inquiring, so obviously not her father, she convinced herself she had imagined it.
“ Shannon?” It was her mother. “Katelyn’s downstairs. She brought your car back.”
So she had to leave her room after all. What were the chances her dad was someplace else, and she could make it downstairs and back without crossing his path? Slim to none.
“ Be right there,” Shannon answered. She pulled a sweatshirt on over her pajama top and opened the door just a crack. Her mom was standing there in the hallway, waiting for her.
“ He’s in the kitchen,” her mother said with a reassuring smile. She was good.
“ So can I just run downstairs and come right back?”
“ I don’t think so. You need to talk to him.”
“ I didn’t do anything wrong, Mom. It was a huge misunderstanding.”
“ And he needs to hear that from you.”
“ Will you be in the kitchen?”
“ If you want me to.”
“ He won’t go off if you’re there.”
“ He won’t go off, period.” Her mother patted her arm and headed down the stairs.
Yeah, right. Shannon crept down the stairs to the entry hall where Katelyn stood, shifting her weight and glancing back toward the kitchen.
“ So how much trouble are you in?” Katelyn asked, just above a whisper.
“ I don’t know yet. I got the ‘we’ll talk about it in the morning’ treatment.”
“ He’s really mad,” Katelyn said.
“ Ya think?”
“ My mom and dad had it out on the phone this morning over it. I gotta go. My dad followed me over here, and he’s waiting for me. Here’s your keys.”
“ Thanks.”
“ Good luck,” Katelyn said as she slipped out the door.
Shannon held the keys in her hand and looked toward the kitchen, then back up the stairs. Just get it over with. She sighed and shuffled back to the kitchen. Her father sat at the kitchen table, newspaper in one hand, his glasses perched halfway down his nose. He sipped a cup of coffee as he read.
Her mother stood at the sink rinsing out her cup. She smiled at her. “You want a cup of coffee?” When her mother spoke, her father dropped his newspaper.
Shannon shook her head. “Here Dad,” she said, sliding the car keys across the kitchen table. “I’ll save you the trouble of taking them away from me.”
He took off his glasses and folded his hands. “I don’t want your keys. Shannon, do you know how much I love you? Do you have any idea what kind of panic I felt last night?” He spoke with a quiet intensity.
“ Dad, I . . .”
“ Let me finish,” he said, holding up a hand. “This is not about punishing you. It’s about keeping you safe. From the day you were born, all I ever wanted was to be sure that nobody ever hurt you. I know you think I went too far, that I overreacted, but I have to protect you. Now, tell me what happened.”
Now she, the thoughtless, selfish child, was supposed to blubber how wrong she was, how sorry she was, and bow and thank him. She’d rather be punished than mocked and humiliated. Shannon looked at her mother then back at her father and set her jaw. “You had your chance last night.”
She turned to walk out of the kitchen, but before she could get away, he scrambled around the table and took her by the arm. “You hold it right there! All I heard last night was about your side .”
“ And you immediately thought the worst about me!” Shannon shouted back. “Maybe I was leaving the party. Maybe it wasn’t even my idea to go. Maybe there’s a simple, reasonable explanation for why I had a drink.” She dropped her voice and glared at him. “You know, if you don’t have any more confidence and trust in me than that, then I don’t care what you think.” She jerked her arm loose from his grip and ran up the stairs.
* * *
“ Shannon!” Chuck said sharply, as he started to follow her.
“ Let her go, Chuck.” Bobbi crossed the room, intercepting him just in time.
“ But she’s wrong about me.”
“ She’s hurt because you didn’t
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