“Of course he did.” I wanted to chuckle, but I didn’t have the energy.
“I’m just gonna text him, though, in case he’s still sleeping.” Dad took out his phone and thumbed in a message to Andy. When he was done, he set the phone back down on my legs and stared at me sympathetically.
“Thanks for coming, Dad.”
His eyes dropped to the white, woven hospital blanket that covered me. “I should’ve come when your car got vandalized, Dani. I haven’t been a good father.”
“Yes, you have,” I argued with as much gusto as I could muster up. “I’m an adult, Dad. There was no reason for you to fly across the country.”
“Yeah, well, you’re my only child, my baby girl, and I wasn’t here when I needed to be. Maybe if I had been—”
“Stop it,” I groaned. “Why do men do that? Why do they automatically blame themselves and think if they’re around, bad things won’t happen? News flash, sometimes bad things just happen . . . regardless of who’s nearby. Does this suck? Totally! But at least it’s all over with now and I can go on with my life.”
Dad sniffed and gave me a small smile as he shook his head incredulously. “When did you become so damn sensible?”
“When you were out catching the early morning waves.” I gave him a lopsided grin.
“Yeah, well, there will be no more of that.”
“What? Why?”
“I’m trading my surfboard in for skis, my sweet Danicka. Minnesota, here I come.”
I shook my head as fast I could, not giving a shit about the pain. “You can’t do that, Dad. You love California.”
“Yeah, and I love you more. Yesterday really scared me. Getting that call from Andy and being that far away was excruciating. I couldn’t get here fast enough.”
“Even so, you love that house, you can’t leave it.”
“I’m not leaving it, I’m just turning it into a vacation home. I’m moving here, Dani, and that’s that. I spent too many years away from you, and I’m not getting any younger, so . . . Minnesota it is. Who knows, maybe I’ll find myself a real cute snow bunny, or a doctor, and we can cuddle around a fire together with hot cocoa.” A wink accompanied his devilish grin.
“Oh, Dad. Gross.” I cringed.
Another loud knock on the hospital door startled both of us.
“She still awake?” Andy asked before he was even completely through the door.
“Yep.” Dad nodded once, looking from Andy to me. One side of his mouth lifted into a lazy grin. “And feisty as ever.”
Andy walked around the corner, and just the sight of him overwhelmed me. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed seeing him until I did. I held my arms out, and he came right over and sat on the other side of my bed, hugging me as gently as he could.
Dad cleared his throat and stood. “Uh . . . I’m gonna step out for a little bit and make some phone calls. Let you guys have a minute . . .”
I lifted my head off of Andy’s chest and smiled as he made his way around the foot of the bed, toward the door. “Don’t go far, okay?”
He froze and turned slightly toward me. “Never again, Dani. Never again.” Before I could respond, he opened the door and slipped out.
As soon as he was gone, Andy pulled me gently toward him again.
“Ouch,” I groaned.
“Sorry,” Andy hissed, loosening his grip on me. “I can’t let go, though. I’m not done with you just yet.”
I didn’t argue. Didn’t even think about arguing. My head rested against his chest, the sound of his heart thumping against my ear, and I silently wished we could stay like that for the rest of the day. Not talk about the attack or my injuries or anything else. Just sit. Together.
After a minute, he let out a heavy, worried sigh. “You scared the hell out of me yesterday, Dani.”
“I scared the hell out of myself,” I joked. “I don’t ever want to do that again, okay?”
“I would appreciate that.”
“Have you talked to Detective Larson at all?” His upper body strained under my head as soon as the question was out of my mouth. “Uh-oh. You tensed. That’s not good.”
“Well, it’s not bad, and it’s not good. It’s just . . . nothing. The guy is refusing to talk.”
“The guy? It’s not Cole?”
He shook his head. “It’s not Cole. They know his name right now—Javier Delgado—and are still searching his apartment, but that’s about it. He has a squeaky-clean record with not so much as a speeding ticket, and so far they have found absolutely nothing incriminating in his apartment.”