“Lots of people,” I said. “But again, this isn’t a vacation. I don’t know who you’ve been talking to, but tell your spies they got it wrong.”
Dad scoffed. “Spies? Get over yourself. People tell me things. That doesn’t make them spies.”
It made them traitors. But I didn’t tell him that. “Well, whatever. I’m out here in Kentucky cleaning up your PR mess, so maybe go easy.”
“I don’t know what all the fuss is about,” he said. “Who cares if I closed a farm three years back?”
“It turns out, a lot of people care, Dad, which is why I’m down here.”
Dad sighed. “And you’re taking your sweet time, it seems.”
“It’s not easy to unfuck this thing,” I said, my voice rising. “You ruined this town, and you don’t even realize it.”
“It’s not my job to take care of them. And it’s not your job either.”
I clenched my fist at my side so I didn’t scream in frustration. My father had always been a hard-ass and time hadn’t softened him any. Then again, most of the time I’d spent with him had been working. I barely knew the guy on any personal level.
I knew I had trouble opening up to people and letting them in, but I had learned it from the ice king himself. The man had worked throughout my entire childhood, missing birthdays, holidays, and school functions. Not to mention wedding anniversaries. It was no surprise to anyone my parents ended up divorcing when I was a teenager.
Mom was doing great now, living along the coast in a house on the water. As busy as I was, I still talked to her at least once a week. She had always been present and supportive.
When she left for her own sanity, I was left mostly alone while being trained to be Dad’s replacement one day. It was why he had insisted I stop working with my uncle. The funny thing was that my father still didn’t trust me, even after drilling me for years on how to run the business.
Looking back, I was pretty sure I had only agreed to work with him because it would allow me to get to know him. Even then, he didn’t make it easy.
“Look, Dad, I’m just doing what the PR folks told me to,” I said to cut off more arguments. “I’m lining up a shoot with a dairy farmer soon. We’ll be using that in whatever PR stuff we put together.”
“How much longer will that take?” he asked, sounding like I was a huge pain in his ass.
“I’m going to be here another week,” I said.
“A week? Why don’t you just move there at this point? My God, son, just get it done and get back to the office where you belong.”
I couldn’t deal with a whole lecture this morning. I had been having a lovely time with Shelby, warm and cozy and horny as a billy goat. “Dad, have you been drinking?”
“Of course not.”
“Then maybe have a bourbon and let me run Allory my way.” I hung up on him and put the phone on silent, knowing he was going to be sending me pure venom through the cell towers after that rude dismissal.
I had never hung up on my father before, and despite the fact that I was thirty-three, I felt like a rebellious teenager, finally standing up for himself. Dad would be pissed, but so what? I was pissed at him for all the bullshit he had pulled when he was in charge. If he didn’t like how I was handling things, he could come down to Ferris himself and get it done. He wouldn’t, though, because they would probably burn him in the town square while people ate funnel cakes.
He was no longer in charge of the company, but he could still make my life more difficult by getting the board to put pressure on me. I doubted he would do that yet. He would piss and moan but he would give me another week here. After that, all bets were off.
I had a sour taste in my mouth. For a man who seemed to hate me, he sure was eager to get me back to LA. I was feelingthe exact opposite way. Looking out the window of Shelby’s bedroom, the green grass stretched out in front of me like a slice of heaven. I didn’t want to leave.
A week would go by in the blink of an eye, and then what?
After last night, I was seriously considering telling Shelby how I was feeling. Not just because the sex had been mind-blowing. But because the idea of leaving Shelby behind caused me physical pain. My chest ached like it had a big hollow space in it, and I couldn’t imagine feeling that emptiness for the rest of my life.
Putting the phone call behind me, I headed downstairs, knowing just what I needed to clear the dark cloud hanging over me.
Shelby stood in her kitchen, watching the coffee brew. She was a ray of pure sunshine, and when she turned and smiled at me, I forgot all about Los Angeles and the responsibilities waiting for me there.
I slid up to her and wrapped my arms around her. “I want to show you something,” she said, leaning back into me.
I nodded without question, excited to see anything she wanted to show me.
CHAPTER 27
