“So she can fly right the fuck to Diesel?No. Fuck no.”
Meggie ignored Christopher. “Like a lot of the club members, Rebel isn’t convinced you didn’t have an affair with Torie. It isn’t her job to seek the truth. It’syourjob to convince her of it as her father.Youlet it get out of hand.Youfix it.”
“How?”
“By apologizing to her. By telling her you could’ve handled her confrontation with Torie in a different way. You disappointed her. That won’t be easy to overcome because you fell off the pedestal she placed you on.”
“You expect me to sit our fuckin’ girl down and say I ain’t fucked Torie and then list all the fuckin’ reasons why she need to believe me andapologize to heron fuckin’ top of that?”
“Yep.”
“No. Why don’tyoutalk to her?”
“I have. We agreed to disagree,” she said and detailed her and Rebel’s conversations when they were in LA.
“If you ain’t got through to her, how the fuck you think I can?”
“Because I believe in you. Val had a point. Give Rebel the same patience you gave Zoann. Mortician had a point. Until you and her find common ground again, you won’t win.”
Christopher absorbed those words and tightened his hold on Meggie. “Against her or you?”
“Either of us.”
“You’d leave me cuz of Rebel?”
“If you abused her. Which you aren’t. But youarehurting her and I don’t like that.”
It saddened Meggie to no end. When she’d been a child, her father had been such an important part of her life. Just like Christopher had been for Rebel. By the time Meggie was Rebel’s age, Big Joe was lost in drugs. Just when she needed him most, he was gone.Christopherwas alive and well, unable to see his own mistakes with their daughter.
“Don’t shun her and don’t shame her.”
“Zoann was so fuckin’ different from Rebel.”
“Rebel is just like you, Christopher. Zoann had only some of your traits.”
“I don’t fuckin’ want Rebel to be like me. That mean she’s gonna fuck fifty thousand motherfuckers, kill even more, don’t give a fuck if she live or fuckin’ die ‘til she thirty-three. She’s gonna try drugs, drink like a motherfucker, and worry the fuck outta you.Andshe’s gonna finish my fuckin’ hair off. You put a lil’ white in it.She’llmake that motherfucker look like Santa’s dick hair.”
Meggie frowned.
“She ain’t like me. Case fuckin’ closed.”
She wasn’t getting through to Christopher right now. His emotions were running high. When they were alone in the cabin, she’d try again. Maybe, over the summer, she’d go away with Rebel for a girl’s trip. Hopefully, there wouldn’t be travel restrictions on Jo, which Meggie didn’t foresee. She sighed. That would defeat the purpose of taking Rebel away. If she brought Jo, Meggie would be limited with the places she took Rebel and her attention would be divided.
“I want you to buy Diesel a partnership in the law firm,” she announced to rip the bandage off and get straight to the heart of the matter.
“Okay. Any fuckin’ reason why?”
“As a birthday present. It’s a milestone. He’ll see how much we value him. Explain to Kendall what we’re doing so she’ll agree.”
“Fine.”
“Are you excited for Jo’s release?” she asked, changing the subject and ignoring the sudden unease hitting her.
Christopher nodded.
“I hope they don’t go back to her three-month mark before they release her.”
“She had heart problems and eye problems, baby. If she’d been born on time, she’d be six weeks now. Our girl growin’ and almost all healed. If she got to stay in six more weeks to reachthree months like she should’ve been, that’s what got to happen. Even if she have to stay six more fuckin’ months, she will. As long as she all better.”
