Chapter ten
Tara
I woke up hopeful that today was a new day and things would be different, which was probably my first mistake. After everything that had happened over the last week, I should’ve known better. Still, I couldn’t help myself.
Yesterday had been rough… not just on Devyn, but on Caine too.
He spent most of the evening staring off into space while pretending to eat dinner. I knew he was worried about his daughter even if he tried not to show it. Truthfully, I was worried about her too.
Not about Switzerland or the school, or even the distance. I was worried about the damage being done to their relationship. For thirteen years, Devyn had adored her father. Now she could barely stand to look at him.
That wasn’t something either of them knew how to handle. I rolled over and grabbed my phone from the nightstand. Maybe Devyn had calmed down enough to join us for breakfast. Maybe she had realized she missed us a little. Or that she wanted to spend some time with us before we leave tomorrow.
I quickly sent a text to Devyn.
Me: Good morning honey. Your dad and I are about to go downstairs for breakfast at the hotel. I was wondering if maybe you’d like to join us.
I waited for what seemed like forever but was only about ten minutes before the three dots appeared. Then they disappeared and appeared again.
Finally, her response came through.
Devyn: No thanks
I sighed heavily.
Well, that’s disappointing.
But not surprising. However, I tried one more time.
Me: Well, how about the two of us go shopping later?
She took several minutes before responding that time. I almost set my phone down.
Devyn: Are you fa real?
That kind of made me look at the text twice. Why would she ask me that? Of course I was for real.
Me: Yes. I’d like to spend some time with you before your father and I return to the states in the morning.
This time the response came quicker than the last and boy did she let me have it.
Devyn: You are the reason my dad shipped me off here and you now expect me to smile and go shopping with you. No thank you
My shoulders slumped. A few seconds later another message appeared.
Devyn: You don’t need to ask me to go anywhere. Sahara and I are going shopping later and breakfast is being served in the cafeteria now, so take care
Damn!
Well, on the bright side, at least she was making friends. I set my phone down just as Caine emerged from the bathroom. The look on his face told me that he was missing his little girl already. I wish I had better news for him pertaining to breakfast because he was hopeful that she’d join us too.
Poor man.
“Well?” he asked with a questioning gaze.
I hated being the bearer of bad news, but I couldn’t lie. “She said no.”
The change in his expression was immediate as his entire face fell and his shoulders dropped. And just like that, I could see the disappointment.
“To breakfast?” he asked with a raised brow.
I nodded. “And shopping,” I added.
“Damn.”
The word came out quietly, almost sadly. He sighed heavily and sat down on the edge of the bed. For several moments neither of us spoke. Then he shook his head.
“We’re only here until tomorrow,” he said.
I sat beside him and linked my arm through his and rested my head against his shoulder. “I know.”
“I just thought…”
His voice trailed off. I already knew what he was going to say. “I thought we’d be able to make up before we left.”
The sadness in his voice made my heart hurt because despite everything, I knew how much he loved that little girl. And right now, his little girl wanted absolutely nothing to do with him.
“Just give her some time.”
The second the words left my mouth, I regretted them. Because I already knew what his response would be.
“What time, Tara?”
I sighed. “Caine…”
“No.” He stood up, clearly frustrated. “What time do we have?” His voice rose slightly. “We leave tomorrow morning.”
I didn’t have an answer for that because now that he posed the question, I realized that he was right. Time wasn’t exactly on our side.
“Don’t get mad at me,” I said.
Immediately his eyes found mine and his mouth twisted. “You know, this was all your idea.”
Ouch.
The words really stung. Not because they were completely wrong because they weren’t. But I didn’t make the decision to send his daughter here. He did that all on his own.
“I know that,” I said in a tone barely above a whisper. “I did bring the school to your attention.” His jaw tightened like he wanted to say something. “But you made the decision all by yourself.”
The room went silent because that was true too. At the end of the day, the final call belonged to him… not me or Devyn. Just Caine.
For several moments neither of us spoke. Then Caine exhaled heavily. The anger seemed to drain right out of him.
“I don’t wanna talk about this shit anymore.”
I nodded. “Fair enough,” I said.
Because truthfully, neither did I. We had been having different versions of the same conversation for weeks. The only thing that changed was who was upset… Devyn, me, and now Caine.
“I know I made the best decision for my child.” The conviction returned to his voice… not completely, but enough for me to recognize the man I knew. The man who’d spent his entire life making difficult decisions. The man who always carried the burden so nobody else had to.
Unfortunately, parenting didn’t work the same way. Sometimes you carried the burden and still got blamed.
“I know.”
His eyes drifted towards the hotel window and the mountains in the distance. Towards a future he couldn’t quite see.
“I’m just hoping one day she forgives me.”
The honesty in his voice surprised me because Caine wasn’t usually this vulnerable.
“And understands that my heart was in the right place,” he said in a quiet tone.
For a moment neither of us spoke. Then I reached over and squeezed his hand. In spite of everything that happened, I believed him. I honestly believed he thought he was doing the right thing for his daughter. The problem was that Devyn believed she was being punished.
And right now, neither one of them seemed capable of seeing the other side.
“I think she will,” I said.
He looked at me with hope in his eyes. “You really believe that?” Caine asked.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
Shit it probably wouldn’t happen tomorrow, next week, or even next year. But eventually she would forgive him because underneath all the anger and hurt, Devyn loved her father and underneath all the stubbornness and bad decisions, Caine loved his daughter.
The problem was that love wasn’t fixing anything right now. And as we headed downstairs for breakfast without her, the empty chair at the table seemed to prove it.