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Maya looks just as confused as I am. “What are you talking about?”
Ben holds his hands up in defense. “I was told to keep it quiet. It’s not like it matters now anyway.”
I roll my eyes. Of course my dad would hold some kind of grudge. “Obviously it matters to Natalie. To her dad.” I sigh and shake my head. “Why would he move an entire company here to piss off one person?”
He lowers his head to me, looking out through his eyelashes. “Do you remember what your dad is like?”
I drop my head back on the couch, knowing all too well exactly what my dad is like. “So, what happened? What am I truly up against?”
He shakes his head. “That I don’t know. My dad didn’t go that into details. I just know he came back here to ruin Randy’s life. Unfortunately, he’s pretty much succeeded. So, yeah, her dad might have a problem with any of us, but especially you.”
I grit my teeth.Yet another way my dad is screwing up my life.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Dalton
I wake up Sunday morning, still stiff from Friday night’s game. It was a tough one, and I took an ass-kicking for sure, but we poked out a win, so all the licks I took were worth it. Wanting to just chill for the day, I text Natalie.
Meet me on the corner of West and Main Street.
Her text bubbles appear instantly on the screen, and it’s ridiculous how happy that makes me.
How am I going to get there? I can’t just ask my mom or brother for a ride saying just drop me off on the corner.
CallAshley or Susie.
I wait for her bubbles, but they never flash on the screen, and I hope she’s texting them instead.
Ashley will come get me. Meet you there at 10?
See you then.
I hop out of bed, invigorated for the day all of a sudden.
When I exit my room and head down the hall, my dad is the first person I see in the kitchen.
“Morning,” I say.
“Morning.” He doesn’t even bother looking up from his iPad that he’s reading on. No surprise there.
I grab some juice from the fridge and pour a glass, setting it down on the counter before I take a sip.
“You’re going to put that away, right?” he asks.
“Yeah. I’ve had it out for two seconds. I just wanted a sip first,” I respond.
“No problem with putting it away, then taking a sip.” He still hasn’t looked up at me. He’s just talking while staring at his screen.
I inhale a deep breath as I turn to put the juice away. I’ve learned there’s no reason to even talk to him when he’s like this. It will only make it worse. So, I grab a banana and head back to my room, not wanting to be in his presence anymore.
Once I’m ready to head out, I get my truck keys and walk to the front door.
My mom is sitting in the living room, so I shout out, “I’ll be back.”
She doesn’t say a word, just raises her hand and waves me away. There’s no question as to where I’m going or who I’ll be with. Not even a spoken word goodbye. This isn’t something new, but knowing how Natalie has to lie to her parents to see me and how my parents couldn’t care less just rubs me wrong.
As I walk to my truck, annoyance from my family kicks in even more, and only the crank of my engine and roar of the country music blaring through my speakers help calm those thoughts.
