“Oh, thank God.” My shoulders slumped with relief before I realized they hadn’t said anything about Jasmine. “What about Jas? Was she at the hospital, too?”
It seemed unlikely, but Muriel may have taken her along to get her away from the storm. That was what I was hoping, anyway.
Cooper frowned. “Vic didn’t say. I can go back over and ask him in a second, though, once he’s got everything under control here.”
“Do you think we should try to drive over to the resort and search for her?” Nolan asked.
I shook my head. “Not if it’s already flooded. Besides, Vic wouldn’t even let us go to the ranch. We’ll find out if he’s seen her, and then we’ll go from there.” I looked around, scanning the crowd. “For all we know, she might already be here. If she’s huddled up asleep, we could easily miss her.”
Nolan took my hand as we walked over to our three beds in the corner. “Don’t worry, Poppy. We’re gonna find her.”
I didn’t doubt him. I never did. And if I’d asked, my guys would have gladly gone out into the storm to search for her.
“She might still be with Micah and Axel,” Cooper said. “They’re good folk. They’ll make sure she’s safe.”
I did feel a little better at that thought. While I didn’t know Micah or Axel well enough to have an opinion about them one way or another, I did believe Jas was safer in their hands than if she’d been out there somewhere alone.
So I was just going to hold on to that thought for a while until we settled in and found out for sure.
***
It had been an hour.
My guys were in their beds on either side of mine, sleeping soundly even though there were crying children and noisy adults all around us. They were clearly exhausted.
We still hadn’t heard from Jasmine or had any update from Muriel, but I kept reminding myself that there wouldn’t have been any way to contact them as long as our phone service was out yet again.
Unable to sleep and unwilling to sit still, I quietly got up from my narrow little bed and started walking around the room. I’d already done two previous laps, first hoping to find Jas and then another one to help calm my nerves.
I still held out hope that the third time would be a charm. And if not, I hoped for a few friendly faces in the crowd.
Both of those hopes died when I came face to face with my dad.
“Mom and Prue are with you?” I asked instead of saying hi.
He nodded and started to turn away but stopped again. “Poppy...”
My breath caught in my throat, and I let myself start to hope that he’d had a change of heart before pushing those thoughts aside. After six years, I had no doubt about his opinion of Cooper and Nolan. Now that I’d defied him to be with them, I also didn’t doubt where I ranked, either.
At least he hadn’t called me by my full name, though. That was a start, I guess.
“Did you need something?” I asked. My tone might have been a little cooler than necessary, but what did he expect? After the things he’d said about me earlier, I was generous talking to him at all.
He started to bristle but quickly deflated again. “Yes. I... I need my daughter back.”
I had to blink hard to fight back a wave of emotion. He was my dad, and I didn’t want to fight with him. I didn’t want us to stop talking for weeks or months, or years.
I wanted my dad back.
“I haven’t gone anywhere,” I said, my cool tone thawing with each word. “I’m still right here, Daddy. But you can’t say you want me to come around and then try to punish me for living my life. I can’t deal with that anymore, and I shouldn’t have to.”
While I prayed our tense conversation wouldn’t turn into a full-blown confrontation, I was still glad to get some of my thoughts and feelings out into the open.
It did feel like I was starting a new life—or starting my old life over again, maybe, but going in a brand new direction—and I was determined to live that life to the fullest with my guys.
“I’m trying,” he said, and frowned. “I’m going to try. Starting now. I’ve been unfair, but I won’t lie to you—I can’t pretend to approve of the choices you’re making.”
“You don’t have to approve, Daddy.” I shook my head. “You’ll change your mind once you see how happy I am with Cooper and Nolan and how good they are to me, and if you get to know them. But I’m not here asking for your approval or your understanding right now. I don’t expect it, anyway.” I sighed. “But the way you’ve been showing your disapproval—with name-calling and all of that nastiness—isn’t going to work anymore.”