I let that one slide. I still wasn’t convinced that a Dawson could produce a girl.
“What else did you do today?” I asked.
“Mostly, I met with Caryn and Megan and filled out paperwork. I didn’t realize you had your fingers in so many pies. Caryn assured me that they had plenty for me to do. I think I’m going to like working with them.”
“They’re both great. Is that where you heard about what Fritz is up to?”
“Your dad stopped by at lunch and met with everybody. My granddad was the one who really expanded my family’s wealth. He taught me to seek an ownership interest whenever possible. Caryn told me about the wealth-management portion of your business. I pointed out that instead of giving clients to the insurance broker and earning a referral fee, you should have a stake in the company. You already have it with the other lines of business,” Scarlet said as she warmed up to the conversation.
“I bet Caryn is going to love you working there if you keep coming up with ideas like that.”
“It’s only common sense.”
I nodded agreement. That type of common sense would make us money in the long run.
“What are you doing about living arrangements?” I asked.
“Your mom found me a rental condo in the same building that Coby’s mother and grandmother live in. Mrs. Bell showed me all the amenities and the security the building provides. I told Ashley that when she moves here, she needs to get one in that building too.”
“I invited her and her family up for Thanksgiving,” I replied.
“She told me that. It’s really not a surprise; I’m sure Ashley’s parents want to see where she’ll be living before they give their final blessing.”
“You know your parents are welcome anytime,” I assured her.
“Your mom already talked to them, and they plan to come up for Thanksgiving too. It sounds like she plans to have your whole family come so they can watch you win your third state championship.”
“No pressure there. I just started throwing again.”
“I might have let the cat out of the bag on that one. Act surprised when they tell you,” Scarlet said.
“It’s good that you did. I don’t handle surprises very well,” I admitted.
“I talked to Ms. Dixon today. She’s going to go over my trust documents to see if I can get funds out of it early based on my situation. Your mom took me to the bank and set up an account for me to help pay my expenses for now. I personally want to thank you for that. We haven’t officially gotten the results back on whether you’re Carol’s daddy, and you didn’t have to do all this for me.
“I don’t know if you realize how much this means to me. Thank you,” Scarlet said as the tears started.
“My only problem is that Carol’s a girl,” I teased. “Dawsons don’t have girls!”
“That fact hasn’t been lost on anyone. I suspect everyone you know can’t wait for it to be confirmed that the mighty David Dawson has indeed fathered a little girl.”
Me and my big mouth. I probably deserved the grief I was about to receive. I prayed that Carol didn’t take too much advantage of being Daddy’s little girl. If I were lucky, she’d be a tomboy and fit in with her brothers. The way karma worked, though, she would be a total girly-girl.
“I’m sure I can take the abuse.”
“I’d bet it’s just in good fun.”
“Probably,” I said. “Do you need anything right now? Are you and Carol good?”
“I could use a hug.”
We stood up, and I pulled her into my arms. Scarlet just needed to be assured that everything would be okay. She’d just taken a dramatic, frightening step to ensure her and Carol’s future. I was thankful my mom had stepped up and helped me with this. I shuddered to think how different it would be if I were an average teen. If I were, I might have to drop out of school and get a couple of jobs to support everyone. I said a little prayer to thank God I was in a position to handle all this with my parents’ help.
Mom was probably right. I was giving her gray hair.
◊◊◊
We came out of the office to find my uncle smiling at me.
“Afraid I’m having a meltdown?” I asked.
“Your dad suggested it might be time for you and me to touch base. I figured we needed to do this in person.”
I wasn’t surprised when my mom and dad joined us in the office. We each grabbed a seat.
“How do you want to do this?” I asked.
“I suggest we do it in order. Let’s talk about what happened in California.”
“My friend Halle was being sexually harassed by her costar in her movie. He showed up at a party and forced her and Brook into a room. I doubt he expected Brook could protect herself. Our security and I busted in to rescue Brook and Halle, but in the end, only saved the idiot from any permanent damage.
“I have no idea what he imagined he would accomplish by ramming our car,” I admitted.
