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Miranda’s suspicions were confirmed. “Cody seems particularly taken with her.”
Natalie’s gaze fell away, but not before Miranda saw the hurt in her eyes.
Nate caught it, too. “You and Cody have always been close. That’s not going to change.”
Miranda wasn’t so sure about that, because Cody’s interest in Summer was making Natalie jealous, and that could certainly change or even harm their friendship.
She tried to put things into perspective for Natalie. “Cody and Summer are close in age. They have a lot in common and similar life experiences. They’re both independent adults with jobs, settled into their professions.”
“And what, I’m just a child? I’m eighteen. An adult.”
“One who still has her whole life ahead of her, including going off to college and figuring out what comes next. Cody and Summer have already done that, that’s why they relate so well to each other.”
“I have lots of things in common with Cody.”
“That’s true,” Nate confirmed, gentling his tone. “Which means you probably have things in common with Summer, too.”
Natalie pressed her lips tight. “I suppose.”
“And since Haley and Cody like her so much, maybe if you gave her a chance, you’d find that you like her, too.”
Miranda held back a smirk when Natalie rolled her eyes, caught by her father’s logic again.
Nate patted Natalie’s knee. “First thing in the morning, I expect you to apologize to her. And since you took her car without permission to see your friends, you’re grounded for a week. No going out.”
“What? You can’t do that. I’m an adult.”
Nate shrugged. “We own the car you drive. We pay for the gas. You can use the car to get to and from school.”
Miranda agreed with Nate’s punishment, but wished they’d had time to discuss this ahead of their talk with Natalie. “You really need to think about what you did today and why. Was it a mistake? Were you dismissive to Summer out of spite? Did you take her car because you thought you could and she wouldn’t say anything because she wants you to like her?” Miranda held up her hand to stop Natalie from offering any more excuses or even admitting the truth. “You’re responsible for your actions. As an adult, you make your own decisions and suffer the consequences. Summer seems like a very forgiving person. I’m sure she’ll give you a second chance. But Natalie, if you keep pushing her away, you might find that she does exactly what you want and you miss out on having another sister who is there for you when you need her. How will you feel if that happens and she becomes close with everyone else in the family, except you? If I were you, I’d feel left out. And I know you don’t want that.”
Natalie didn’t say anything.
Miranda held her daughter’s gaze. “Something to think about.” She’d learned long ago that kids didn’t always act like they were listening, but they heard what she said.
She’d leave it to Natalie to stew on all that happened tonight, all that had been said, and let her come to, hopefully, the right conclusion, so she’d do the right thing in the morning and offer a sincere apology to Summer.
Nate stood to leave with her, but turned back to Natalie. “There’s something else I wanted to talk to you about this weekend.”
“Now what?” Natalie held her father’s gaze, hers filled with hope that this wasn’t another lecture.
“Now that you’re heading off to college and trying to figure out what you want to do in this next chapter of your life, I thought I could help you decide.”
“How?” Natalie remained cautious.
“I want you to work at the company part-time through the summer. You’ll earn money that you’ll need when you’re on your own on campus, plus you can check out the different departments and see if there’s anything in tech or business that you find interesting.”
Natalie looked skeptical. “Do I have to?”
“Earning your own money means you can spend it however you want, though I hope you’ll be responsible and think about your future needs. Plus I really do think it will help you focus on what you want for your future.”
Natalie looked to Miranda. “What do you think?”
“I had my first part-time job when I was sixteen. You’re lucky you didn’t need to work to pay for your car and going out with your friends. You need to learn how to budget your money and live independently. This job will ease you into that before you go to college.”
“What if I hate it?”
Nate grinned. “That’s why you’ll only spend a limited time in each department. A few weeks at most. Unless you find something that you really like and want to learn more.”
