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“Bartending?” I raised my eyebrows.
“You know Stephanie,” Tara said. “She never takes life too seriously.”
“Yeah,” I said.
I tried to keep the disappointment out of my voice, but it was impossible. Tara was right there, just a foot away from me and yet, we felt so far apart. I wanted to spend the entire day with her so I could remind her what it really felt like between us. Then, she wouldn’t be able to resist it any longer.
Still, I couldn’t fight her. She was spending the day with Stephanie, and I had to be okay with that, just like I had to be okay with the injury to my leg and the fact that Tara still insisted on listening to her father after all these years.
My life no longer felt like my own. Everything had spiraled out of control, and it just fucking sucked.
CHAPTER TWELVE - TARA
After all the confusion with Caleb, I was in desperate need of a day off. I woke up on Wednesday morning, grateful that my head felt fine. I was still worried about whatever was causing my severe headaches, but for the first time in a while, I decided to let myself relax for the day. I climbed out of bed and took a long, hot shower. The water cascaded over my body, loosening my muscles and propelling me toward the rest of my day.
My dad called early that morning, wanting to meet up for an early lunch. He knew I had the day off and his schedule was light. It was the perfect opportunity for us to spend some time alone, which meant he wanted to lecture me without an audience. I wasn’t looking forward to it, but I knew it was inevitable. Now that I was back in town and spending time with Caleb, my father’s protective nature had been kicked into overdrive.
I walked inside the restaurant and hurried over to him. He rose from his chair and kissed my cheek, smiling as we both sat down.
“Are you feeling okay?” he asked. “No headaches today?”
“Not yet.” I shrugged. “We’ll see how the rest of the day goes.”
“Did you go see Dr. Anderson?” he asked.
I nodded. “Monday afternoon.”
“What did he say?”
“He did some tests,” I said. I didn’t want to talk about my headaches. I was already worried enough. “CT scan and bloodwork. Nothing huge.”
“Did he tell you anything?” Dad asked. “What he thought might be wrong or anything like that?”
“You know he wouldn’t do that,” I said with a sigh. “They won’t tell me anything until the results come back.”
Dad nodded. The waitress came over, and we ordered our food. We lapsed into an easy silence while we sipped our coffee. Dad was still worried about me, but he was kind enough to drop the subject. I couldn’t stand to dwell on what might be wrong with me. There were too many options to consider. If I thought about them all, I would drive myself insane.
We got our food and ate slowly. Dad told me about work and asked about my other patients. We circled the subject of Caleb, but neither of us mentioned his name. I could tell Dad was leading us in that direction. His expression slowly darkened and eventually, he couldn’t contain himself any longer.
“We should talk about your brother,” Dad said.
I rolled my eyes. “He’s not my brother.”
“I’m married to his mother,” Dad said.
“That means nothing,” I said with a soft laugh. “It means nothing, Dad. Caleb and I met when we were practically adults. You can’t expect us to act like brother and sister. That’s ridiculous.”
“How should I expect you to act?” he asked, quickly losing patience.
“However I want to,” I said. “I’m an adult. So is Caleb. Our lives aren’t any of your business anymore.”
“He’s trouble, Tara.” Dad’s voice stern. “I know he seems like he’s changed but he hasn’t. He’s still the same.”
“Dad,” I said sharply. “You can’t keep doing this. I hear you, okay? I get it. Please, drop it already.”
“I can’t,” he said, shaking his head. “Not when I’m this worried about you.”
“I can take care of myself.”
