He hung the phone up.
“Was that necessary?” Violet asked.
“Yes. I’m not particularly a man of honor, Violet, but I am not a man who hides.”
“I don’t believe that,” she said. She looked into his face, and tried to figure out what he was thinking. And couldn’t.
“Believe what you want,” he said. “The bread looks good. Ready for dinner?”
And before she could answer practically, she found herself bundled into his truck.
“I really should’ve brought my car,” she said. “I need to be able to go and get supplies from town.”
“There’s not much of a town.”
“Can I buy groceries?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Why don’t you let me take you the first time?”
There was a protective note to his voice. And she... She knew it wasn’t a put-on.
“Okay.”
The main house came into view, and her stomach turned over. She didn’t know how he did that. Just grab the phone and talk to her dad. She felt...terrified to meet his family. And honestly, her dad was much scarier. She was confident in that.
The lingering anxiety from the whole situation with her dad and Alison was still chewing at her, too.
“I’m just really upset that he’s disappointed in me,” she said when the truck stopped.
“You think he is? I think mostly he just wants to skin me.”
“It’s just... I know this isn’t what he wanted for me. He was really young when he had me. And I know he doesn’t want me to go through the same hard thing. Especially because he and my mom were in love.”
“Yeah. Well, let me tell you something. My dad didn’t even bother to marry the women that he knocked up. And it’s not better.”
“You don’t think?”
“No. I always wondered... If you would have married my mother, if she would’ve had some security here. If you would have been a decent husband. Well, maybe she would have stayed. But you know, I can never know that. She might’ve just missed her family.”
“She couldn’t see her family here?”
“They cut her out of their lives. She had to choose. That’s why I wanted to talk to your dad. I don’t ever want there to be a burned bridge between you and your parents, Violet. Because that just about killed my mother. She couldn’t stand to be here. She had a big family, one that she was close to. And I just... I don’t want that for you. I made some mistakes. I shouldn’t have... I shouldn’t have messed with you. I knew that. I did. Because I know who I am. Whether you believe it or not, I know who I am. And I didn’t want any part of breaking you.”
“I’m not that easy to break, Wolf. Don’t worry about me.”
“Well, no matter how awkward, I’m going to make sure that’s clear to your parents. And I’m also going to make it clear you don’t deserve their judgment, and if there’s an issue, I’m happy to go speak to your dad face-to-face.”
“Wolf, that really is a nice thing.”
“See, I’m nice,” he muttered as he got out of the truck. She got out, holding the bread. And they walked up to the door. He just went right in, without knocking, which she supposed stood to reason, since it was a family home. She shrank behind him, embarrassed slightly that she was quite so...awkward about it all. That she felt quite so...intimidated by the entire situation. But she did.
“Violet?”
A blonde woman with clear blue eyes and a sophisticated sense of style that didn’t look like it came from anywhere around here, greeted her.
“Yes,” she said. “I brought bread.”
“Excellent,” she said. “Bring it into the kitchen.”