“I love you too,” she says, making me smile and feel lighter than I’ve felt for the last two months—hell, the last few years.
Chapter 5
Lilly
I look down at my lap. Cash’s large hand is entwined with mine, his thumb moving slowly back and forth against my skin. The roughness and strength in his hand makes mine feel small and delicate. I can’t believe he told me he loves me. I knew it would come eventually. He shows me every day that he cares not only for Ashlyn, but for me as well. I have finally accepted that he is not going anywhere. Part of me is still hurt that he walked away from me when I needed him, but the other part understands why he did what he did. I would do anything for my daughter, just like he did for his son. “I think you should meet my parents,” I say, looking over at him. His eyes come to me for a second before going back to the road.#p#分页标题#e#
“Sure, we can go during your next school break.” He squeezes my hand before bringing it to his mouth and kissing my knuckles.
“I won’t have another break for a few months.” I try to think of a way to have my parents come out here, but right now, getting out of Alaska is like trying to get out of Alcatraz—nearly impossible. The only way in or out of the place I grew up is by boat or plane, and when the weather is bad like it has been, there is no way. “I was going to Skype my mom tonight so she could talk to Ashlyn. You can meet her then.”
“What’s Skype?” I look over in shock. Who in the world doesn’t know what Skype is?
“You’re joking, right?”
“No.” He shakes his head.
“Skype is only the best invention ever. You use your computer and the other person uses theirs and you call them then they are sitting there in front of you.”
“Like teleporting?” he asks and I burst out laughing.
“No, I'm explaining it badly. You see them on the computer like a live video feed. I got my mom hooked when I was home. Her sister lives in Hawaii and they hadn’t seen each other for over four years. Then my aunt was on Facebook one day telling everyone that she got Skype. My mom, who had become addicted to Facebook because of my aunt, wanted to know what Skype was so I took her and got her a camera to hook up to her computer. Now during the winter, when Mom’s stuck inside because there is normally ten-feet of snow outside, she Skypes with my aunt. They also they play all those annoying Facebook games and send everyone they know invites.” I take a deep breath when I'm done talking and he looks over at me and smiles.
“I don’t know what that is. I don’t have Facebook.”
“You don’t have Facebook?” I gasp. “How in the world do you know what’s going on with your friends if you don’t have Facebook?”
“I call them and say ‘hey, what’s going on? How are things? Anything new?’”
“Oh, yeah, I guess you could do that.” He squeezes my hand and chuckles.
“So, you want me to meet your mom over Skype? I'm not sure if I'm ready for such a serious step in our relationship.”
“Very funny.” I roll my eyes. “I’ll see if she can get my dad to sit down long enough to meet you as well.” I notice him shifting in his seat and squeezing my hand a little tighter. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I mean, I'm sure your dad hates me.” I want to say, ‘no, of course he doesn’t hate you,” but that would be a big fat lie. I’m Daddy’s little girl, have been and will always be. When I came home with Ashlyn, my parents fell in love with her and couldn’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want her.
“My parents know that you didn’t send those texts,” I say gently.
“I know.” He takes a deep breath. “I'm sure they don’t believe that.”
“My mom thinks your ex sent them.”
“She’s the only person who could have,” he says, and I can feel my pulse speed up. I have never hated anyone in my life, but what I feel for her is close.
“Well, I know once my dad gets to know you, he will love you,” I tell him. He is honestly my dad’s dream-son, and I hope he gives him a chance.
“I'm sure it will be fine,” he says, and my stomach flips, wondering if this is a huge mistake.
*~*~*
“Honey, you have to move that out of the way, at least until I can get the camera turned on,” I hear my mom say. I look over at Cash, who is sitting next to me at his dining table. The computer is in front of us, the screen black, but we can both hear my parents arguing back and forth. Cash smiles, and I laugh when I hear my mom yell to get the damn thing out of her face. Finally, the screen turns on, and I see my mom sit down hard in her chair and glare off camera.#p#分页标题#e#