Page 49 of York

“When’s the last time you sat cross-legged on the floor for an hour?” she asked.

“Been a while.”

“You’re about to become very aware of how old your knees and hips have gotten. Okay!” she said, clapping her hands for Denali. “Daddy’s first picnic!”

Fuck.

I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to that title.

But as I tried to get up off the ground later, I certainly made all those grunting sounds fathers were notorious for.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Runa

“One second,” I whispered into my phone as I slid out the front door of the apartment to stand in the hall for the phone call. “Okay. All yours.”

“It’s been so long,” Amanda, my former shrink and only friend in the world, said, sounding relieved. “I was starting to think the worst.”

“Sorry. So much has been going on.”

“Did you make it to Florida?”

“Yes. Had a bit of an… incident in Georgia. But we made it out and got down here.”

Amanda paused, then sighed. “Was it bad?”

“It was the worst it’s been. I’m still bruised.”

“Denali?”

“She wasn’t hurt, but she did see… a lot.”

“Oh, Runa.”

“I know. She probably should be in therapy.”

“I’m always going to advocate for therapy. But how is she doing?”

“She’s… thriving. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen her so happy. She really loves her father.”

“Oh,” Amanda said, sounding taken aback. “You found her father?”

“Yes! We were down here for a bit, looking around. And I finally got an address.”

“And you just showed up?”

“I wasn’t really sure of another way to get in contact with him. I know that was probably a little confrontational but he actually handled it really well.”

“I’m glad to hear that, but that could have been such a dangerous situation.”

“More dangerous than what we’ve already been on?” I shot back, confused by her response. She’d been supportive of me seeking out Denali’s father in the past.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean for that to sound aggressive. I just know how much you’ve been through. And some men can feel cornered when facing a reality they hadn’t planned. Especially if he already had a wife or kids. And we both know that some cornered men… lash out.”

“No, I know. When I pulled up to a single-family house with kids’ toys, I was anxious as hell. But he doesn’t have a wife or kids. He has an extended family with lots of kids.”

I wasn’t sure why I didn’t give Amanda all the details. She knew everything else. I guess I understood that York’s lifestyle was, you know, less than legal. And I didn’t want him to get into any kind of trouble because of me. I didn’t want Denali to lose her father after just meeting him.