46 Dinner

Just then, Dad walked in and froze, looking between Dakota and me.

Dakota rose to his feet. "Hello, sir."

"Hi, Dad," I said, rising from my seat. "I hope you don't mind, but Dakota and I were just doing homework."

He took off his gun belt and hung it up by the door. "Dakota. It's good to see you here."

"Sir." Dakota nodded. "We were just working on our Romeo and Juliet essays together."

Dad smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Romeo and Juliet, huh?"

I nodded. "It's due Monday." Then I added, "We thought we'd get an early start on it."

Dad nodded. "Okay, then. I'll be in the living room, watching the game." He started to walk away, but I stopped him.

"Dad?"

He turned around and lifted his eyebrows.

I let out a deep breath. "I invited Dakota to stay for dinner tonight. Do you mind?" I didn't want to ask for permission, but it would be rude not to ask if he minded. This was actually the first time I'd had a guy over and I didn't want to set the wrong precedent.