Her father laughed. “You think I’d ask you to do that?”
“No.”
“You’re right.” He walked to the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down. “Sit.”
Darcy did as she was told.
Her father reached across the table and took her hands. “I’m proud of you, Darcy Ann. It took a lot of guts to pack up and move.”
“Daddy…”
“Don’t interrupt me.”
She dropped her shoulders. Adult or not, this man could quickly put her in her place.
“Your job. It’s a good one, right?”
“Yes.”
“Your boss. You said he’s a nice man.”
“Yes.”
Her father narrowed his eyes. “Did you find your birth parents yet?”
Darcy was sure her heart had fallen out of her chest and just been stomped into the ground. She pulled her hands from her father’s and cupped them around her mouth to keep the sobs that were about to escape from doing so.
Her father stood and walked to the paper towel roll which hung by the sink. He pulled down the roll and handed the whole thing to her. She pulled off a sheet and began frantically wiping away her tears as he sat back down.
“I knew that telling you that you were adopted would lead to that. I’m not stupid, you know.”
All Darcy could do was nod.
“I don’t know who they were. We didn’t deal with them directly. It was set up through the hospital. I don’t think the father was involved.”
Darcy looked up at her father. He was feeding her information. Would he always just have done that?
He scratched his head, and then, as if he’d just noticed it, he pulled the gauze strip from his arm and wadded up the bandage. “You were born early. I think about six weeks early. There had been some kind of accident or something, and we were told your mother died.”
The sobs broke through, and Darcy pulled off more of the paper towel and began to wipe at her face.
Her father looked down at his hands. “You were in NICU for three weeks, fighting for your life. We figured it was just a cruel joke that the world was playing on us. When we finally got the call that there was a baby for us, there was a chance she was going to die.”
“I never knew that.”
“There was no need for you to know.” He rubbed his hand over the stubble on his chin. “If the woman who had you was dead and you’d survived, why make you even think about it?”
“That’s why you didn’t tell me?”
He shrugged. “We didn’t see any reason.”
How could she possibly deny him that logic.
“I love you. I love both of you. I should never have gone looking for my birth parents. But…” She paused as she contemplated what she was going to say. “Had I not tried, I’d never have fallen in love with the most wonderful man.”
Her father clasped his hands and then looked down at them. This was something he’d do before he got very angry. Darcy placed her hands in her lap and waited.
And waited.
Soon her father stood from his seat and walked out of the house. Darcy sat there for a few more minutes, but he never returned.
Finally she walked outside where her father was putting boxes into the back of his pickup truck.
“Are you moving right now?” she asked as she walked down the front steps of the house.
“No. You are.”
“Dad, how hard did you hit your head?”
He laughed. “Not hard at all. You’re taking my truck and all this crap your mother saved for you. She collected dishes, linens, picture frames, and hell, I don’t know what else. She boxed them and marked them with your name for twenty years. They were for when you got married, so you might as well take them.”
“I’m not getting married.”
“You just told me you were in love.”
“Well, yes.”
“Then I would expect if he is a decent man, he’d be asking you to marry him.”
She moved closer to the truck. “I would expect that he would someday, too. But this is a new relationship.”
Her father threw the last box into the back of the truck and looked at her. “Who is he? Who is this man who has taken your heart?”
He was so unsentimental that when he said that she almost burst out laughing.
“Eduardo Keller.”
Her father pursed his lips. “And what does this Eduardo man do?”
Darcy cleared her throat. “He is the Vice President of Benson, Benson, and Hart.”
Her father pushed up the tailgate and stood there with his arms folded on it. “You’re having an affair with your boss?”
“No. It’s not like that.”
“Not how I hear it.”
“Daddy, I’m not like that. You know that.”
“Maybe Nashville has changed you.” He walked past her and back into the house.
This time she followed. “Do you really think of me like that?”
“Darcy, you always took your own path.”
“No, I didn’t. I did all the things I was supposed to do. I never strayed off course—ever. I got straight A’s. I won trophies in every sport I ever played. I graduated from college. What more was I supposed to do?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know.” He walked to the living room and sat down in his recliner. “I know it’s been a year, Darcy, but I miss your mother.”
Darcy let out a loud sigh and dropped her shoulders. “Is this what it’s all about? Are you really just missing her? Or are you really mad at me?”
He shook his head. “I’m proud of you. I really am.”
“That’s all I’ve ever tried to do is make you proud. Daddy,” she said as she knelt down in front of him. “I love Ed. He’s a hard-working man, and he has this amazing family.”
“A big family?”
“Yes!” She laughed when she said it. “And they are all so kind. You’re going to love them.”
He grunted.
“Daddy, why don’t you come with me. If Ashland isn’t home anymore to either of us because Mom is gone, then come with me.”
This time he laughed. “Are you kidding me? Nashville isn’t for me. Trust me.”
“So you’re going to move to Florida? You’re going to go and be happy there?”