The general nodded and a smile glimmered in his eyes. “You just want to live with Caden because he keeps ice cream in his freezer.”

He knew she liked ice cream. And he’d made a joke. Tears gathered and she swallowed the lump that refused to completely go away. “Yeah, he does.”

“So do I.”

Surprise and joy grabbed her and she nodded. “I’ll have to come visit.”

“I’d like that. Sarah.”

“Me too. Dad.”

Her father cleared his throat again. “Right. Right. Uh . . . one more thing.” He reached into an inner pocket of his dress coat and pulled out an envelope. “I need to say something and it’s not easy, but I’m learning that the things worth fighting for don’t come easy. I never told you this, but my father basically paid me off to join the Army. I took the money and never looked back.” A pause. “Okay, I looked back in moments of weakness.” He let his gaze run over her. Sarah stood still, sensing he wasn’t done and not wanting to miss a minute of whatever else he had to say. He waved the envelope at her. “I realize I never really knew how to be a father. I knew how to be a general and a leader, but not a father. However, I promise, everything I ever did for you, I had your best interests in mind—not that it appeared that way to you. I get that.”

He looked away for a moment and cleared his throat. “Anyway, as hard as it is, I have to accept that you’re a grown woman who can make her own decisions.” He handed her the envelope. “I pulled some strings and got your psychiatric record saying you were suicidal discarded. Since the psychiatrist who made the diagnosis has been arrested and will spend a very long time in prison, it wasn’t that difficult to do. You’re now free to be reinstated to your old position should you desire to return to it.”

Tears dripped down her cheeks and she swiped them away. Gavin’s arm came around her and squeezed.

“Thank you, Dad,” she whispered. “Thank you.”

He nodded, hesitated. “I’m sorry, Sarah. For everything. I really am.”

Sarah slipped from Gavin’s arms into her father’s. “I’m sorry too. For everything.”

His hug healed so many wounds. She finally let him go and he stepped back. “I’m going to head home now. We’ll talk later.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

He left and Sarah leaned her forehead against Gavin’s chest. He rubbed her back while she gathered her emotions into something manageable.

“I’ve been meaning to tell you something,” he said.

She didn’t look up. “What?”

“He tried to save you.”