Page 45 of Release

Did you ditch EPU tonight?

“How do you want me to answer?” she whispers.

“The truth. Tell him I told you I was picking you up, and you’re with me, and yes, I’m packing.”

She texts him back. I’m sure he’ll want to ream me out, but considering I’m also carrying tonight, and I aced the special driving courses me and Declan were both put through, the girls are fine with me. They’re less obvious than if we had an officer tagging along with us, and I’m saving the state a little money by not needing an officer with us.

You’re welcome.

At least in this one way I don’t have to lie about how I spent part of my evening, either. What, George and Declan will be pissed that I went to a movie with the girls?

Not quite.

After the movie, we go for dessert at a nearby restaurant and Aussie shows me her phone but doesn’t say anything. She glances around, though.

I’ve spent a lot of time talking to the girls ever since Aussie came out to me, instructing them on situational awareness, making sure they understand how to protect their privacy while trying to maintain as normal a lifestyle as they can. Not just because of their proximity to a politician who also happens to be a morbid kind of celebrity, but because they’re a couple and the less-than-welcoming state of our state when it comes to LGBTQ populations.

It’s another text from George, sent twenty minutes ago.

Please ask Aunt C to call or text me when she can. Not urgent. Love you.

I smirk and return her phone back. “I’ll take the heat,” I whisper. “You don’t need to protect me from Dad.”

“Are you in trouble?” Ashleigh asks.

I shrug, my smirk still in place. “Nah.” I glance around again and keep my voice down. “I’m going to warn you, it looks like he’ll win. But that’s between us. When he does, he might tighten EPU coverage, especially once you’re living off-campus.”

Aussie softly groans. “That sucks.”

“He loves you, and he’s protective. And until you’re twenty-one and can legally carry, he’s going to stay worried. Even then he’ll be worried.”

“He’ll be governor until I’m twenty-two,” she says. “How am we supposed to have a private life if he’s got officers on top of us.”

I don’t tell her he might run for the US Senate. “I know. And that’s one of the arguments I’ll be making to him when we talk about tonight. That you have the right to be college kids. Here’s the thing.” I glance around again and drop my voice to a whisper. “We don’t know what’ll happen when he goes public with Declan. And I don’t know when that’ll happen, or the circumstances under which it’ll happen. If there’s public backlash, he might be right in having heavier coverage for you.”

“Ryder and Logan don’t get watched all the time,” she says.

“Logan’s twenty-two now and has a concealed carry permit. And Ryder’s twenty, and lives in the same building. They’re also guys. And every time your dad looks you in the eyes, he thinks about how he was helpless to save Mom.”

I know that’s playing dirty, but it works. She blinks, her eyes going too-bright for a moment before she sits back and sighs. “Yeah, okay. I get it.”

“I know it’s not fair, honey, but he loves you guys. Take comfort in that. He’s supportive. That’s more than a lot of kids get.”

We have a good chat, and it’s almost midnight when I drop the girls off. I wait until I see them walk into the dorm and the door closes behind them to pull out of the parking lot. On my way home, I stop in the parking lot of a closed store and turn my personal cell on.

More texts, but even more important, Declan left my house and rearmed my system not long after that last text George sent to Aussie.

Meaning he probably told Declan to come home.

As soon as I’m through my gate, I pause and override the system, a full lock-out. Only then do I continue on down my driveway and pull into my garage. I seriously doubt Declan’s going to try to jump my front wall. If he’s that determined to not take a hint, then I guess I would have something to talk about with him, wouldn’t I?

I wait until I’m in bed to look at the texts I didn’t read before. It’s after one a.m. now, and I hope that means they’ve already fucked themselves asleep. The first texts came in not long after they would’ve left the event, and the last arrived about the time I was having dessert with the girls. This is the order they arrived in, although I read George’s texts first, and then Declan’s.

George:Please come over tonight and spend time with us. Or at least talk to me and then spend time with him.

Declan:If you’re upset with me Ma’am, please tell me.

George:I’m not going to stop until you talk to me. And you know how stubborn I am.