Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 87573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
“Why wasn’t I invited to your little lunch?”
Somehow, he managed to make it sound both our fault and condescending. Instead of the fact that none of us would have ever wanted him at our lunch.
“We’re only here for a day. Thought I’d introduce Bailey and Whitt.”
“Interesting,” he said. “But not to your old man?”
“It’s fine, Daddy,” Bailey said with a laugh. “They’re not serious enough for parental introductions. Don’t blow it out of proportion.”
I held back my wince. That wasn’t exactly true. If I had a parent I gave a shit about, maybe I would have introduced them to Whitt. If Gram were still here…
“Ah, so just one in a line of many,” my dad said with a laugh. He clapped Whitt on the shoulder. “Good luck with this one. She’s a fireball.”
“That’s why I like her,” he said, his jaw twitching.
Whitt wasn’t feeding into Dad’s ego the way that he wanted. I could see it now. He was going to go from obnoxious to so much worse any second. How could I extract us from this? I couldn’t let him be his normal self. Not in front of Whitt.
“We were just leaving anyway.” I scooted Bailey forward. She hurried out of the booth. “So, we’re going to get back to work.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Oh, so you are working again? I thought you must have quit since I didn’t get the full payment this month.”
I froze at those words, momentarily forgetting that Whitt was standing right there. “What do you mean? I sent the whole thing.”
“I didn’t receive it, Evie Jo,” he said. “You might want to recheck your accounts.”
Whitt tilted his head. I could see the questions in his blue eyes. I hadn’t told him about the money. I never planned to tell anyone about the money. Not ever. That was private. My dad was spouting this bullshit because Whitt was there. He’d found a new way to humiliate me and taken the hit.
“It’s all there,” I snapped. “I can provide receipts.”
“And you,” he said, turning on Bailey.
Oh no.
“Leave it, Dad,” I snarled.
“She’s grounded.”
“I am not!” Bailey said. “I have volleyball tryouts next week. We already talked about it. I have to be in the gym all weekend.”
“Yet I found you here, eating greasy food instead of practicing.”
“I can’t practice at all hours…”
“You’re telling me. I thought all you wanted to do was be in the gym.”
She pursed her lips.
“Plus, you got a C in your math class this summer. I don’t see why that would mean you would get to be out of the house with your sister.”
“You got a C?” I asked.
“Yeah, but…”
“Bailey,” I groaned.
Somehow, the man still got under my skin. He knew exactly what buttons to press, and it was too late to realize I’d fallen for one of his traps.
“Between the two of you, I’m over it!” Bailey said. “I’m doing the best I can. I don’t need you on my ass,” she said to Dad and whirled on me, “and I don’t need you to act like my mom. You’re not my mom.”
“I know, Bails, but…”
“Sorry about all of this,” my dad said to Whitt with his church smile. “Raising girls, you know?”
Whitt stared him down until my dad looked away. “Why don’t we get Bailey home?”
“I don’t need anyone’s help,” she said. “I’m going to the gym anyway.”
Then, she pushed past our dad and headed out of Boose. My dad smiled at both of us, tipped his cowboy hat in our direction, and then headed to his friends. As if saying, My work here is done. The fucking tornado that he was.
I wanted to scream.
I wanted to rage.
I wanted to go back to ten minutes ago, before he showed up and detonated our afternoon.
Whitt put a gentle hand on the small of my back. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
I let him guide me out of the place. Bailey was in her run-down Civic, already pulling away by the time we made it outside. I sighed heavily. I should have known that she wasn’t talking about school for a reason. That she’d gotten a C in Trig when the girl could do math in her head in her sleep.
“Well, that’s my dad.”
“Yeah. What a riot he is.”
“Tell me about it.” I chewed on my lip. “I’m sure you want to know about the money.”
He shrugged. “Eve, you never have to tell me anything you’re not ready to talk about. He was trying to get a rise out of you, and he succeeded. I know people like that. My dad is…similar. He’s perhaps a bit slyer and more refined in his approach, but he’s just as duplicitous. The best thing to do is to never give them the reaction they want.”
“I know,” I said, throwing my arms up. “I know that, and still, he drives me fucking mad. And Bailey…she was supposed to buckle down. She made it easy to drive the stake home.”