AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Fuck! Why do I keep doing that?
“The second thing?” I glanced at my phone, reading a text from Luke.
I’m sending the staff home before the storm.
I replied as I waited for Carly to tell me what else she wanted from me.
That’s a good idea.
“Cassie is seeing someone.”
“I’m aware,” I said.
“You are?” She leaned back in her chair. “She just told me today.”
“She does a poor job of keeping secrets and covering her tracks.” I shoved my phone in my pocket. “At least from me.”
“I told her it’s never a good idea to keep anything from you.”
“She won’t listen.”
My daughter was as wild as I was at that age, but I had a reserved side, a compulsion for calculation that assisted me in getting what I wanted. Cassandra did not have the patience I had. She saw what she wanted and went for it. She let her impulses get the better of her.
It could be argued that I had done the same when it came to Emmie. Let my impulses rule my decisions. But when it came to her, I didn’t have much time. If I didn’t act when I did, she would have paid the price.
“What is it that you want to discuss about her new friend?” I asked Carly.
“She’s eighteen.”
“I haven’t forgotten.” I also hadn’t forgotten how fixated Josh was on Emmie. I watched from the hallway as they interacted with one another that day they were in the kitchen. The way he teased her about the spider annoyed me. He would have killed it if I hadn’t intervened. That would have upset her. I didn’t like that.
“We have to let her make her own mistakes.”
“She makes mistakes all the time.” Lying to me was a big one. “I can allow for some error, but this man she is seeing is not acceptable.”
“Then why did you hire him if you knew what she was doing?”
“I’m keeping him close until he fucks up.”
The wind began to stir, and the dark clouds hurried past us.
“I should go.” She slung her bag over her shoulder. “Try to give Cassandra the space to grow. She’s not a kid anymore.”
“She’s not an adult either.”
We both stood.
“Don’t you remember when you were that age?” she asked.
“Too well.” I walked her to the back gate. “I’ll allow her to make her own mistakes, but it’s my job to minimize the damage.”
“You’re going to do whatever you want.” She kissed my cheek. “But don’t you think Emmie’s father would have a say about what she’s doing right now?”
If he did, I would kill him.
“Don’t speak about things you know nothing about.” I opened the gate. “Be safe.”
I didn’t wait for her to respond as I closed the gate and headed back toward the house. Emmie’s father? Emmie wouldn’t be in this situation if it weren’t for that piece of shit. Maybe I had him to thank for bringing her to me.
