Erika and Jasmine:…OOOH
Sadie:WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
Jasmine:Come over for drinks. We’ll figure it out. Also can you pick up Puff from the groomers if you’re coming? I have pear and brie tarts in the oven and Puff has separation anxiety. I don’t want to leave him there too long.
Crap, crap, crap!
You’re not falling for Parker!Except that I was.
It’s just lust and sex.Except it wasn’t. I really liked Parker. I liked his dry sense of humor. I liked how kind he was to his little brothers. I liked how he was a fair boss but still had high standards. I liked that he was interested in helping reinvest in Harrogate, not just for upper-middle-class people but for farmers and factory workers as well.
And, yes, I liked that he was tall, handsome, and well hung. Back when I was a teenager and imagined the perfect guy would just fall out of the sky and crash through the roof to land effortlessly on my bed, Parker was about as close to my fantasies as one could reasonably get.
I wished I was going to meet him as I drove through the drizzle to the dog groomers. Puff was sitting in a basket on the floor when I walked in. The corgi was wearing a raincoat and a little hat over his ears. He was clearly more prepared for the weather than I was.
“Jasmine already paid,” the groomer said, picking up Puff and handing him to me.
“Oof,” I said.
“Here is some special weight-loss food. I think the corgi’s actually gained a pound,” she told me.
“He’s an emotional eater,” I said, feeling bad for the dog.
“He needs to go down to a manageable weight before he can be adopted out,” the groomer said.
Hands full of Puff and the food, I staggered out of the shop, trying to dodge the raindrops.
“Need some help?”
“No, I—” I peeked around the furry ears and paper sack. “Dad? What are you doing here?”
Thankfully, we weren’t on Main Street. The groomer’s shop was on a busier side street. What if Parker drove by? People were staring thanks to my father’s ridiculous outfit: a long white robe. His hair was long and his beard wild.
“Baby girl!” he said, holding out his arms.
“You look absurd,” I hissed.
“I came all this way to see you,” he said. He tried to hug me, but Puff growled.
“Let me talk to you,” he said.
I motioned to an awning. Hopefully people were too busy trying to escape the rain to stop and take videos.
“Do you have the money?”
“Money isn’t important. Family is what’s important. That’s what your grandmother always said. She would be heartbroken to know that you’ve been ignoring me.”
Even after everything, his words made me feel guilty.
“You should come out west,” Dad insisted. “We have a nice little homestead in the desert with some sheep.”
“I have a job.”
“If you moved out there, you could live off the land.”
“My idea of roughing it is staying in a hotel without room service. Though admittedly I’m not doing so great now.”
“Come home,” my father said.
