“Ah. What you’re really asking is for me to look over the contracts and approvals and see if they have a right to shut you down before you’re able to open the stadium to any form of entertainment?”
With a sheepish look on his face, he nodded. “I am.”
“And if I don’t, your investors will come after you for fraud. Isn’t that the case?”
He acted as if he was about to become angry with me. “You don’t understand the work I’ve put into this.”
“But you cut corners. Didn’t you? My guess is you didn’t have the required study performed as to how the stadium would affectthe surrounding area. My guess is that you lied to just about everyone.”
“Don’t you dare talk to me that way. I’m your father. I’ve put my heart and soul into this project. Everything is on the line. Everything!” He slammed his hands on his desk, his face red with fury. When he dropped his head, I was scared he was about to have a medical episode. He sobbed briefly, something he’d never done in front of me. “Everything. This house. The ranch. Everything I’ve worked for.”
All the hateful things that had crossed my mind to say had suddenly disappeared. Shelved, at least for the moment. With no understanding of the depth of what he was going through, I realized he was more broken than I’d believed.
“Well, I’ll look over the contracts and all the information you’re willing to give to me. I’ll go as far as committing to providing legal pointers, but I am not making any promises.”
“Fair enough.”
“When is this event supposed to take place?”
“August first.”
I burst into laughter. “That’s insane; the timing is impossible.” I studied him and groaned. “You’re already set the plan in motion.”
The box tickets weren’t returned. They were shifted to this event because my father had already spent the money.
“Haven’t you?”
“I need this to work, Kenzie. I need your help. It’s difficult for me to ask, but I do.”
Un-fucking-believable.
“Pull the information I requested. That’s all I can promise.”
“Alright. I can do that. I’ll have it ready for you in a few hours. I assume you’ll be staying here?”
“I don’t know, Dad. I haven’t felt very welcomed.”
His entire face was pinched.
Seeing him this way was difficult, but I knew my father. He’d gotten himself in this position. I backed toward the door, furious I’d been talked into even trying to help. Another flash of anger was just as I’d expected. I certainly would never be allowed to have the last word.
“Stephen isn’t good for you. He’s a bad seed.”
“A bad seed? You mean the man who saved my life?”
When he waved it off, all the concern I’d felt earlier slipped away.
“Here’s the thing. I’m a big girl now. You don’t get to tell me what’s good or bad for me, Dad. You treated Axe horribly for years, including accusing him of cheating simply because your bull rider wasn’t good enough. Yeah, I heard all about it. And you know what? He’s carried that with him for years. As if he should feel guilty for your accusations. For some stupid reason, he wanted your approval, but you didn’t want to give that to him. He was a goddamn champion and you acted like he was some thief. Don’t worry, Dad. He has another career now. He won’t be bothering with your great rodeo. His injury prevents him from doing so, but I will say this. That man was the best bull rider this entire state has ever seen, maybe the best in the history of bull riding. Now he’s a hero and you can’t tell me otherwise.”
I spun away before I said anything else. Goddamn, the man made me livid.
“He lost his nerve, Kenzie. That’s why he was injured. It was time for him to quit.”
My God. It was as if I’d never left home.
“Do you know why he lost his concentration on that fateful day, Dad? Do you?” I could tell he didn’t. I dared look him in the face again. “Because his mother was diagnosed with cancer just before the event. He cares about his family like he cared about your son. They were best friends. I’ll venture a guess you’re the reason why they aren’t any longer. You always interfere with people’s lives. I don’t know the reasons for why you hate his family so much, but it just doesn’t matter. If you aren’t careful, your own daughter is going to learn to hate you.”
With that, I walked out with nothing else to say.
