Vacation (49 page)

"Then, why are you here?" He took
a step forward, forcing me back a little to keep our personal space intact.
"Because I see no reason at all for you to be on my property."

"I realize that you and my father
have some old score to settle, but that's between you and him. I've done
nothing wrong." I kept his gaze, not willing to give up on pleading my
case.

He chuckled. "Let me get this
straight. You're here because you want to give Parker snowboarding lessons, and
you think by convincing me that you're nothing like your piece-of-shit father,
that I'll allow you to do so. Is that it?"

Heat ran from the top of my head to my
toes. My father was everything to me. I spoke through clenched teeth, not
liking this bastard at all.

"My father is a good man. You guys
fucking each other over in your younger years doesn't change that."

"You don't have a clue what you're
talking about, boy." He crossed his arms over his chest, and glared down
at me. "Is this about Parker or Chloe?"

"Both." I stepped closer to him.
"You have no room to judge me, seeing that you're as much of a whore as
I've been the last ten years."

He stiffened, and I knew I'd hit him
square in the chest without having to touch him. I continued, though I
shouldn't have. Attacking Chloe's dad wasn't at all the plan. I'd only wanted
to see her.

"From what I hear, you have a
different woman across the table from you every day." I shrugged and
brushed my fingers by my lips, wishing I could just shut the fuck up. "Oh
yeah, everyone knows."

"Did your dad tell you that? Is he
spreading lies about me?" He moved toward me aggressively, and I held up
my hands.

"No. Like I said, my father's a good
man. He doesn't want me involved with Chloe because he assumes she's a greedy
asshole like you, but she's not. She's a great woman with huge dreams and an
even bigger heart."

He grabbed the front of my shirt and
pulled me against him, his nose pressing to mine as anger burned through his
expression. "You stay the fuck away from my little girl. She deserves
better than you could ever give her. Do you hear me? You're a piece of shit who
will rot in this town, boning any available woman and dreaming about a life
that will never ever be yours. Do yourself a favor and don't bring down Chloe
to your level. You'll hate yourself for it later. Ask your father about
that."

He pushed me, and I stumbled backward. His
words burned down my veins painfully. Did the situation between them have to do
with my mother?

"Fuck you, old man. You don't know
anything."

"Right. That's why I live in this
house and drive these cars, Finn. You're right. I'm ignorant." He snorted
as if it were funny and turned back to the house, disappearing inside it and
leaving me feeling like absolute shit.

He was right. Chloe did deserve better.
Much better than me.

Chapter 23

Chloe

I laid around Finn's for most of the
morning and then decided to clean the place up for him. Having figured it would
only take an hour or two, I was shocked when I looked up to see it was already
after noon. I cleaned myself up and grabbed my keys, deciding to treat myself
to a muffin, coffee, and a fabric store. The type of material I needed to work
on my ski jacket design wouldn't be easy to find, but seeing that it was a
common fabric for Colorado, I had high hopes.

The snow had piled up so high around my
tires the night before that I had to find a stick and force most of it away. I
would need to get my father to show me how to put the chains around the tires
later that day, but it could wait. Most of the main roads were salted, and I
could take it slow until I came to them.

Moments later, Christmas music blared from
the radio and heat from the vents. My mood was high and my heart full. I would
have loved to have called Jessie and told her the good news, but I couldn't
bring myself to talk to her just yet. The situation with her and Seth was still
a little too raw.

I made it to one of the large shopping
centers in town and parked by a row of trucks before getting out and walking
into the fabric store. I paused at the front and breathed in deeply, finding
myself at home in the midst of all the different textures and colors.

"No. It's too girlie, woman. I told
you to get brown." A man's voice rose up from an aisle over, and it was
too familiar not to check it out.

"It is not. Blue is a man's color,
too." A pretty blonde pushed at a guy's chest and smiled like the world
revolved around him.

He turned to look up at me as I walked
down the aisle, having planned to skirt by them.

Finn's dad. A smile lifted his lips, and
he extended his hand to me.

"Chloe. What a nice surprise."
He shook my hand as I offered it, and nodded toward his friend. "This is
my secretary, Milly."

The woman flinched, and I had to assume it
was the title he used with her.

"Nice to meet you. I'm a friend of
Finn's." I shook the woman's hand before turning my attention back to
Clark. "You finally get a day off? That wayward boy of yours working in
your absence?"

He chuckled as he released my hand.
"I'm sure he's out working hard after all this snow we got."

"No doubt he is." Milly moved in
closer to Clark, who didn't seem to mind. "That snow we got last night was
horrible. We were worried to get out into it today."

"Yeah, me, too. I'm from California,
so this has been an adventure and a half." I nodded to the fabric.
"You making something?"

Clark butted in. "Make sure you have
chains on your tires, Chloe. If your dad doesn't put them on, bring them over
and I'll have one of the boys do it for you."

I smiled at him. "Thanks, but I'll
have my dad do it. He won't mind."

Milly pushed at Clark's chest and smiled.
"Get out of here. I'll bother Chloe to help me look for colors. You go get
us a coffee next door."

"Bossy-ass women," he mumbled
and walked to the door before pausing and glancing over his shoulder.
"Chloe, you want something, honey?"

"No, Sir, but thank you." I
chuckled at him using my and Finn's latest joke, and of course not knowing it.

"So, look at these two fabrics."
Milly held them up. "Which do you think would better suit Finn?"

"Oh, the blue. Definitely." I
reached out and brushed my hand down the front of it. "What are you
making?"

"A vest to wear under his
jacket." She beamed, and I could tell that she cared for Finn
tremendously.

"Have you considered flannel or
fleece?" I moved to the racks of materials and found the same shade of
blue in the other two fabrics. "Here, run your hand over these."

She gave a sound of appreciation as she
did. "These are both great."

"I'd use fleece as cold as it is out
here." I stopped and pressed my fingers to my lips. That was it. I needed
to use fleece in the paneling for my own jacket I was designing.

"So, you sew?" Milly asked,
taking my attention again.

"Oh, yeah. I just got my degree in
design." I beamed, unable to help myself. "My mother taught me to sew
when I was nine. My dad had a fit because of the moving needles and such, but I
loved every minute of it."

"Do you still sew together when you
come home to visit? I assume you're visiting." She took the roll of
flannel and snuggled it to her chest.

"She died eight years ago around this
time." I searched for a light pink in the same fabric.

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry." She
brushed her hand over my back.

"It's okay, but thank you for your
kindness." I turned and decided to ask Milly about the burning question
inside of me that just wouldn't leave me alone. "Can I ask you
something?"

"Sure. After you've helped me find
this great material for Finn's Christmas gift, you can do anything you like.
I've been looking for forever, and as you can see, Clark's been no help at
all."

"How long have you known Clark?"

"Since we were kids. His first wife
was a friend of mine." She tilted her head. "Why?"

"Then, I guess you know my dad,
too?"

"What's his name, dear?"

"Jonathan Burke."

She stiffened, and I didn't need a
response. I already had it.

"I know Jon." She smiled,
relaxing.

"Something happened between them, but
I can't figure out what." I glanced around to see Clark coming back in the
store. "Never mind."

She reached out and squeezed my arm.
"Ask your dad about it, then help him heal. It's been a long feud, and
it's long overdue that they stop acting like jealous boys over a girl."

Did she mean literally or figuratively? I
was more confused, which was frustrating.

"What are you to girls whispering
about over here?" Clark handed Milly a cup and smiled at both of us.

"Sharing secrets about how to score a
good man," I chuckled.

"Yeah, but first we
gotta
find a few of them." Milly elbowed Clark in the
stomach, and he gave her a look.

"I'm going to wrap up some shopping
today, and I got Finn some cologne, but what else would he like? Does he need
anything for his snowboarding stuff or some new shirts or..." I let my
words trail off as they both turned to stare at me.

"He's a pretty simple guy." Clark’s
expression softened a little.

"He hates gifts, too." Milly
turned to look up at him.

"That's because he's always too broke
to return the favor." Clark took a sip of his coffee.

"Oh, I don't want anything from him.
I just wanted to get him something nice to open on Christmas morning."

"Are you two seeing each other or
just friends?" Milly's cheeks colored, like she'd asked something
inappropriate.

"I think we're somewhere in between
the two." I shrugged.

She glanced back at Clark and lifted her
eyebrow. "Looks like you and Jon better get your shit cleaned up. No need
to let it fall on these kids. They haven't done anything to deserve it."

Clark turned his gaze to me, and I tried
to read whatever he was thinking, but it was impossible.

"I thought you were headed back to
the west coast. You're from L.A., right?"

"Yes, Sir, but I've graduated."
I shifted from one foot to the other, wishing I hadn't gotten myself cornered
into such an odd conversation. "I'm not sure what I'm going to do
anymore."

"What's changed your mind?"
Milly smiled with a knowing look on his face.

"Finn is starting to."

"You just met him." Clark leaned
against a rack of cotton rolls. "He's not usually one for commitment,
either."

"Clark." Milly smacked him, but
I smiled, understanding where he was coming from.

"I think that's about to
change." I pulled my phone from my pocket as it buzzed. "Excuse
me."

"Of course, dear. Good to see you
again." Clark turned and put his hand on Milly's back, forcing her to the
front with him.

"Chloe?" Finn's voice was tight
with tension.

"Hey. Where are you?" I let my
eyes scan a few more colors before deciding on the pink for sure.

"Leaving your house." He sounded
as if someone had pulled the warmth out of him.

"I'm in town." I paused and
waited for a reply but didn't get one. "Finn,
What's
wrong?"

"Your dad was home and like a dumb
ass, I thought maybe I could help him see that I'm not my father, so whatever
happened between them..." his voice faded again.

"Oh no. Was he mean to you?"

"No, just truthful." Finn
coughed. "It's all good. I just didn't want you to go home and him get
upset with you without me warning you."

"I don't give a shit what he
thinks."

"You should, baby. He's your dad.
He's just trying to protect you and find the right kind of man for you."

"You are the right kind of man for
me." I let out a frustrated sigh. "Where are you? I'll just come to
you, and we can spend the night together curled up.

"That sounds great, Chloe, but maybe
tomorrow night. I'm tired and need to think through some shit."

"What? No. Don't pull back again. We
just started to
figu
-”

He cut me off. "Hey. I'm not pulling
back. Go home and talk to him, and if you still want to see me, just text and
we'll meet up."

I swallowed down the need to cry, and took
a shallow breath. "Okay, but expect a text. Where are you headed?"

"Up to the new run on the east side
of town. I'll keep checking my phone, though."

"The storm was really bad last night.
Do you think that's safe?"

"Absolutely. It's the best time to
snowboard, California girl. You know the waves, but I've got the snow down
pat." He laughed, but I could hear it was forced.

"Be careful," I whispered into
the phone.

"Always." Worry rolled through
me as he hung up.

I put the fleece back on the rack and
walked to the front, pissed at my father for whatever he'd done to tear Finn
down. Tears dripped onto my cheeks as I hit the door, and of course, it was my
luck that Milly and Clark were on the stairs, fussing over something.

They looked back at me, and I froze.

"What's the matter, Chloe?"
Clark moved toward me with concern on his face. If he didn't like the idea of
me and Finn together, he hid it well. Or maybe he wasn't the judgmental asshole
that my father was.

I brushed my tears away and took a shaky
breath. "Nothing...just my dad."

"Is he hurt? Do you need our
help?" Clark's willingness to offer help only fueled my anger toward my
father.

"No, but he's probably going to be
when I get a hold of him." I sniffled and forced a smile. "Just check
on Finn for me. I guess he went out to try to talk sense into my dad and it
didn't go so well."

"Oh, shit." Clark glanced at
Milly.

"I told you to deal with this
twenty-five years ago." She put her hand on her hip.

"I've
gotta
go, but it was good to see you both." I gave them a sad smile and jogged
to the SUV, ready to fight for the man I was falling in love with.

* * * *

I made sure to slam the door hard as I
walked in from the garage. My brother and father looked up from the kitchen
table, Parker's eyes wide as I let my anger bleed all over my face.

"Oh, hell. I'm out." Parker
stood and turned, escaping to his room.

My father leaned back in his chair and
crossed his arms over his chest, as if expecting me to blow up.

"How dare you," I growled at
him, reaching out to hold onto the nearest countertop as my hands shook.

"What? Save you from a mistake? He's
a big one. Mark my words."

"I'm twenty-four years old. I will
date who I want. You are my father, not my jailer."

"Let's throw in your benefactor, your
rent-payer, your degree purchaser-"

I cut him off. "Keep your damn money.
I don't want anything from you ever again."

He stood as I started for my bedroom.
"We're not done."

"Yes. Actually, we are. My dad died
the same day my mother did. We were done the day after the funeral. You made
sure of it." I was screaming at that point, and tears burned down the same
old tracks in my face that they always had. "You've been nothing but a
shell since then."

"Chloe," his voice softened, and
I pressed my hands to my face as a sob left me.

"No," I whispered as he wrapped
his arms around me.