God forbid I had to think about how fun and how enjoyable it had been until I had pushed too far.
“Well, anyway,” Tara said with a glare to Kathryn. “This is obviously the kitchen. I’m thinking of hanging either a map of all the places I’ve been to in the world here, or maybe something that shows local pride in Albuquerque. I haven’t decided yet.”
“Places you’ve been,” Kathryn said. “When Brock comes, you need to show him where you’ve been.”
I sighed.
“He knows, Kathryn, and please, this is a girls’ night, not a girls’ night plus the boys being here in spirit, OK?”
Kathryn looked like she wanted to fight the point, but outnumbered, she finally acquiesced.
Which, again, with what had happened with Steele, may not have been a great thing.
“And so anyway, now let me show you the bedroom. Kathryn, no comments. And…I told you it would be a quick tour! Now, who’s ready for wine?”
“Ready?” Kathryn said, holding up her glass. “I got mine the second I walked in here.”
“OK, let me rephrase that. Elizabeth and Justine—”
“Yes,” I said without letting her finish.
Tara arched an eyebrow at me but said nothing. Justine asked for a half cup. Tara poured us some, handed them to us on the couch, and we all cheered my sister’s new independence and freedom.
“So, Tara,” Kathryn said, “are you going to get a job at a competitor just to piss off your Dad?”
I’d really like to know the answer to this too.
I’d like to know how you’re going to do this so that if I jump ship…
When I jump ship?
My sister laughed, shook her head, and took a small sip of wine. Too small, really, to suggest the process was stressing her out. I just had one question.
How?
“No, when we got hired, part of the deal was we had to sign non-compete clauses, and it was something like one year or two years depending on the position,” she said. “But in any case, I’m really not worried about it. Senior analysts are in demand everywhere. Right now, I’m thinking about taking something at a bank or a startup.”
That’s good. There’ll be options if it comes to that.
“Boo,” Kathryn howled. “I love you two, but your dad sucks. He’s so judgmental and harsh. You should stick it to him a bit.”
Tara waved her hand.
“As soon as I stopped trying to make him happy twenty-four-seven, I realized that he’s just a dad who’s doing his best. He’s not the world’s greatest father, but I accept him for who he is.”
I really needed to start taking notes from Tara. I didn’t like that I seemed to be copying her every move, but…
“Well, I think you’ve already pissed him off enough by dating a biker,” Kathryn said.
“I don’t know how you do it,” Justine said. “I made that mistake once.”
“I can only speak for myself, but I’ll just say it’s been better than you think.”
“It’s kind of hot how badass they are,” Kathryn said. “The way they put hands up at Reapers? Oh, damn, I was going to ask one of them to go home with me. You want to know who I think is the hottest?”
Leave it to Kathryn to take over the conversation.
I hadn’t said a word since we sat down at the couch, and I was perfectly happy with that. I needed to learn right now, not make proclamations. But it was only a matter of time…
