Dad pursed his lips and went silent. “I didn’t know you felt that way.”
“Because you never listened when I tried to tell you,” I said, being honest because why the hell not? There was no reason to lie to keep the peace anymore. “I wanted to work with Uncle Steve and you threatened to disown me if I didn’t join you at Allory.”
“I was trying to protect you,” he said. “You were just a dumb kid and you didn’t know what you wanted.”
“Well, I still want the same thing I wanted then,” I said. “I had just forgotten for a while, working for you.”
“So that’s it then. You’re just leaving us all behind? The company and your family?”
I shook my head. “I’m leaving the company behind. Maybe you and I can still be a family, but most of that depends on you. If you keep trying to bully me to do what you want, we’re done. If you can just ease up and be normal, we can talk and see if we can’t find some common ground eventually.”
“This woman must be incredible if you’re willing to throw your whole life away to go be with her,” he said.
“She is. And I’m not throwing my life away. Make no mistake, Dad. This is me reclaiming the life I want.”
He sighed and held out his hand. “Then I wish you luck.”
I looked down at his hand like it might be a snake about to strike. “Honestly?”
Dad nodded. “Yes. I can’t say I understand what you’re doing, and I can’t say I agree with it, but believe it or not, I do want you to be happy. I think you’re right, though, that you and I just have very different visions of what that looks like. If you’ve found your version of it, I truly wish you the best.”
“And you won’t fight me on any of the things I asked for?”
Dad smiled. “I’m fine letting you have Kentucky. And the other thing you asked for. Just call me every so often and let me know how you’re doing, okay?”
I nodded and shook his hand. Then he hugged me, which was a little awkward, but I appreciated that he was making an effort. Maybe he wasn’t a lost cause after all.
CHAPTER 37
SHELBY
Lila pulled up to the curb at the airport terminal and she looked over at me anxiously. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
I nodded. “I have to do this.”
“Aren’t you scared?” she asked.
“I’m terrified,” I said. “But I tried letting him go and it’s not working. All it did was make me feel worse and worse. The moment I decided to go see him, all the terrible feelings went away. It was how I knew I was doing the right thing.”
“Okay,” Lila said, clearly not sure about this. “But you better text me every step of the way. When you get on the plane, when you land, when you finally see your man again.”
“I promise I will keep you posted.”
“You shouldn’t be going to LA alone,” she said. “I wish I could come with you.”
“Thank you, Lila, but if everything goes according to plan, I won’t be alone in LA for very long.”
“I know but still,” she said. “And this flight is so late at night.”
“Which means I can sleep through it and be fresh when I arrive in California tomorrow morning.” I patted her hand. “It’s going to be great. Please don’t worry about me.”
“Oh, I’m going to worry the entire time you’re gone,” she said with a laugh.
“I know and I love you for it,” I told her.
She sighed and shook her head. “Well, all right. I suppose if you’re sure about this, you better get moving. If you miss your flight, it’s going to be a long night at the airport.”
I gave her a hug, grabbed my bag from the backseat, and waved at her as she pulled away. Then I headed inside to check in. One of the benefits of such a late flight was that the airport was pretty dead. I walked right up to the kiosk to get my boarding pass and then dropped my bag off at the counter. Security was also smooth sailing, which had never happened to me before. I didn’t fly a lot, but the times I had, I felt like the security lines were the worst part of the whole process.
