I pick up my purse and retrieve my phone. I still don’t know how this is going to go down, but I love Caleb for wanting to at least talk to my dad.
I hit the call button and wait for him to answer. One ring. Two rings …
“Isla! How’s Montreal?” Dad’s cheerful voice answers.
“Hi, Dad,” I say. “Montreal is beautiful, and I’ve only seen a sliver of it.”
We go on to talk about the city, the weather, what I’m shooting tomorrow, and then I clear my throat. “Dad, I have a reason for calling,” I say. “I’m here with Caleb, and he would like to talk to you.”
Silence.
I don’t know what kind of silence this is. Surprised? Angry? My stomach twists as I wait for him to say something.
“He does?” my dad finally asks.
I nearly breathe a sigh of relief. Dad was surprised by the request, not mad.
I nod at Caleb. “Yes, he does. May I put him on?”
“Yes, you can.”
I hand the phone to Caleb, and for someone who drives at two hundred miles an hour for a living, I’m shocked to see he looks nervous as he puts my phone to his ear. “Mr. Foley?” he says. “Right, okay, Mitch …”
I can’t help but smile at that.
“I know this is bold, because I’ve just started dating your daughter and we haven’t had the opportunity to meet yet, but I’d like to reassure you of a few things …”
It’s hard to hear Caleb because my own heart is pounding so loudly. It’s thump-thump-thumping against my rib cage.
I listen as he proceeds to tell my dad what he thought when he met me. How I stood up for myself, and how I was willing to walk away from a story if I wasn’t going to be respected—and how much Caleb respected and liked me for it. With each sentence he speaks, I fall more and more in love with him. Caleb tells my dad what makes me special, and he looks straight at me and smiles as he speaks, causing my heart to leap with joy.
He continues, acknowledging that the sacrifices will fall on my shoulders and how much he hates it. He tells my dad if he could take anything away, that would be it, but he can’t. Caleb stresses to my dad that he’s invested in this relationship. He will make sure—to the best of his ability—that I’m protected in the paddock.
Finally, Caleb wraps up the call and then hands the phone back to me. I put the phone back to my ear. “Dad, I’m back,” I say.
Dad clears his throat. “Sweetheart, I’m going to be honest. Guys can throw up a bunch of words that every father wants to hear. Or a bunch of word salad. Just words that sound good, but don’t mean anything.”
My stomach sinks. I bite my lip, not saying anything.
“But that is not Caleb,” he says slowly. “I couldn’t see him—usually that’s the best way I can size up someone—but there was something in his tone, in the words he picked, and that he was man enough to want to tackle my concerns this early in the game that tells me everything I need to know.”
I stand very still, my heart racing in a whole new way. “And what is that?”
“That man is in love with you.”
I can’t stop the smile that spreads across my face.
“I’m trusting my gut on this one. I’m trusting yours, too,” Dad continues. “I think Caleb is a good guy. The road ahead is still going to be very hard. Dating someone in this world is going to be one of your biggest challenges, and staying together isn’t going to be as easy as if you had chosen someone else.”
“I know,” I say quietly.
“But if you think Caleb is worth the risk, then I support you. So will your mom. I know Hadleigh supports it, too.”
“Dad…” My voice is wobbly now. “This means everything to me. Thank you.”
“I love you, Isla,” he says, his own voice gruff. “I’m glad to know you have a man like that caring for you.”
I tell my dad I love him, too, and then disconnect the call. I turn to Caleb, who has been watching me with an anxious look on his face. Suddenly I burst out laughing.