Total pages in book: 162
Estimated words: 165618 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 828(@200wpm)___ 662(@250wpm)___ 552(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 165618 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 828(@200wpm)___ 662(@250wpm)___ 552(@300wpm)
I had to quit procrastinating.
I had to know.
And there was only one person I could ask.
Therefore, it was time to let go of the last vestiges of something else.
As such, I commed my father.
He answered in one ring.
“I see Tanyn didn’t mess around with his response to that trash that was printed about you yesterday,” Dad said as greeting.
Wait.
What?
“Sorry?”
“The official announcement from the castle,” Dad said, then amended, “No, it was from the king.”
I knew, because Tanyn told me last night he’d talked Mira into staying. I also knew, again because he told me last night he’d tasked her with dealing with that issue.
I just didn’t know anything was done about it.
I put the Palm on speaker, reached to my lapcomp, and said, “That isn’t what I’m calling about.”
“What are you calling about? Are you and Tanyn all right?”
“We’re fine. We’re good,” I muttered distractedly as I read the headlines from the pane I’d pulled up.
King Tanyn Declares Lady Love Off-Limits.
Holy Hecate.
“Catla?” Dad called.
I tore my attention from the display of my comp and went back to Dad.
“I wanted to ask you something,” I told him.
“Ask away,” he invited.
It was so irritating when Dad was awesome after he’d been not-so-awesome.
“How did you know Mom was the one?”
There was a long, loaded silence before he queried, “The one?”
“Yes, Dad, you can read from that I have feelings for Tanyn, which you already knew, and it’s bad form to rub it in. And yes, you can read from me coming to you about it that they’re strong.”
“But you still have concerns?”
“Not really. It’s just…it seems to be happening very fast. And it feels like it’s something more.”
“Falling in love is a lot, my darling,” he said kindly.
Was it just that?
“You know I dated, and I did it quite a bit,” I reminded him.
“I do know that.”
“I tried to find someone. I was open to it.”
“I believe you.”
“They just weren’t…”
“…the one,” he filled in for me.
“So? How did you know about Mom?”
“One afternoon, I text commed her. She didn’t reply. Not unusual, so I left an a-comm. She didn’t return it. She never left it long in getting back to me. But I again texted, just to ask her to reply and let me know she was all right. And when she didn’t, I left another a-comm, sharing the same. As the minutes moved into over an hour, there’s no other way to describe my reaction. I panicked.”
The thought of my father feeling that emotion absolutely stunned me.
He was always a totally together male (when he wasn’t angry, and that was annoying too—the together part, and obviously the angry part).
“Panicked?”
“Fear took hold. Honestly, my lovely girl, it was crippling. I thought something had happened to her. The thought of a life without her in it had me in a stranglehold. I left work, got right in my craft, went to her job and only felt better when I saw her. Of course, after that, we had a wild row. But during it, I learned she’d bought a new Palm, it had a battery glitch and had run out of power. We ended the row with me asking her to marry me.”
Excuse me?
“Wait, I thought you proposed during a picnic in Crimson Park.”
“That’s when I gave her the ring and it became official.” I could hear the humor in his tone when he said, “And it was a much prettier picture to give our daughter than me shouting at Freya that I wanted her to be my wife.”
And I understood his humor.
“Ah,” I said.
“Can I make a suggestion?” he requested.
“Shoot,” I invited.
“Don’t overthink it. Just let it happen. It’s early days, and I’ll admit, in those days, when you’re attracted to someone and it starts to dawn you’re going to fit, emotions are heightened. It can be overwhelming. Exciting, but also frightening. Try to let those go and just let the relationship build naturally.”
“But this feels like something…”
“…more?” Again, he filled in for me.
“Yes.”
“That’s called falling in love, my darling,” he said warmly.
And yes.
A little smugly.
Okay, this was the worst.
But I had to get it over with.
“I’m not going to thank you because of how this came about,” I announced.
“Of course,” he murmured.
“I am going to thank you because he’s pretty mega,” I forced out.
Dad had a hand in making me and forming me, so he was smart enough not to reply.
“That said, I give Tanyn the credit for that,” I added.
“As you should.”
At least we were agreed on that.
Dad changed the subject. “Tanyn says they’re working hard to get a handle on things.”
“You and Tanyn talk?”
“Not daily, but he holds my daughter’s safety in his hands, so he keeps me informed.”
I supposed I could give him that.
“Yes. They are,” I confirmed. “Working very hard, that is. And maybe getting an understanding of a few things.”