I promise.”
“And my dad?” Harper chewed on her bottom lip. “He said he’s going to miss you, too.”
“Y-Yeah,” she stammered. “Of course. I’ll visit your dad, too. You’re a package deal.”
She was trying so hard not to let Harper down by carefully picking and choosing her words, but I heard the hesitation. Olivia would keep her word because she had to, but we both knew it wasn’t for either of our benefits.
Did it make me pathetic that I didn’t care what the reasoning was, so long as I laid eyes on her at all?
“When do you leave? Are you already in the air?”
Olivia chuckled. “Well, I couldn’t be talking to you if I were, so no. My brother is taking me to the airport now. We’re about ten minutes away.”
“Oh.” Harper glanced down at her feet. “I was hoping we could see you again before you left.”
There was a beat of silence before Olivia cleared her throat. “Not this time, sweet girl. But I promise I’ll let you know when I come back, okay? We can plan a sleepover and everything.”
Harper nodded. “Okay, I’d like that. Maybe we can dress up like we’re going to the Met Gala.”
“I’ll bring the dresses,” she said. There were voices on the other line before she came back. “Harper, I’m going to let you go, okay? We’re almost to the plane, and I need to get my things together.”
“Will you let me know when you get wherever you’re going?”
Olivia hesitated. “I’ll text your dad.”
Harper looked at me, and I nodded. “I’ll let you know the moment it comes in.”
“Even if I’m in bed?”
“Even if you’re in bed.”
“Okay. Be safe, Miss Olivia.”
“Bye, Harper.” Then Olivia softly whispered, “Bye, Duke.”
My daughter ended the call and handed my phone back to me. Even if she looked better than she had when I picked her up, I could still see the dried tear tracks on her cheeks.
“Hey, you want to watch a movie tonight?” I asked.
Harper’s brows scrunched together. “Don’t you have to work?”
I shrugged. “It’s gonna rain. There’s no point in being open if no one’s going to come in. Especially if it’s gonna take me away from my favorite girl. Besides, I think we could both use something to cheer us up.”
For too long, I’d been prioritizing Frank’s over my relationship with Harper.
I was too worried about paying bills and saving money after Sarah left.
Every dollar was counted, every penny was pinched.
While being able to buy groceries without worrying about overdrawing my account was great, it wasn’t everything.
Having Olivia around showed me how much I was missing by hiding myself away at the bar. These were some of the best years of my life, and yet I was just letting them slip by.
Harper’s lips twitched. “Can I pick the movie?”
For the first time all day, the knot in my stomach loosened a fraction. “Sure, sugar. You can pick the movie.”