Lyle’s heart was beating so hard he was sure everyone in the room could hear it. It wasn’t fear, though. It was elation. She was right, after all. And Vaughn was a hypocritical bastard if he dared to say otherwise. “It’s just a walk, Dad. I swear.” He finally caught his father’s gaze. “You can call and check on me if you want. I just want to see what the city looks like at night. You’d do the same thing if you were my age.”
There was silence for a single beat of the clock. Then Vaughn simply said, “No drinking. I don’t care if you’re of age, I don’t want you drinking in a strange city with a bunch of people you don’t know.”
Lyle shook his head. “No, sir.”
“And no strangers.”
Lyle repeated the shake.
“No…” Vaughn’s pause offered the appropriate weight to his next statement. “No doing a
