“Son, my word,” Dad said and made his way over to meet me. My old man was great and didn’t hesitate to open his steady arms and hug me, not that I’d expected him to do anything else, but the grim look on his face when he stepped away didn’t bode well. Dad’s snow-white hair was combed back, and his suit was a nice dove gray, paired with a lavender shirt I was sure his new wife must have picked out. He looked like a black-and-white version of me, plus thirty years of small laugh lines around his eyes and mouth. My heart warmed. I’d missed him.
“What’s up, Pops?”
He tried to smile at me. He was a happy guy, so it hurt to see that loving expression crumple and be replaced with quiet anger. His lips thinned and his nostrils flared. “You’re not going to like this. It was only right to let you know in person. You kept asking if you could stay with me when you got out.”
“Uh, yeah?” My insides turned into a block of ice.
“That’s going to have to be a no, son.” He stepped in and gave me another tight hug. I’d missed him more than I’d realized I could, which meant I hugged him back in spite of what he’d said, but I was getting mad myself. I shuffled back out of his arms.
“What? Then why did you drive the whole way out here?”
“Because I needed to speak with you in a way that couldn’t be overheard.” His expression went cold, and I gulped, but he gave me yet another hug. I couldn’t decide if his affection was good or bad because it had a farewell vibe that made me sicker to my stomach than my rank suit did. “I found out what you were doing with the company finances,” he murmured.
I stiffened, but he didn’t let me go. “Dad, I—”
“I buried those transactions as well as I could, but I can’t have you there. I won’t do it again. Now it’s my reputation on the line, Ross. I built a company to leave you, give you a steady income, and now what will I do with it?” His white eyebrows dipped together.
“Dad….”
“I trusted you, Ross.” He let me go and stepped back. Worse than the look on the judge’s face when he’d arraigned me, or the asshole guards—who all thought it was funny to fuck with me—or even the hate mail I’d received inside, was the look of disappointment that crossed his kind, weathered features.
I’d never felt like literal trash before right this second.
“I know. I won’t let you down again.” I dredged up a smile. “I promise. When we get back to your house—”
“You don’t understand.” Dad cupped my shoulders with his hands, and they were the same gentle ones I’d grown up with. Dad had never once hurt me. I couldn’t claim I’d ever had anything bad happen to me. He’d been a perfect role model. My stomach shriveled. “I love you, Ross. You’re my son. I’ll always love you. But for the time being, I think it’s best if we only see each other out and about and not at my home.”
My body ceased to exist for a few seconds and then filled with a dread that weighed me down like rocks. “You didn’t say anything about that on the phone. Where am I supposed to go?”
Dad’s frown deepened. “You have the money from the company that you’ve been getting all year. You told me you put it into savings and stocks. You’ll be able to find a new place to rent and get a hotel in the meantime.”
I bit my tongue. Dad was already giving me sad eyes. I knew him, and I also knew he wouldn’t have wanted to tell me I couldn’t come home. I’d done a lot of borderline terrible things over the years, and he’d forgiven me, but fiddling in the company finances must have been a step too far. I didn’t blame him. If I ever got caught, he could lose everything he’d worked his entire life for, right along with me. What was I supposed to say?No, Dad. Sorry, I spent all that money on some hot ass?He knew why I’d gone to jail, but that might be a bit much.
“Uh, sure,” I mumbled. Nearby, River cleared his throat, but Dad ignored him.
“I didn’t want to do this. You’re making it difficult for me to help you right now, Ross. Yolanda likes you. She’s your stepmother after all. She’s beside herself, but she agrees with me. We can’t have you with us right now. Not when I do so much work from home.”
My heart beat faster, and I felt like I was a kid again with the way he stared at me and then gave his head a measured shake back and forth, as if my crimes were so heavy he could barely move. “I won’t do it again. I’m not even mayor anymore.” Fuck, why not just sayI’ll be good, Daddy, promise Thomas!and get it over with? I winced.
“And what about the next scheme that comes into your head?” He crossed his arms and the tiny golden cross on his tie pin glinted in the sun, blinding me for a second. “I thought you were finally getting your feet under you when you ran for mayor. Getting your head on straight and figuring your life out. It was a relief. I have a company to think about. We have a lot of employees, and I can’t lose customers because of you. I want you to know I love you very much, but you’re going to have to clean your life up.”
“Yeah, I thought I was finally on my way to the top, too,” I said bitterly. “I get it. Is that why River is here?” Dad turned and gave Demchenko a nod, which he returned.
“Mr. Demchenko spoke with me and kindly agreed to take you where you’d need to go. I can’t be seen with you at present. It’s a sad situation of your own creation, son. You did this.”
“I get it.” The urge to yell at him tightened my chest. “How am I supposed to have dinner with you, if you don’t even want to be seen with me?”
Dad lowered his arms and shrugged, far more lost than I’d ever seen him. Guilt was on me again. I’d done that. I’d taken one of the most self-assured men I knew and fucked him up. Was Vane doing any better? I rubbed the back of my neck, and Dad stood there awkwardly groping for something to say. Finally he cleared his throat. “I suspect by the end of summer there will be more interesting news in New Gothenburg. In the meantime, we can drive out of town to do dinner. Call us. Maybe give it a few weeks, though.”
“Dad, my car was repoed for nonpayment.”
“Time to figure out your life, my boy.” He turned toward his Lexus, and my gut sank farther with each step he took away from me.
“Dad, please,” I said just as he opened his car door.
He glanced up and called, “Spend some of your savings.”
I hung my head and stood there stunned while he got in and started his car. The parking lights came up on the Lexus. Dad was a careful driver and always had his headlights on, rain or shine. He backed out of his spot, and I stared, still shocked, as he pulled away without me in the vehicle beside him. The plan I’d concocted for myself while I’d been in jail wasn’t particularly elegant, but it had mainly involved going to Dad’s to hide while I thought about what to do next. Fuck, I’d had two months and hadn’t come up with anything. I groaned and covered my face with my hands.
