“Let him go, Ethan.”Chloe comes out from behind the counter, her soft hand curling around my arm.“It’s okay.He’s with me.”
CHAPTERTEN
CHLOE
My heart roarsin my ears as I reach for Rick’s arm so Ethan doesn’t haul him out the door.For some stupid reason, when Rick didn’t show up for dinner the other day, I thought that meant he wasn’t coming to town.
Looks like I was wrong.
“Hey, Rick,” I say through a tight smile.“Why don’t you come outside so we can talk?”That way, the barnacles can’t start a brawl.
Tomorrow, all three of them are getting free coffee.
I twist my head toward the back of the coffee shop.“Mrs.Nelson?”I call out.Our cook pops her head out of the kitchen door, her eyes narrowing when she sees Rick.“Do you mind taking the register for a bit?”I ask, untying my apron and stuffing it under the counter.There’s no telling how long this is going to take.
“Sssorry I didn’t… make it the other night, kiddo,” Rick slurs at me between hiccups, his smile lopsided, oblivious to the fact that everyone is watching.
You’d think, by now, I’d be used to being let down.For some reason, my stubborn heart refuses to give up hope on the man who sired me.Mom washed her hands of him twenty years ago, but not me.Every time he comes to town, this hopeful heart of mine ends up bruised.
Last time we spoke, he had given up drinking.
Looks like the dry spell didn’t last.
“You could’ve at least texted me,” I say, avoiding Ethan’s piercing gaze as I loop my arm around Rick’s lower back.
I’m going to forgive my old man for not only embarrassing the heck out of me at work, but for also standing me up the other night—that’s what I do.He screws up, and I let him off the hook.But I’ll be damned if I bite my tongue when it comes to how much he hurt me when he didn’t show up.“I worked all day and was starving.I ended up waiting for you for over an hour.All it would’ve taken was one text.”
Rick shuffles along beside me, each foot catching the other.
He’s lost weight since I last saw him, but when he slings his arm across my shoulder, it feels heavier than ever.“I’m aliiittlebehind on my cell phone payments, and thossse bastards cut me off,” he complains.
It’s a tired story I’ve heard before.Always someone else’s fault, never his.It doesn’t matter whether or not it’s true, I suppose.What’s done is done.“It’s fine, Rick.”
He turns his glassy blue eyes on me.“I haven’t seen my baby girl in months and I don’t even get a ‘Dad?’”
From the corner of my eye, I see Ethan stiffen.
So much for keeping my personal life under wraps.
Maybe I would call Rick “Dad” if he acted like one.If he came by to actually visit me instead of only turning up to ask for things.
When I was a kid, I thought he could do no wrong...that my mom was just being mean when she talked about him.
Then, when I turned sixteen, I got my first job at the Dairy Dip.Late one Friday afternoon, my dad broke down in tears in front of everyone, begging for my cut of the tips so he could buy himself dinner.
Twenty minutes later, I saw him coming out of the liquor store with a bottle of whiskey tucked under his arm.
I tug open the front door of Mugs, bringing him outside into yet another beautiful, sunny day with no sign of the storm Ethan is so worried about.“What brings you back?”I mutter.
Rick’s dry, cracked palm smooths over my cheek.It smells like he used whiskey for aftershave.“Just wanted to see my little girl.What do you ssssay to a re-do tonight?We can sssswing by Grandma’s for crab cakes.”
“I had Grandma’s the other night.”
“El Guaco”—hiccup—“Taco?”
“I’m not really in the mood for Mexican food.”The spices don’t agree with my stomach.“Besides, there’s a storm heading our way, and I still have a lot of stuff to do here.”It’s as good an excuse as any.If there’s work to be done, Rick is sure to head in the opposite direction.
He tugs out of my grip, blinking at me through eyes the same shade as mine.“Come on, Clo.I’m only in town for a cooouple days.”
