Page 140 of More For Me

I don’t even know how to respond to that. I had no idea he ever felt like this, let alone that it still bothered him after all this time.

“I always do that, you know,” he says, looking away again. “I did it with my brothers, too. And your mom. I guess I have a hard time letting go of control.”

I stifle a snort. That’s the understatement of a lifetime.

But it’s also pretty damn understandable. I can relate a bit to what it must have felt like for my dad as the oldest of four siblings. But while I had the most amazing parents in the world and a life filled with cousins and travel and safety and privilege, my dad had nothing but his little brothers, an overworked father, and a mother who abandoned them.

He was the one responsible for his brothers when my grandpa had to work. He was the one who taught Lennon to drive and talked to Daltrey about girls. He was the one who worked his ass off so the band would be a success, so that all of their dreams would come true. Up until the day he fell for my mother, his entire life was about protecting and providing for his brothers.

“You’re a little overprotective sometimes,” I tell him, then shake my head. “Okay, you’re a lot overprotective. But I get it, Dad. It might have annoyed me when I was a teenager, but I get it.”

He’s quiet for a long moment. “It’s hard for me,” he finally says, his voice quiet and a little choked. “Watching you girls grow up. Watching you leave.”

“Daddy, we’re never going to leave,” I tell him, reaching for his arm. “Even if we don’t live in the house anymore, even if Santana goes to school somewhere else, that doesn’t mean we leave.”

“But watching you go out into the world, knowing I can’t always keep you safe…” he swallows. “I want you to have amazing, full, independent lives. But it’s just…hard. Knowing you won’t always need me.”

“Dad. Of course we’ll always need you. Are you crazy?”

He entwines his fingers with mine. “It might feel like that, but I can assure you, Everly, you are more capable than you realize. There’s nothing this life can throw at you that you won’t be able to handle, even without me and your mother.”

I blink, trying to clear the sting from my eyes. “I don’t feel very capable right now.”

“You want to tell me about it?”

“Bodhi broke up with me.”

His body tenses. “What?”

I shrug. “I have no idea what’s going on with him. His family life is…complicated. But he showed up at the party last night and…” I picture that awful look on his face on the sidewalk. “He ended things.”

“Well, damn it,” Dad sighs, shaking his head. “I really liked that kid. It’s going to suck to have to kill him.”

I laugh, smacking his arm. “You’re not going to kill him.”

“Of course I am,” he says, and I honestly can’t tell if he’s joking or not. “That’s how this works. Someone hurts you, I kill them.” He sighs again. “I really did like him, though.”

“Is that why you weren’t weird about us dating?”

He stares at me. “Define not weird.”

I shrug, feeling stupid for bringing it up. “Just, you know. You guys were so freaked out when Rose and Leo started—”

“Leo is a punk,” he says automatically.

“Daddy.”

“Sorry.” He studies my face, his lips twitching. “So after I just apologized for being too overprotective, now you’re telling me I wasn’t protective enough? That you wanted me to be more of an asshole control freak with this guy?”

“Of course not,” I mutter, feeling incredibly stupid. Because the truth is, there’s a part of me that does wonder if it means something that they didn’t act that way with me and Bodhi. We’ve always joked that Rose is the family favorite, but I never really thought it wastrue.

“Hey,” he takes my hand. “There are a couple reasons why I didn’t freak out about you dating Bodhi. First of all, your mother told me in no uncertain terms that she would kick my ass if I made it hard for you.”

I burst out laughing at the expression on his face—he looks a little spooked. “She would do it, too,” he adds hurriedly.

“She’s terrifying,” I agree, grinning.

“Secondly, I’ve been trying really hard to be better since the whole fiasco with your show.”