Page 113 of The Last Goodbye

It was clear they’d already discussed it, and by the look on their faces, it was a bone of contention between them.

“I think that’s a great idea,” Denton said, reaching for his glass of wine. “You’ve got that large photo of just the three of us from a decade ago. Time to update the family photo.”

Tabitha’s face was stone cold. “It depends on the photographer and if I approve of the photo.”

“Well, the photographer works for one of the most successful magazines in the world, Mother, so I’m guessing his credentials will be impressive.” Denton rolled his eyes.

She did seem particularly edgy this evening.

“We’ll see,” she hissed.

“I’ve seen his work,” Jessica said. “I recognized the name when Denton told me who it was. He’s very talented.”

She worked in the marketing world, so it didn’t surprise me that she’d heard of the photographer.

“I guess time will tell.” Tabitha turned to look at me again. “We’ll meet downstairs for breakfast before they arrive, and remember, we aren’t oversharing. Less is more. This is William’s interview, no one else’s.”

As if I wanted to even take part in this interview.

Another thing this woman always did was refer to my father by his first name, William, when speaking to me. When speaking to Denton, she would always refer to him as Dad. I’d noted this habit since the first time we’d met—almost like she refused to acknowledge that it was actually true.

“Sounds great to me,” I said. “We should probably get our beauty sleep and head upstairs.”

I was anxious to get out of here and return to our room. Tabitha was definitely in the mood to pick a fight, and I wasn’t up for it.

“Same. And I was surprised to see you had us in one room and Briar and Bass in one room,” Denton said with a laugh and a nod to Jessica, who chuckled. “How very hip of you, Mother.”

Tabitha was all about appearances, so it had surprised me as well. Obviously, I’d never brought a man home, but Jessica and Denton had always stayed in separate rooms before now.

Tabitha reached for her glass of wine and brought it to her lips as she stared at my father so intensely that the table grew silent.

“Well, you and Jessica are engaged and living together now, so I figured it was a silly rule at this point.” And then she turned slowly to look at me. “And I assumed Briar would prefer to share a room with her special friend, since she is her mother’s daughter, and we all know that the apple never falls far from the tree.”

The apple never falls far from the tree.

How fucking dare she speak of my mother in a negative way. Tabitha had gone low more times than I could count, but this was an all-time low, even for her.

She was taking a shot at a woman who had passed away and wasn’t even here to defend herself. Shaming her for something she hadn’t even been aware of.

My father knew well that he was married when he’d met my mother, yet all of Tabitha’s anger was geared toward her.

The woman who had shown up for me every single day of my life.

Anger boiled inside me, but no words came as my eyes pricked with tears.

Denton had a horrified look on his face, as did Jessica, and my father sat frozen in his chair, not saying one word.

A loud scraping sound startled me as Bass stood up, his chair sliding across the wood floor. He reached for my hand, and I dropped my napkin on the table and stood beside him.

He turned to Tabitha and pointed his finger. “Shame on you.” And then he turned to my father. “And shame on you for allowing that. I certainly won’t sit here and allow you to speak to Briar like that. Your daughter flew across the country today to be here to support you for your birthday, and you allow your wife to disrespect her like that? I don’t give a shit how big your house is or how big your bank account is—it does not excuse that kind of behavior.”

And then he led me out of the dining room as everyone sat there quietly.

Jan smirked as we passed her, her eyebrows raised in approval.

We were both proud of him.

I just couldn’t believe I hadn’t said it myself.