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“Yes.”

“Then who are you dating?”

He freezes, his face shifting to a deep red. “Dating? Honey, I’ve told you before. I’m not dating anyone.”

“Dad,” I snap, “the whole town knows about it. Stop lying!”

A few heads turn at my outburst, but I ignore them. Dad doesn’t say anything else, regret filling his eyes.

I know he’s not meaning to hurt me. I’m not guiltless either.

But I don’t care anymore about who he’s dating. I don’t care about our detachment. I only care about one thing.

“What did you say to Archer to get him to leave?” I ask.

He swallows. “I told him what a terrible influence he’s been on you.”

My heart squeezes, leaving more room in my chest for anger to surround it. “He hasn’t been.”

Dad looks around, dropping his voice to a whisper. “Do you know he has a record?”

He says it like it’s going to solve his problem, like the second I find out, he’s going to have proven his point, and I’m going to change my mind.

But I stand stalwart. “That was the first thing he told me about himself. And he told me why he has one. Has he told you?”

“I already know. He acted like a child and busted up some shop.”

“No,” I say, shaking my head. “He acted out of grief—you of all people should understand that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Of course you don’t know,” I spit out. “You haven’t even given him a chance to tell you. How can you call yourself a respectable mayor—a respectable human—if you cut him off without compassion?”

Uncertainty flickers across his features, then he looks down and takes a deep breath. “Listen, this clearly isn’t going to be solved in one conversation. Let’s take a pause and finish later.”

The music blares, and joyful faces whirl around us, but my soul aches. “No, I’m finished.”

“Jules,” he begins as I walk away. “Don’t...don’t go after him.”

I drop my hands to my sides in a defeated movement. “Is that all you care about?”

Fear flickers in his eyes as he glances around at a few people watching us. The mayor’s always on parade, but I don’t care who hears.

I’m tired. I’m disappointed. And I’m done. “I’ll see you later,” I mumble in a defeated tone. Walking away, I hear him softly following me, so I turn around to stop him. “Don’t follow me, Dad.”

His face contorts, the pain apparent in his eyes, but I leave before it shifts to anything else. I keep my head down and leave the barn, aimlessly heading along Main Street, though it’s the opposite direction from home.

Lights drape along the trees, glowing warm in the darkness and echoing the light in the carved pumpkins and the drifts of colorful, crunching leaves that freckle the street. A few people linger on the sidewalks, holding hands and gazing up at each other as they wander toward the barn.

I’m alone and deflated, but tonight, no tears come—only exhaustion. After the week I’ve had, I wanted to celebrate. I wanted to fill my time with dancing and heart-filled eyes toward the guy I’ve liked for over five years.

But Dad stopped it. Just like he always does.

I stare down Main, wondering what I’m even doing. Looking for Archer? Searching for a solution to the impossibility of my future?

I zip up my jacket, tucking my hands into the pockets as the cold of the night air overcomes me. But I know this feeling is more than just the cold. It’s the loneliness. Because now, the one person I’ve always turned to is not only hurting me—he’s no longer protecting me.

So where does that leave me?