Vacation (52 page)

Chapter 27

Chloe

I left the hospital later that night and
slept for twelve straight hours in my bed. Brian wanted some time with Finn and
I was beyond exhausted. I made sure to text him most of Thursday, but we
decided that he would spend some time with his dad and then we would get
together on Friday, so I could help him settle back into his house. Brian was
staying Friday night, but I wasn't missing the opportunity to go over and spend
a few minutes with him. I'd had all the patience I could with not seeing him.
It was nice to know that I wasn't alone in my feelings.

He was grumpy from us not seeing each
other, too, but his family wanted his time, and I really needed to work out a
few things with my dad.

After taking a quick shower, I braided my
hair, put on some comfy clothes, and walked out into the living room. Parker
was playing video games on the big screen, which was out of the ordinary.

"Morning," I mumbled as I walked
toward the kitchen. "Where's Dad?"

"Hey, Sis. He's in the garage."

I didn't waste any time finding him,
though I could think of a million other things that I'd rather have done. The
tension between us had only grown worse, and I had to hope that some of it was
due to the fact that he knew that he was responsible for Finn going up on Bear
Creek Mountain. If it wasn't, then I didn't know my father at all, nor did I
want to.

I poked my head in the garage to find him
putting chains on the gray Lexus he loved to drive.

"Dad, you got a minute?"

He glanced up, covered in sweat and
grease, but nodded, sitting back on his heels. "Yeah. This going to be a
short talk or a long one?"

"Long." I moved out into the
garage as he stood up and cleaned off his hands.

"Okay. First let me say this..."
He reached up and wiped his forehead with the back of his forearm. "Had I
known that Clark's boy was going to get hurt, I never would have said anything
to him. I can't imagine having to go through almost losing you or Parker, so
I'm sorry for that. I still don't like the kid, but wishing him harm isn't at
all who I am."

Letting out a long breath, I nodded. I was
beyond grateful to hear that he wasn't a total monster. Now to see how far his
benevolence could go.

"I'm sorry about attacking the other
day."

"Don't be. You were right." He
leaned against the car and sucked his bottom lip in his mouth before patting
the hood next to him. "Come here and sit beside me."

I walked out without hesitation and sat
down next to him, pulling my legs up and wrapping my arms around them.

"I grew up not too far from here, the
mountains behind the old house was my favorite place to play. One of the
reasons I love bringing you guys up here during the winter is because I
honestly wanted you to experience some of the fun that I did as a kid." He
paused and wiped his head again. "My best friend lived next door, and we
did everything together. I mean from the time we could walk to slapping each
other in the face with our diplomas. He meant everything to me."

Sickness rolled through me. I'd come out
to talk about Finn, but something told me that we were talking about his
father.

"So things went on as they always did
until we got to college. We both went to the University of Colorado because we
loved to snowboard and there was no damn way we were splitting up." A
smile brushed across my father's face as he got a faraway look in his eyes.
"We were there three years before I fell in love with this beautiful
brunette in my history class. She was so damn funny and left me feeling alive,
like really alive."

"Dad. You don't have to talk about
this if you don't want to." I reached out and touched his arm, not sure
why I was giving him grace, but I was.

"No, it's good. I need to get it
out." He glanced over at me and continued. "The problem was, my best
friend decided to snatch her up before I could get to her, even though he knew
that I'd had my eye on her for the last year. I was just waiting for the right
time."

I didn't want to hear anymore. My father
hadn't been at fault from what I could tell, yet I had pinned him as the
villain without even considering that Clark might have started the whole thing.

"So, he starts dating her, and as you
can imagine, the riff between our
friendship
, our
brotherhood, was deep and wide. I hated his ass, and without thinking too much
about it, I got her drunk and made love to her on a night that I knew he would
show up." He turned to me. "He stabbed me in the chest, and instead
of trying to work it out, or even walking away, I cleaned off the dagger and I
drove it deep into his heart."

Tears filled my father's eyes and I
couldn't fight back the ones in mine, too. There was so much hurt in his face.
I reached out and wrapped my hands around his thick arm before pressing my
cheek to his shoulder.

If I had been in love with Seth, and then
Jessie had taken him, I wasn't too sure I wouldn't have stabbed her in the back,
too.

"So you see, it's not just about
seeing Clark that twists that dagger around in that old womb, but his boy is a
product of the relationship that was supposed to be mine." He sniffled and
wiped at his nose. "I think the only thing that healed me was finding your
mother. All those years we were together, none of this mattered, and honestly,
it doesn't now, either, but when she died, it came crashing back in. I don't
want him near you, and I don't want Clark near me."

"Dad, it was thirty years ago and you
both hurt each other." I moved from the hood of the car to look at him.
"You can't put that one incident on me and Finn. I'm in love with him, and
I want my life to be here in Aspen with you, Parker, and Finn, but if you think
you're going to disallow that..."

He lifted his hand, and I stopped.

"I don't want you with Finn, Chloe, but
I've lost too much in my life already. I don't want to lose you, too." He
paused and pursed his lips again. "The night I had to come get Parker from
the hospital, I saw Clark for a minute, and the fear and agony on his face left
me breathless. I'm still hurt over our old shit, which is ridiculous, I know,
but I can't let it affect you and Parker."

I moved closer to him and slid my hands
over his shoulders. "Then, stop pushing me away. I'm just like you, and if
you would just bend a little, that can be a good thing."

"I know, pumpkin. You just have to
give me a little bit of space, though. Okay?" He reached up and touched
the side of my face.

I moved into his arms, hugging him tightly
and praying that this was a turning point for us. I needed my father back as
someone who would be on my side.

"I love you, Dad." I kissed the
side of his cheek and moved out of his hold.

"I love you, too, and hey, I got you
something pretty nontraditional for Christmas."

"Parker told me." I smiled.

His smile faded as his eyes widened and
anger brushed along his features. "What? He wasn't supposed to say
anything. It was supposed to be a surprise."

"No, Dad. He just said that you got
me something pretty cool, but that he couldn't tell me what it was." I put
my hands on my hips.

"Oh, good. I thought he told you what
it was."

"No, but you can tell me if you
want." I gave him a shit-eating grin.

He chuckled. "I'm not saying anything
other than this: it's a gift, but it's a project, too, so if you don't want it
when you get it, it will not hurt my feelings if you want to give it
back."

"Give it back? Are you crazy? You
might be a huge pain in my butt, but you give the best gifts ever." I
winked and walked to the house. "I'm helping Finn get settled in tonight,
but I'll be in later. You want to watch a movie with me and Parker?"

"A western?" he asked and picked
up his hand-towel.

"How about
The
Grinch
?"

"Count me out." He rolled his
eyes.

I laughed. "Too close to home?"

"Watch it, missy, and be careful on
the roads."

* * * *

I drove to Finn's with a lightness about
me that felt so good. I couldn't wait to tell him the story about our dads,
which in all honesty was heartbreaking.

His truck was back out front, as was his
father's large pick-up. I parked beside Finn's and got out, pulling out a bag
of treats I'd worked on for the last day or so to keep him in a holiday spirit.

I knocked on the door, not wanting to use
my key in case his father wasn't aware that I had one.

"Come in!" Finn called out, and
I walked in, smiling at both of them as they sat on the couch.

Finn's foot was propped up on several
pillows on the coffee table, and he was wrapped in blankets with a glass of
water in his hand.

"Hey, guys." I sat the treats on
the counter and moved to sit beside Clark on the couch. "Everything go
okay with getting out of the hospital?"

"Yeah. He's got to be careful with
those crutches in the snow and no getting that cast wet, but other than that,
he's doing
good
." Clark reached over and squeezed
my hand gingerly.

"And, the concussion?" I looked
over at Finn, chuckling at the look on his face.

"You're not my mother, you're my
girlfriend. Get over here and give me a kiss, dammit." Finn leaned forward
and took my hand, tugging at me.

I got up and moved to his side of the
couch, sitting down and giving him a quick kiss.

"Dad, time for you to go. Nice of you
to visit. Don't be a stranger." Finn leaned forward and sat his beer on
the coffee-table.

Clark laughed and stood up as I shoved
Finn's shoulder.

"Don't be rude. Your dad can stay and
watch a movie with us or something." I winked at Clark.

He acted like he was going to sit back
down. "Yeah, sure. Why not."

"Get out!" Finn pushed at him and
we both laughed.

"Alright. Call if you need me. I'll
see you tomorrow, Finn."

"Thanks for everything, Dad."

I got up and walked to the kitchen with Clark.
"I made some cookies and fudge. You want to take some back to the office
so you and Milly can try it out?"

"Hey. Is that stuff for me?"
Finn called from the living room.

"Hush." I glanced over my
shoulder and winked at the sexy guy on the couch.

"
Naw
. Keep
it for the boy. He's got a wicked sweet tooth."

I walked Clark out and turned as the door
shut, giving Finn a sexy smile.

He beckoned for me to join him.
"That's not the only wicked thing I have. Come sit in my lap and let me
hold you."

I crawled up in his lap, straddling him
and rubbing his chest and the thick column of his neck. "I've missed you.
You feeling okay, really?"

"Much better now." He gripped
the back of my neck and pulled me down for a long, hot kiss.

I wasn't sure how active he could be, but
I rocked against his arousal slowly as he groaned against my lips.

"When is Brian getting here?" I
asked.

"I don't know, but call him and
cancel." He slid his fingers under my shirt and squeezed my breast as he
moved down to suck at my neck and then my ear.

Heat rushed through me and I almost agreed
to tell his friend to hop off. A long night with Finn on the couch sounded divine.

"I'm not canceling on your best
friend." I pulled back and moved between his legs, being careful not to
hit his cast. "When he gets here, we'll stop."

"I hate him already." He
reaching out and touched the side of my face. "I'm so sorry for scaring
you. You're all I've thought about the last few days. Did you know that?"

"No, but I'm glad to hear I'm not
alone. You're all I've thought about, too." I tugged off his blankets and
slipped my fingers into his sweatpants near his hips before glancing up at him.
"Can I?"

"Fuck, yes." He lifted his hips
and I pulled his pants down over his ass, leaving him naked from the top of his
thighs up.

I reached out and took his thick cock into
my hands, stroking him with one hand and then the other in a slow, tight fashion.

His teeth sunk into his bottom lip, and he
closed his eyes, dropping his head back onto the couch.

"God, that feels good."

"
Mmm
...
looks
good." I moved up and rolled my tongue across his
thick head before taking him in my mouth.

His breath caught in his chest and he
groaned, lifting his hips and forcing more of himself into me. I wasn't sure
when Brian was coming, but I wanted Finn to come before his boy showed up and
ruined everything.

I wasted no time in taking as much as I
could of him, my hands pumping his flesh were my mouth didn't touch. He pressed
against my shoulder and groaned loudly a few minutes later.