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“Excuse me?” Daddy chokes out, clearly shocked by Drew’s words.
My heart pumps ice through me. I can feel chunks of it rolling against my skin. Drew’s words are more frightening than anything anyone has said to or about me in four years.
Because he’s right.
Oh, dear sweet merciful deity, he’s figured me out.
For real.
“You think you’ve brought Lindsay home so you can prop her up on the campaign trail and make a picture of a perfect family. And with enough dodging and deferral, and public relations spin and volleying, you can.”
Daddy’s voice floods with relief. “That’s exactly why she’s home.”
“But do not underestimate Lindsay’s agenda.”
Oh, God.
Daddy makes a snorting sound. I can imagine his eye roll. “Lindsay? An agenda? What agenda does Lindsay have beyond shopping for a whole new wardrobe so she can keep up with the latest fashions?”
Ouch.
“Is that really how you see her?” Drew ends his sentence with a derisive huff.
Daddy’s silence says everything I need to hear.
“You think of her as a puppet, Harry.”
So now we’re back to first names.
“I think of her as my daughter.” A tone of anguish I’ve never heard comes out of my father. It warms me. A little.
“And I think of her as a human being who is independent and has her own feelings, thoughts, and reactions. You want her to fit into your plans for the campaign. And she might.”
“She will.”
“Don’t count on it. She’s sharper than you think. always has been. You’ve underestimated her for years. When I saw those medical records—” Drew’s voice breaks off, choked with emotion. “That mental institution just doped her up to shut her up.”
“Dammit, Drew!” Something bangs, hard, like Daddy’s slammed his fist on a table.
“And you can argue all you want, but the bottom line is this: she’s home. I’m glad she’s home. I’m glad she’s out of a place she probably only needed for the first few months, and mostly just to heal outside of the limelight. But you’ve done her no favors keeping her hidden for so long. Between what she’s about to learn about her reputation, and the juicy, vicious gossipmongers who are going to love to get their hands on any tidbit about her, you’ve set Lindsay up for a mess.”
“You done lecturing me?” Daddy’s voice has gone cold and dismissive. It’s the voice of my childhood.
“No,” Drew says casually. His words make me bite back a smile. “It’s bad enough she’s been cloistered for so long. That’s one issue. The other is that she won’t react the way you want her to. And the cat’s out of the bag. You can’t just stuff her back into that institution again.”
“What do you plan to do about that?”
“Me?” Drew’s voice goes up just enough to make me warm up.
“Yes, you. Your job is to control her.”
“My job is to protect her.”
“Same thing.” I hear footsteps. A door slams.
And then, quietly but clearly, I hear Drew hiss:
“What the hell have I gotten into?”
