A Hope and a Chance(96)
Author: Jennifer Foor

He raised his brow and looked over at Buffy. “It explains a lot, that’s for sure.”

“I know you’re upset. We both lied to you, but only because you gave us no other options. Chance and I are together, and I’m eighteen now. No matter how you feel, you can’t stop us from being together.” She was almost threatening him with it. I didn’t know how he would react. “I won’t let you kick him out of the pool house. Soon, we’ll leave for college, and you won’t be able to control us there either. Dad, I’ve spent the last couple of months trying my best to get back some kind of relationship with you. You’ve hurt me, worse than I’d ever wish on anyone, even Susan right now. You didn’t trust me, and you put yourself before me, more times than I care to count. I’m telling you right now that Chance and I are going to be together, and if you want me to be a part of your life, you won’t do anything to come between us. Like I said before, we’re sorry for keeping it a secret. We knew it was wrong, but weren’t willing to let anything stand in our way, including you.”

The man shook his head, unable to come to grips with everything. “I think my biggest problem is that you two snuck around for months. This was all going on in my own house.”

The caterers came in and interrupted us, inquiring as to when we’d be joining them. Buffy got rid of them quickly, without making a scene.

“Please say that you forgive us. Please, Dad. We’re a family now. We have to be around each other.”

“I need to talk to Chance alone.” Was all he said.

I looked back and saw the two women that I loved the most in the world standing there with tears in their eyes. My sister was never going to forgive us for this. They walked out slowly, following a very confused Susan.

Mark headed over and closed the door behind them.

“Sit down,” he ordered.

I did as he said and peered below at the floor, unable to accept that this could be the end of our friendship, if there was ever one at all.

“Do you have any of those cigarettes on you?” He asked.

“I quit for Hope months ago,” I admitted.

“Of course you did.” He shook his head and almost smiled. “You’ve really put me in a bad place, Chance. I trusted you with my daughter, and you gave me your word. Now, after all of this time I’ve really gotten to know you and accepted you into my family, you do this. I appreciated how you’re always there for Hope, but I thought you treated her like a sister. I knew that you cared, I just didn’t understand how much. Why didn’t you tell me that you’d been together? Why go along with some charade that you were strangers?” He ran his hands through his hair. “I love you like you’re my own son, Chance. I know you couldn’t have committed that crime in Pennsylvania. I may not have believed it at first, albeit I know now.”

“Mark, I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say. I should have told you. We were just afraid that you’d keep us apart. Plus you went out of your way to get me back into school, and then Hope decided she wanted to go. There was never a good time to tell you,” I admitted.

“I probably would have sent you away if I found out. God knows I haven’t been a good father, Chance. I’ve hurt my daughter, abandoned her, and lost her respect. After all this time I finally feel like we’re getting somewhere. How am I supposed to handle this?” He was trying so hard to settle this, but after Hope’s threats he knew it was out of his hands. “I should’ve known. I should’ve seen it.”

“Keeping us apart wouldn’t have changed how I feel about her. Please give me the opportunity to show you. Let us be together with your blessing. She’s given me my life back, Mark. When I moved here, after losing so much, I just wanted to give up. Hope changed that. She changed me,” I admitted.

“So, you’re asking for my permission to date my daughter, after you’ve obviously been together for the past seven months?” He asked.

I took a deep breath. There was no turning back. I had waited so long for this. “Yes.”

Mark didn’t say anything. He just stood there looking at me. Just when I thought all hope was lost, he extended his hand to me. “Fine.”

As shocking as it was, I made it a point to keep my smiles to a minimum. “Thank you.”

“I’m doing this for my daughter, and my wife. Buffy would never forgive me if I sent you away.”

That was the truth. My sister would have given him a hard time about it. Through thick and thin she always had my back.

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry I lied. I get that you’re angry with us, probably mostly me. It’s understandable. I’ll prove to you that I can be someone she can count on.”

“I’ll hold you to that, Chance. She’s my only daughter.”

It was another promise that I intended to keep. “As much as I’d like to carry on this conversation, I think I’ve taken up enough of you wedding. It’s time for you to get back to your bride.”

Yes, I was trying to get out of being alone in a room with Mark. His kindness only went so far, and after he’d sent me away before, I didn’t want to risk pissing him off.

Once I’d made it back into the reception area, I spotted Hope. On my way toward her, Susan stopped me. “So she’s the girl? She’s the one you’ve been seeing?”

I never took my eyes off of Hope when I answered. “Yep. She’s the one.”

I have no idea how Susan looked when she was speaking. My gaze was fixed on the most beautiful woman in the room. “I’m sorry for throwing myself on you. I assumed she was being a teenager.”

“Thanks for that.” I glanced at her for second. “If you’ll excuse me, there’s someone I need to attend to.”

I couldn’t wait to have her in my arms out in the open. In front of her father, and everyone else in the room, I marched right up to my girlfriend and planted a kiss on her lips. She was mine, and I wanted everyone to know it. This was the moment we’d been waiting for, and finally it was happening.

Hope pulled away and wiped the lip-gloss off of my mouth. “You made it out alive.”

“Only because my girlfriend threatened her father.”

“I did what had to be done. He’d just overreact anyway. Besides, we’ll be living together soon enough at school.”

“Are you ready to start the new chapter of our future?”