"You are the right kind of man for me." I let out a frustrated sigh. "Where are you? I'll just come to you, and we can spend the night together curled up.
"That sounds great, Chloe, but maybe tomorrow night. I'm tired and need to think through some shit."
"What? No. Don't pull back again. We just started to figu-”
He cut me off. "Hey. I'm not pulling back. Go home and talk to him, and if you still want to see me, just text and we'll meet up."
I swallowed down the need to cry, and took a shallow breath. "Okay, but expect a text. Where are you headed?"
"Up to the new run on the east side of town. I'll keep checking my phone, though."
"The storm was really bad last night. Do you think that's safe?"
"Absolutely. It's the best time to snowboard, California girl. You know the waves, but I've got the snow down pat." He laughed, but I could hear it was forced.
"Be careful," I whispered into the phone.
"Always." Worry rolled through me as he hung up.
I put the fleece back on the rack and walked to the front, pissed at my father for whatever he'd done to tear Finn down. Tears dripped onto my cheeks as I hit the door, and of course, it was my luck that Milly and Clark were on the stairs, fussing over something.
They looked back at me, and I froze.
"What's the matter, Chloe?" Clark moved toward me with concern on his face. If he didn't like the idea of me and Finn together, he hid it well. Or maybe he wasn't the judgmental asshole that my father was.
I brushed my tears away and took a shaky breath. "Nothing...just my dad."
"Is he hurt? Do you need our help?" Clark's willingness to offer help only fueled my anger toward my father.
"No, but he's probably going to be when I get a hold of him." I sniffled and forced a smile. "Just check on Finn for me. I guess he went out to try to talk sense into my dad and it didn't go so well."
"Oh, shit." Clark glanced at Milly.
"I told you to deal with this twenty-five years ago." She put her hand on her hip.
"I've gotta go, but it was good to see you both." I gave them a sad smile and jogged to the SUV, ready to fight for the man I was falling in love with.
* * * *
I made sure to slam the door hard as I walked in from the garage. My brother and father looked up from the kitchen table, Parker's eyes wide as I let my anger bleed all over my face.
"Oh, hell. I'm out." Parker stood and turned, escaping to his room.
My father leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, as if expecting me to blow up.
"How dare you," I growled at him, reaching out to hold onto the nearest countertop as my hands shook.
"What? Save you from a mistake? He's a big one. Mark my words."
"I'm twenty-four years old. I will date who I want. You are my father, not my jailer."
"Let's throw in your benefactor, your rent-payer, your degree purchaser-"
I cut him off. "Keep your damn money. I don't want anything from you ever again."
He stood as I started for my bedroom. "We're not done."
"Yes. Actually, we are. My dad died the same day my mother did. We were done the day after the funeral. You made sure of it." I was screaming at that point, and tears burned down the same old tracks in my face that they always had. "You've been nothing but a shell since then."