Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 118693 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 593(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118693 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 593(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
I moved closer to him. “That’s a good thing, Daddy! Why can’t you see that? He’s like you! If you’d only give him a chance, you’d see how much I love him, and he loves me.”
He shook his head and slammed his hand against the wall. “No! I forbid you to see him.”
My mouth fell open and my mother sucked in a breath. I had no idea why my father was acting the way he was. It pissed me off, and more than that it scared me.
Now it was my turn to square my shoulders. “And if I ignore you?”
“I’ll fire him, and I can promise you he will never work for the Boston Fire Department again.”
My mother jumped in front of me. “Rick! He’s the son of one of your best friends. You can’t do that.”
I stood in silence, staring at my father in utter shock. A million things ran through my mind. Why was he doing this? Did he hate Finn that much? Was there another reason he wanted to keep Finn from me that he wasn’t admitting to?
“Why, Daddy? Why would you do that? Don’t you want me to be happy?” I asked between deep breaths. I tried like hell to keep from crying, but it was bubbling up inside of me and I was on the verge of breaking down. I wanted my parents’ blessings. Needed them.
“Because that boy is going to hurt you. I see the writing on the wall, and you need to also.”
I shook my head. “No. I love him, and I won’t walk away from him.” My promise to Finn before we’d made love flashed through my memory. I’d sworn to never leave him.
“You don’t love him. He’s showing you a good time and you’re having fun. If you ask me, he has been nothing but bad for you. You’ve been late for work, missing days so you can probably spend them with him. He’s a bad influence on you.”
Walking up to my father, my mother placed her hand on his arm. “Rick, I think you need to step away from this right now, before you say or do something you regret.”
I’d never been disrespectful to my parents. Ever. But there was no way I was going to let my father tell me who I could see. “I’m not leaving him,” I said defiantly.
He reached for his phone and hit a number. “We’ll see about that.”
The cold look in his eyes scared me. I’d never seen it before. My father hated the man I loved, had admitted to cheating on my mother, and was now threatening me. My world was slowly falling apart.
“Chuck, Rick Adams. Yeah, I’m fine; everything here is fine. I want to put in a transfer. Finn Ward.”
My hands crashed over my mouth as a small gasp escaped. How could he? Why is he doing this?
“Rick!” my mother pleaded.
Turning away from her, he stared directly at me. My chest was heaving as I tried to breathe. “Yes, you heard me right. Finn Ward. I might recommend he be let go from the—”
A tear rolled down my cheek as I cried out, “I’ll do it!” I’d never felt so defeated in my life.
A slow smile spread over his face, and my heart broke in two. “You know what, let’s hold off on that right now, Chuck. Yeah, I’ve got to look into something a bit further before I make that call.”
Hitting End, he put his phone in his pocket and looked at me with an emotion I’d never seen in his eyes before.
“Let me at least spend this weekend with him.”
Before he had a chance to argue, my mother spoke up. “It’s the least you could do, since you’re being a complete and utter asshole right now.”
He held his head up, but I saw it in his eyes. There was a small bit of regret over what he was doing. “Fine. You have until Monday or I call Chuck back. I’m sure I can come up with a good reason for Finn Ward to be let go from the department.”
My hands balled into fists as I walked up to my father. “I don’t know why you’re doing this. But what I do know is I hate you, and I will never forgive you for this.”
He sucked in a breath and his eyes filled with tears. He swallowed hard before saying, “Someday, you’ll thank me, Rory.”
Staring at my father with a nothing but a broken heart and a defeated frame of mind, I whispered, “Never.”
Rory
The beginning of the end
The feel of his hand on my leg caused me to jump. “Hey, you fell asleep.”
I rolled my neck to try and get the crick out. “I’m sorry,” I said, looking through the window. My hands came up to my mouth as I gasped. A variety of lights and beautiful white lanterns were hanging from the trees. A table was set up outside of a huge tent. From where I was sitting in the car, I could see flowers and what looked to be food.