"Hey," Kennedy grabbed her arm. "Are you okay?" Concern filled her voice.
"Of course, I'm okay. Why do you ask?"
"I'm worried that maybe you're slipping into a depression. You know, with quitting your job and this thing with your dad."
Eden let her head fall back on the couch and stared at the lion head she'd found in the texturing on the ceiling. "It's not like I have a broken heart or anything. I don't regret quitting my job at all. And yeah, I'm still upset with my dad, but I think once this thing with Tristan blows over, we'll have a better relationship if we aren't working together."
"I'm sure you're right. Your dad really is a good man, even if he is kind of controlling. I'd hate to see you lose him from your life forever." Sadness filled Kennedy's voice.
Eden's heart hurt for her friend. Kennedy had lost her dad a little over a year ago. It was obvious she still missed him.
"Me too."
The thought of losing her own dad tightened Eden's chest to the point she could hardly breathe. But she was still so upset with him right now, there was no point in trying to make amends. Especially because she feared he was the reason her credit card was declined.
Giving Kennedy another reassuring smile, she said, "Don't worry about me. Go have fun with the Wheelers. I'm going to take a bubble bath and read a book while you're gone."
Kennedy stood. "Okay, but for the record, I feel bad leaving you alone on a Friday night."
"Noted, but seriously, I'm fine."
After Kennedy walked out the door, Eden pulled out her phone. She stared at the screen for a full minute before texting her dad:Did you put a block on my credit card?
She could understand him cutting access to her business visa, since she no longer worked for him. But blocking her from using her personal credit card felt like an attack. She'd been using that card since she was sixteen. Sure, he was the one who paid it off each month, but she would have taken responsibility for it if he'd let her.
I should have put my foot down years ago.
She would have been a lot more careful with her spending if she'd been the one paying off her credit card each month.
Her phone pinged in her hand, and she looked at it warily.You wanted your independence, so I'm giving it to you.
Although the words weren't particularly harsh, she heard her father's clipped and judgmental tone as she read them.
Gee, thanks, Dad, she thought.
He picked a great time to let her finally take responsibility for herself when she had no job.
Her phone pinged again.I refuse to foot the bill for your rebellion.
Rebellion?
Heat filled Eden's chest, and tears stung her eyes. Her father viewed her standing up for herself as rebellion? If he thought cutting her off financially would make her come back and agree to his hair-brained plan, he was wrong.
She was more determined than ever to stay away from Spokane a little longer. She'd just have to be careful with her money and find a job. Soon. Maybe she should look for a job in the Tri-Cities area instead of Spokane.
Deciding it was best not to respond to his last comment, she left her phone on the couch and laid her suitcase out on the floor. She rummaged around it in for a minute before remembering that she'd packed her bubble bath in the other suitcase.
She slipped on her flip flops and hurried down the back stairs to get her favorite gardenia and jasmine bubble bath. She'd packed more than one bottle, but there wasn't enough space in Scott and Kennedy's shower for her hair care products and body wash as it was, so she only brought in one bottle of bubble bath and the romance novel she packed last minute.
Relaxing in the bath, she let herself get lost in her book. Too bad men in real life weren't the amazing compassionate heroes she read about in her romance novels. Sure, there were plenty of great men out there, but there were also plenty of Tristan's in the world too.
Her thoughts drifted to Kennedy's handsome brother-in-law. He was nice and could even be considered compassionate with the way he saved her life. But what kind of a name was Rudy? It sounded like a little boy's or even a dog's name, not a strong leading man like Gavin or Roman.
When she first met him a couple of months ago, she quickly realized that he liked to joke around and had a friendly personality, but he certainly wasn't suave and debonair, like the heroes in her romance novels. No, he was just a small-town boy who enjoyed a simple life. There wasn't anything wrong with that, but he definitely wasn't her type.
When her bathwater grew cold, she shifted back to the sofa to continue reading about the fake relationship the main characters had gotten themselves tangled up in with their lies. Two hours later, she set her book aside and rubbed her tired eyes as the third yawn of the evening hit her.
It was only ten o'clock on a Friday night, and she was exhausted. She hadn't been sleeping well thanks to the uncomfortable bar that ran through the middle of the hide-a-bed. Scott and Kennedy would probably be home soon, but she felt weird about pulling out the bed before they went to their own room for the night.
