Page 115 of My All American Girl

49

SARAH

Despite my father’s explicit command not to come home, I was back in Colorado. I wasn’t going to hide. He could be mad at me, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me from spending time with my family. The pain of his words still hung over me, but it turned out Mom had something to say about his decision to ban me from home.

When she found out he’d forbidden me from coming home, she blew a fuse, bought my tickets, and welcomed me with open arms. But just like the last time I was home, Dad had been avoiding me.

I woke up early and went for a run. I needed to stay busy. And if I was being honest with myself, I wanted to prove to my father I was taking my job seriously. I wasn’t resting on my laurels even though I was on break. I was staying in shape. Of course, he didn’t seem to recognize it.

After my run, I found myself a little bored. I wound up in the backyard with a cold lemonade, my sister Meg beside me. The sun was high, casting long shadows across the lawn. The smell of fresh-cut grass mingled with the scent of my mom’s many, many flowers in bloom around the yard. For a moment, it felt like old times. I closed my eyes and imagined I was fresh out of high school and still had a choice to decide my future.

“So, what’s going on?” Meg asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You and Dad clearly have some drama going on,” she said. “Why is he so pissed at you? Did you crash a plane or something?”

I thought about not being honest, but Meg was my sister. I should be able to trust her. And I really didn’t think I did anything all that bad. I was being treated like I had murdered someone.

“Do you remember the pilot I used to idolize when I was younger?”

“Which one?” she asked with a laugh.

“Ryker. Dad was his superior. He was at my graduation.”

“Oh yeah.” she nodded. “The hot one.”

“Yes.” I smiled softly. “That’s the one. Well, Dad did what he does, and Ryker was put in charge of my training in Columbus. He wanted me to learn from the best.”

“And you failed?” she asked.

I scoffed. “Not even close. Although Dad thinks I wasn’t doing as well as I could.”

“Because of the fight at your survival training?”

“That and in general.” I shrugged. “He thinks I should be doing better. I’ve been busting my ass, and I am at the top of my class, but it’s not enough for him. He showed up on base and things went bad.”

“Bad how?”

“You can’t tell anyone what I’m about to tell you,” I said.

She grinned. “Oh, something juicy. Tell me.”

“Me and Dean Ryker.”

“You and Dean Ryker what?” she asked.

I pulled my sunglasses down to look at her. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open.

“You hooked up with Dean Ryker!” Meg squealed, covering her mouth with her hand in shock and delight. “Sarah, you naughty little thing!” She leaned back on the sun lounger with a cheesy grin. “Tell me everything. If I remember right, that guy was really hot.”

I smiled a little despite the seriousness of the situation. “Yeah, he is.”

“But why would that upset Dad so much?” Meg asked, her brows furrowing. “I mean, I know he’s a bit old-fashioned and all, but if he trusted this guy to train you, I would think he would be Dad’s pick for a husband for you.”

“No, it’s more than that.” I sighed and took a sip of my lemonade. It tasted sour in my mouth. “Dad thinks I’m distracted. Not to mention he’s my superior and a little older than I am. I honestly don’t know what his big hangup is with me and Ryker. We never got that far. He was too pissed to say much except I was screwing up and not making the family look good.”

She snorted. “Shocker. I wonder what that feels like.”