Luke cut her off. "No. I love you, but if you think holding who you're going to live with over my head is anything but a dick move, then I didn't do a very good job as a dad."
"She cheated!" Faith insisted.
Luke crossed his arms over his chest. "No. I've told you before, and I will tell you again. It's complicated. It's also my business and not yours. I love her, and if you think that any of this makes me happy, then you're wrong. I'm sorry you saw what you saw. I'm sorry you're upset about this. I know you think you're helping, but you really aren't. Faith, if this matters so much to you, then fine. I'll fix up the cottage and we'll move over there." Then he leaned in. "But I am not leaving Violet because my daughter says to."
"I hate you," she screamed, looking over at me to make it clear who she meant.
Then she turned and raced up the stairs. Cy just tossed up his hands. Ash and Cessily stepped out of the hall, making it clear they'd caught all of that. Worst of all, Cessily chuckled softly.
"Well, she's a teenager," she said. "Vi, I think we're all going to need one of those."
I moved to the cabinet for more glasses, but they were still talking.
"What do you want me to do?" Ash asked.
I turned around in time to see Luke hug him. "I am not mad at you. I'm trying to walk a tightrope, man."
"I know," Ash assured him, reaching up to rub his arm even as he leaned back. "But what do you want me to do? I'm saying I want to help, Luke. All in, right?"
"Yeah," Luke breathed. "I think maybe I need to start working on that cottage. Has to happen anyway, right?"
"I'm sorry," I told him.
"No, you're right," he told me. "Violet, you're fucking right, ok? You are not a possession, and there's not a damned thing wrong with you and Ash. He's your best friend. He was a part of your life before I even took you to the nurse."
"Saved me," I corrected.
"But he saved you too. Pretty sure Cy did the same, even if it wasn't as obvious. I will never ask you to choose, because I love you."
I nodded. "But Faith always comes first. We get that."
"Yeah," he breathed. "I'm just starting to wonder if I'm honestly the best thing for her. I feel like I'm failing. I don't know how to be the dad she needs, and..."
"Shh," Cy said, stepping in to pull Luke against his chest. "We'll figure it out. At least she gave up on the slutty clothes, right?"
"I'm not sure she really wanted to wear them," Luke admitted. "She was trying them on, but she said she was more concerned about the lipstick than the clothes. I was more concerned about the clothes than the lipstick."
"Which is why youarea good dad," Cessily told him. "And so you know, teen girls? Yeah, we're monsters at that age. This won't be the last rage-fit she has."
"I know," he assured her. "Sadly, this is the one that matters, because if she tells the judge she wants to live with her mom, there's nothing I can do to take that back. It's a one and done, and I know that, but I'm not sure she does."
"Then I guess I get to explain it to her," Cess said. "I'm gonna need that drink first, though."
"Coming right up," I promised. "Doubles for everyone."
Chapter Sixty-Four
That night, we each slept in our own rooms, deciding it was safest. It sucked, but a week wasn't too long. Then, on Saturday, Luke took Faith to her appointment with the psychiatrist. I offered to go with them, but Luke declined. I understood, but it still felt like a punch in the gut. Sunday was tense, all of us working just so we didn't need to ignore each other intentionally.
Then on Monday, Luke and Faith went out for a drive that evening. I had a million questions, but he hadn't gotten the chance to tell me where they were going, and I wasn't quite brave enough to ask Violet. But the moment they returned, I realized it was something big. Luke sent Faith up to her room, telling her to finish up her homework, and then he summoned Violet and Ash into the living room where I was watching television.
I shut it off and turned. In his hand, Luke held what looked like a newspaper at first glance. It was too small, though. When he rolled it on itself while waiting for them to come in, I saw the heading at the top: Fannin County Classifieds. That wasn't good. I couldn't even imagine what he'd found in there. A new job? A piece of equipment the farm needed?
The moment they walked into the living room, he told us. "There's a trailer for lease over by the church." Luke rolled the paper in his hands a little tighter. "I took Faith to look at it and talked to her about all of this. It's not a bad place, and about a million times better than my last. I've got some money saved up now..."
"You're moving out?" I asked.
He let out a tired sigh. "I'm just looking at options, Cy."
