#Chapter 167 – Family Ties

The police process the bail faster than I thought they would – though, as I consider it, I realize that I have no idea how long it usually takes. Daniel gathers the car keys off the table, nodding to us after he hangs up with the police, letting us know that he’s going to go get Jerome. “Fill ‘er up when you’re on the way back, son,” my father says to Daniel, clapping him on the shoulder on his way out. Daniel smiles and promises him that he will. I smirk as I see it, watching Daniel interact for the first time with the warm and indulgent fatherly figure he never had. But I don’t have much time to think about it before Janeen tugs on my sleeve. “Hey,” she says, her voice quiet for once. “Let’s go for a walk, hmm? Maybe get something to eat?” I take a deep breath and then I nod, knowing that I need it. Janeen and I grab sweatshirts from her bedroom and call goodbyes to dad as we walk down the stairs and out the back door, heading for the beach. It’s gorgeous out now, just as the