He opened the screen, frowning at the number of text messages and missed calls. Shit.

Jennifer.

He scrolled through her texts, panic tightening his chest.

Her texts had started last night, saying she couldn’t reach Eden. Then her texts stated Eden’s roommate claimed Eden had gone home two days ago.

Sweat broke out on Seth’s neck. Two days ago? Where was she?

He ignored the voice mails from Jennifer and called her. She picked up on the second ring.

“Where have you been? I’ve been trying to reach you since last night!” Jennifer’s anger burned through the line.

He ignored her anger. Jennifer reacted to every situation with anger. Even when something good was going on, she found a reason to get upset and pass the emotion to the people around her. It’d been part of what destroyed their marriage. He couldn’t be around someone who was angry nonstop. “My phone was on silent last night, and I didn’t listen to your voice mails yet. What’s going on?”

“Damn you, why haven’t you called me?” More heat.

“I left my phone at home. I just got it. What happened?”

“Eden is here. She’s okay.”

“What? How’d she get there?” Seth was stunned. Sacramento was a good seven hundred miles from Seattle. Had she flown?

“Some friend drove her here. She’s dropped out of school.”

Shock and then guilt flooded through Seth. Was that what Eden had wanted to talk to him about? Should he have put more effort into reaching out to her? “She can’t drop out of school. It’s only been a few months.”

“Well, she’s understandably upset with the divorce.” Jennifer dug into his heart with her words.

“I talked to her about it,” Seth said, his heart pounding in his chest. “She said she understood.” Eden had reacted calmly during their talks about the divorce. Had she been hiding how she really felt? When he’d helped drop her off at college she’d seemed happy and looking forward to campus life. What had changed? His hands were ice.

“You know how she is. She doesn’t like to upset you, and she doesn’t let anyone know how she really feels.” Again Jennifer stabbed at him with her words. This is all your fault.

“But she’s willing to upset you? Are you sure she’s okay?” He looked at his watch. He needed to check the flights to Sacramento.

“Yes, she’s depressed. She didn’t like being alone up there.”

“That doesn’t sound like Eden.” Seth had never seen his daughter act the slightest bit depressed. And when he left her in Seattle, she was already hitting it off with her roommate. He tried to see past Jennifer’s words and anger. “What’s really going on?”

“I just told you she’s upset about the divorce. I don’t know if I can go through with it if it’s going to rip her up like this. I’m not like you.”

Her words burned Seth’s brain. He ran a hand through his hair, glancing in the bathroom mirror. He wasn’t the selfish asshole Jennifer thought he was. He firmly put the thought away. He knew he and Jennifer had done the right thing. But Eden was in need of some extra support.

Tori stepped into the bathroom, a concerned look on her face. She’d pulled on her sweater and underwear. “What’s happened?” she mouthed at him.

Jennifer yelled at him from the phone, her voice no doubt carrying to Tori’s ears. Confusion reigned in his head

Seth stared at her. The woman he’d wanted all his life stood in front of him. But his daughter was crying out for help. He didn’t know what to say.

Tori blinked, wariness entering her gaze.

“I’ll be there on the next flight,” he spoke.

Tori’s brows shot up. “What’s going on?” she asked.

“Who’s that?” snapped Jennifer. “And Eden doesn’t want to see you right now. Give her a few days with me and then come down.”

And let you poison her mind against me?

“I’m coming down. Don’t tell me I can’t see my daughter.”

“Eden’s in Sacramento?” Tori whispered, alarm crossing her face. “Why?”

“She doesn’t want you here right now. She needs time to clear her brain,” Jennifer spit out.

“Let me talk to her,” Seth ordered. He had to hear it from Eden’s mouth. She’d always been her mother’s girl. Jennifer was who she ran to when she had issues. It’d worked. Jennifer identified with Eden because her brain was permanently stuck in that teen mentality.

He heard Jennifer speak to someone in the background, and then Eden’s quiet voice filled the line. “Daddy?” The sound of her word soothed his heart and he closed his eyes for a second. Nothing touched him deeper than hearing his little girl call him Daddy. And it told him she was all right.

“What’s wrong, Eden? Why did you leave school?” Thankfully Eden hadn’t inherited the irrationality of her mother. He could ask questions and get true answers without anger getting in the way.

“I didn’t like it. I was lonely all the time.”

“You should have called me. I was only a few hours away.” His heart broke at the sorrow in her voice.

“I know. And I did call but I wasn’t going to ask you to leave work to come see me. I know you’re trying to get a new job.”

“Ahh, honey. That doesn’t matter. I’d drop everything if you needed something. I don’t want you upset because we’re getting divorced. You’re my first priority, you know.”