Page 91 of Billionaire's Coastal Haven

The nickname grates across my skin. “It doesn’t feel affectionate. It’s demeaning and it hurts my feelings, especially because the rest of the town disrespects me by mimicking your term of endearment with their snide side-eyes.”

“Don’t listen to them. They’re jealous.”

“What do they have to be jealous of? That I’m stuck in your shadow trying to live up to unreasonable expectations? That no matter what I do or how hard I work, nothing is ever good enough for you? You should have retired as soon as you had your heart attack, but you didn’t believe I could fill your shoes, so you just kept pretending. You forced me to lie to everyone. I won’t do it anymore. You are sick. You need to retire. I can’t be responsible for your wellbeing anymore. It’s not fair to me.”

He shakes his head. “Your mom would be heartbroken to hear you speak to me in that selfish tone.”

“Mom’s not here. She hasn’t been here for almost two decades. And I think she’d be appalled to find me exactly where she left me. We both need to grow up.”

“You want to chase that man around the world? You think he can give you a better life than I can?”

“I don’t want the life you want me to live. I have opinions and ideas, but you never want to hear them. You think you always know better, so you shut me down before you hear anything I say. That’s not how life is supposed to be. No one gets to pick what I want to do with my life, who I want to love, except me.”

“Years of experience tell me I know what I’m doing.”

“You’re killing Rainwater Bay. The economy is dead. I found a way to fix everything and undo your years of active neglect.”

“Baby Girl, what makes you think you can do the job better than me? If it weren’t for this infernal heart, I’d be mayor until the day I die.”

The conviction on his face turns my resolve into sludge. He gave me my job as his assistant not so he could groom me to become mayor like I thought, but so he could keep me under his control.

I sink into the bench seat next to his hospital bed. “It’s never been about me not being capable. It’s always only been about you. You can’t handle that Mom died, so you force everyone to live in the past. You can’t handle that you’re getting older and haven’t taken care of yourself, so you pretend you’re healthy and make me lie for you. You can’t handle that I’m a grown woman, so you call me Baby Girl and tell me to mind my place and stay silent.” I shake my head. “I’m done pretending. Deal with your issues, but don’t expect me to carry your baggage anymore.” I hand him his clothes. “I’ll be in the hallway when you’re ready to drive home.”

He grinds his jaw, never meeting my eyes.

Fine. You act like the child you accuse me of being.

Once the discharge paperwork is complete and Dad’s settled in the passenger seat of the Jeep, I start the longest thirty-minute drive of my life.

We’re silent. A heavy silence that confirms our relationship is broken.

He broke it, though I revealed the cracks.

When he expected me to always be the six-year-old girl who took over cooking meals and ironing his ties when Mom died. The one he expected to stand silently in the background and tell him he was my hero.

You can’t be a hero if you force people to stay small and insignificant.

When we arrive at the house, I shift the car to park and carry his stuff inside.

He settles in his recliner and flips on the TV.

“Do you need anything else?” I ask.

“I’m fine.”

Perfect. Still sulking. “I’m running for mayor.”

His forehead pulls together. “You don’t want anything to do with me, so why bother?”

“I’m going to fix what you broke. Starting with renovating the estate and bringing businesses back to Rainwater Bay. Our community will thrive despite your fear of progress.”

“Baby—I mean Zoe, that estate is heartache. Bulldoze it to the ground.”

“It will be what Thomas and Harriette Reeves always wanted it to be—a beacon of hope and love. Mom’s legacy. The Reeves’s legacy. It will be mine and Landon’s as well. I’ll make Rainwater Bay the jewel of the Pacific Northwest.” The finished house sparkles in my imagination. Rows of rose bushes, tables at the overlook to watch the sunset, and laughter filling the halls. And that’s just the beginning.

Dad changes the channel to a baseball game. “Don’t kid yourself. The only thing you’ll accomplish is spending your fancy boyfriend’s money and ending up right where I knew Rainwater Bay should be. Focused on tradition and community. No outsiders messing with things they don’t understand.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” I don’t restrain myself when I slam the door.