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He then strokes my long hair, gently pulling it over my shoulders, sending shivers all through me. “Look. I get that you want to help me with this. I’ll do what I can to make that happen. I promise. I’ll call you later.”
I watch him walk to the shower and let out a defeated sigh. Once again, amanis one step ahead of me in finding King. I don’t like this. I don’t like it at all. But as usual I’m powerless to change it.
I get dressed and head home, consoling myself with the fact that if nothing else I have someone on my side who seems to understand me. And someone whom I can trust with my dark side.
When I get home Ritz is curled up on the couch asleep. It’s only a little past 8:00 so he’s not yet gone to the trouble of leaving a note saying he’s starving to death. I stopped free feeding him a few years ago because he doesn’t have an off switch when it comes to food.
I pour some kibble in his bowl and he shoots upright, running over to greet me. I pat him on the head and grab the open can of tuna in the fridge, forking a little on top.
After gulping down a protein shake and changing clothes I hit the gym downstairs, then go back upstairs to shower. I get a call right before stepping into the steam.
“Good morning, sweet pea.”
“Morning, Daddy. How are you?” I can tell how he is by the tone of his voice.
“Tired,” he groans. “I got a call last night from Björn. He’s having problems with the development team out there so I’m headed to Stockholm to address some serious dilemmas with this new spring line.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. What can I do to help?”
“Hold down the fort here? Check on Greer too. I know she’d love to spend some time with you, get to know you a little better.”
“Sure, I can do that.” I wait for him to address the little thing we discussed yesterday.
“Thank you, sweetheart. I hope to be back before Thanksgiving.”
“You think it could take longer than a week?”
“Hard to tell. One of the issues is our supplier. They failed to send a shipment on time and now the fabric we want is on back order.”
“If I were on your international team this wouldn’t have happened.”
Daddy sighs. “I know, sweetheart. I like you at the home base, you know that.”
Daddy doesn’t like me traveling out of the states. Never has. Says he worries about men taking advantage of me in a foreign country. “I know. Well, I’ll hold down the fort here. And I’ll see if Greer wants to come over and hang out some.”
“Thank you. I need to get off here and pack. I’ll touch base when I land and let you know how things look.”
“Safe travels, Daddy. Love you.”
“Love you too, kitten. More than you know.”
I end the call and hop in the shower. If Daddy is gone over Thanksgiving, I don’t know what I’ll do. I’ve never been away from him for that holiday or Christmas. As a kid, if there were even a chance he wouldn’t make it home in time to celebrate he’d take me with him. That only happened twice. But it will be a good chance to finally suck it up and spend some time with his girlfriend. It looks like this could turn into more than just a live-in situation. It’s so weird thinking of me having a stepmom down the road, and one that’s closer to my age than my dad’s. But I just want him happy.
After I shower, I send Greer a text and let her know I’m headed to Prescott for the afternoon. Does she want to try to have dinner together tonight?
She doesn’t respond until I’m parking my car at the small boutique near the Prescott post office.
I’m in Prescott right now. Where are you?
I look to my left and see her car right there. I assume it’s hers. It looks just like the one that was parked in the driveway the night I had dinner with them. When I get out and see the Realtor sticker on the back window and the California plates, it’s pretty much confirmed.
So. She’s here. At the exact same boutique owned by the person responsible for a huge chunk of our sales every time we have a new clothing line? That’s … weird.
I’m standing by your car outside.
I’m annoyed. And bothered. Would Daddy send her up here? Maybe. If so, I shouldn’t take it out on her.
Oh, lol. I’ll be right out.
