Ethan watched dinner unfold and tried to smother his anger.
He’d decided to join his sisters tonight in order to see Mia. Since his proposition, she’d been cautious and kept her distance the past two days. He appreciated the fine art of patience, but he figured tonight was a perfect opportunity to remind her he was ready if she changed his mind. He was also curious about Chloe’s dad and Mia’s special client.
Lake was everything he should be as a politician. Smooth, charming, and a gifted speaker. He seemed to care about people and not be an asshole. Ethan watched him help Ophelia set things on the table and chat with Harper about the horses. He had a laugh that actually seemed genuine and not fake. Even more important, the man seemed intelligent, especially when he engaged in a thoughtful discussion about the disappearance of the middle class and actual ideas to change the future of a city he seemed to passionately love.
Ethan liked him. He could see why Mia had focused her energies into getting him elected over the selfish pricks currently involved in politics now.
But what pissed him off was the way he treated Chloe.
Hadn’t he come up specifically to see his daughter? Sure, everyone believed Mia was the girl’s aunt, but Ethan knew the truth. The past few weeks had shown him something important that had switched up the game plan for him.
He couldn’t picture her vandalizing a damn car. Even cheating on a test was a reach for her, but he figured she’d been acting out for attention or panicking over her grade. Ethan realized running for mayor was a big fucking deal, but Chloe needed the politician’s focus, not an affectionate, distracted pat on the head like a pet he noticed now and then. Ethan also had a gut instinct she was nearing trouble again. He figured her father would be the one to pull her out, but it didn’t seem like it was going to happen.
By the end of the meal, Chloe had dropped her head to stare at her plate, completely disengaged with the discussion at the table. Ethan raised his voice and interrupted Lake’s speech on trying to deal with the city’s homeless problem. “Your daughter seems to have a gift with the horses. Since you’re staying till Sunday, maybe you’d like to go horseback riding together. We can show you the trails.”
“That sounds like fun. Seems Chloe has taken to being away from the city.” He studied his daughter with a slight frown. “Still, I’ve been thinking about it, honey. You really don’t have any family up here, and there aren’t as many opportunities for a psychology degree. I’ve contacted NYU to see if you can transfer.”
Chloe dropped her fork. Her blue eyes widened in shock. “No! No, Dad, I never wanted to go to NYU. I like it here.”
Lake gave a sympathetic nod. “I understand, but I think it would be best. If I get elected in November, my workload will double. It will be easier for you to stay in the city so we can work out our schedules together.”
“I don’t care about your schedule,” she said through gritted teeth. “I care about being at a school that fits me. I have friends here.”
“Not proper ones, from what I’ve heard,” he clipped out. “But now’s not a good time for this discussion. Why don’t we have a chat after dinner?” He shot an apologetic glance around the table. “Ophelia, the meatloaf is incredible. I’ve never had anything like it.”
“I’m so happy you enjoyed it.”
Chloe jumped up from the table, her form bristling with raw emotion. “You don’t get to come here and put on your act and pretend you know what’s best for me,” she burst out. “You don’t get to care about who I see or what I do on an occasional weekend when it fits into your schedule. And I’m not getting trapped in the city while you follow your own dreams!”
“Chloe—”
“No, I can’t take this anymore. I’m outta here.”
“Chloe!”
With a low sob, she tore out of the room, slamming the front door and leaving a stunned silence behind.
Yeah. Ethan had seen that coming a mile away.
Lake rubbed his temples and placed his utensils carefully down on the plate. “I apologize,” he said. “Chloe and I have some issues to work out. Will you excuse me?”
Ophelia and Harper traded sympathetic glances. “Of course. It’s so hard growing up,” Ophelia said. “I still remember screaming at my mother that I hated her, and I can’t even remember why.”
“We lost her mother a while ago,” Lake said quietly. “I think we’re both relearning how to live.”
He scraped his chair back and left the room.
Mia sighed. “I better go try to find Chloe.”
“No, let me. She probably went to the stables. That’s where all of us used to run when we needed some time,” Ethan said. “Why don’t you go talk to Lake?”
She hesitated. “Are you sure? I’m not sure if she’ll talk to you.”
Her beautiful features were twisted with worry and a care that made him stare deeper into her gleaming amber eyes. It was hard to feel things in a world of PR, where demands for surface perfection dominated. He was beginning to learn her heart was a lot softer than he’d originally given her credit for. He also sensed she wasn’t thinking about the election or Lake’s image or worried about Chloe causing a public outburst. She was invested on a deeper scale.
That was the part of Mia Thrush that intrigued him.
He leaned over and ran a finger down her soft cheek. “I doubt she’s talking to anyone lately. I’ll bring her back. She needs her father.”
Mia nodded, reaching up to grasp his hand. They stared at one another for a few minutes before a loud cough interrupted.
“I’ll help clean up,” Harper announced. “Just let us know she’s okay.”
“We’ll bring out some coffee to you and Jonathan on the front porch,” Ophelia added.
Ethan thanked them, dropping Mia’s hand with reluctance. He headed out the back door to take the shortcut to the barn. The woods closed around him, twilight squeezing the last drop of sunlight and letting the night rush in. The clouds thickened, warning of rain. Though he’d refused to work with Phoenix, he’d been stopping in daily to check on him, trying to get the horse used to his presence. Yesterday, Phoenix had even allowed him to approach briefly, but the animal would be skittish around thunder or lightning. Ethan would need to check on him again tonight.
His feet followed the familiar path, but Chloe wasn’t in the stalls. He took a while to check the other barns, then finally spotted the girl perched on a rock with Wheezy at her feet. She stroked the old Lab’s head, staring at the jagged rocks of mountain frozen in the glorious dying sun.
“Permission to approach.”
She glanced back. He’d expected sharp jabs and defensiveness, but she surprised him by sliding over on the rock, making room for him. Not one to waste a gift, he plopped down next to her and stretched out his jean-clad legs.
They sat in silence. Watching the sky. Absorbing the calm presence of Wheezy’s canine energy. Letting their thoughts wander without forcing words. He wasn’t sure how long he waited before she finally spoke, but he knew he would’ve waited easily another hour to hear her voice.
“I hate my dad sometimes.” He didn’t answer, and eventually she continued. “I don’t want to. I get all twisted up and feel guilty for it, but I still do. I hate the way he cares about his job more than anything else. I hate feeling like I’m a thing to help him get elected. I hate that he doesn’t listen to me and that he doesn’t seem to miss my mother like I do. And sometimes, I just want to close my eyes and not wake up in the morning. Sometimes, I’m just so fucking tired of it all, and I wonder if this is it. If this is the best it’s gonna get.” She gave a frustrated sigh. “But it’s okay. I don’t need the suicide hotline or anything. I’m just . . . pissed.”
Her words punched through and shattered over him with the truth. Damn, he liked her. “Yeah. That’s about as real as you can get, right there. I know you feel alone right now, but you’re not. We’ve all been there.”
“When?”
“When I was twenty-five, I lost my mom to cancer, too.”
She narrowed her gaze, studying his face intently, searching for lies. “Really?”
“Yeah. I had joined the military, so I wasn’t around when she got sick. My sisters took care of her, but I missed most of it until the end. Afterward, I was messed up for a while. I missed her more than anything. My mother was the best.”
A faint smile curved her face. Her nose and brow piercings winked. “Mine too. She had a cold that wouldn’t go away. No one could figure it out. When they diagnosed her, she died in three months. I thought I’d have a lot more time.”
“We always do.”
“What about your dad?” she asked.
“He had a heart attack when I was young, so I lost him, too.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Me too.” She pet Wheezy. Her profile was sharp in the shadow, giving him a glimpse of her strength. The question popped out of his mouth before he could stop it. “Why’d you cheat on the test, Chloe?”
She stiffened. It took her a while before she seemed to decide to answer. “I was afraid of failing. I panicked and made a mistake.”
“Makes sense. I did a lot more screwed-up things when I was your age. Did you vandalize the car to get attention from your dad?”
“No.” Her denial rang with truth. “I don’t want to talk about that now.”
“Fair enough.”
They sat for a while in more silence. She picked at her thumbnail. He shifted his weight on the rock. “I just want him to listen to me, you know? I’m not going to NYU, and I’m sick of him treating me like a baby.”
“But you did screw up,” he pointed out. “Community service is no joke. He has a right to not trust you for a while.”
That seemed to throw her off course, but she gave a grudging nod. “I guess. But none of it matters. He’ll get elected, and he won’t need me anymore, except to play the part of his perfect daughter. It’s all bullshit.”
He chose his words carefully, knowing what came next was important. “Chloe, you know what adults do when they’re missing someone they love? They throw themselves into work. They concentrate on things they can control—things that don’t hurt. Your dad probably realizes you’re starting your own life, and he’s going to be alone. Want to know my opinion? If your dad wins this election, he’s going to need you more than ever. You will be his only soft place. His only truth. You, Chloe Lake, are probably his whole world. And though he acts like an ass sometimes, I can pretty much guarantee that man knows no election or work will ever be worth losing you.”
Slowly, he got off the rock, absently rubbing his aching knee. “I think you should head back and try to talk to him. I think you both deserve a break. But if you ever need to talk to someone, I’m here. So is Mia—I know she cares about you.”
“Ethan?”
“Yeah?”
“Why didn’t you want to help that horse?”
He stiffened. The pit in his gut lay like a stone, weighing him down. “Some stuff happened in my past. I don’t want everyone to depend on me to help him when I can’t.”
“Because it’ll make you feel bad if you fail?”
A half laugh strangled from his lips. Damn, she was observant. “Yeah.”
“But didn’t your mom say every soul deserves a chance—both animal and human?”
He closed his eyes and wondered when the conversation had tipped. When she began to help him see more clearly. “Yeah, she did.”
“Okay. Just wondered.”
He began walking away again when her faint voice hit his ears and lingered on the evening summer breeze. “Thank you, Ethan.”
“Welcome.”
Mia sat down in the white wicker rocker while Jonathan paced like a caged animal. “What the hell is going on up here?” he growled in demand, hands stuffed in pockets. “First, you tell me she’s parading around with a bunch of hooligans; now she’s talking back to me at dinner and running off? I thought I was past this stage! Fifteen was a nightmare. She’s supposed to be okay now!”
“And she will be. But she’s a young nineteen, and the first year at college is rough. She still misses her mother.”
Jonathan stopped, turning his head away from her. “So do I,” he muttered, a touch of anguish threading through his voice. “But we can’t live in the past. She needs to concentrate on her future, and I cannot have another of her screwups. It’s not good for her here. I need to keep a closer watch.”
“Well, you can tell her not to hang out with them anymore, but with a rebellious teen, that may backfire.”
“Then I’ll yank her out of here as soon as she finishes her community service.”
“And if she fights you?”
“She has no money! She has to do what I say.”
Mia rubbed her temples, searching for a way to explain to the man what Chloe needed. “She needs to know she’s more important to you than the election.”
He spun around, his mouth falling open. “Are you kidding me? She’s my daughter. She’s the most important thing in the world to me, and she knows it. She’s using it to manipulate me. Acting out to punish me for being here when her mother isn’t.”
She winced at the visible pain in his face. “I don’t think so. Just talk to her, Jonathan. Spend some time with her outside of politics and surveys and numbers. Tell her exactly what you told me, and listen to her. I know it’s hard.”
“No, you don’t,” he said. “I asked you to keep her out of trouble, not try to crawl into her psyche and tell me what she needs. You’re in charge of my PR campaign. Maybe it’s time to remember that.”
Her temper flickered. “I’m not the one who asked to put my life on hold to be with your daughter,” she shot back. “I’m the one running around making sure we both get through this summer without any scandal.”
“Good. Keep your focus, and leave being a parent to me.”
“And what am I supposed to do when her so-called friends stop by or she wants to go out?”
“Nothing. For the rest of the summer, there’s one rule: she’s not to leave the inn unless you accompany her. No visitors. There’s not much time before she’s done with community service, and I’ll bring her back home.”
Frustration pumped through her body. He was missing the whole point again. “You can’t ground her! She’ll think it has to do with the election, don’t you see? Just talk to her.”
“This topic is closed. Unless you want me to switch over to Bennett & Associates PR? They’ve been begging me to jump and promising much better results.”
She stiffened, struggling to remind herself he was a father scrambling for answers and didn’t mean to act like an asshole. “That insults both of us at this point,” she said quietly. “And if you mean that, you should’ve never asked me to watch Mia as a friend.”
Regret flashed in his blue eyes. He muttered a curse and raked his fingers through his hair. “Shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.”
She nodded. “Okay. I know you’re her father and trying to make the hard decisions. But I’m trying to explain I’ve been with her every day, and she’s changing. She loves working with the horses and feeling responsible for something. She’s looking for a connection with you, and ordering her to transfer to NYU isn’t the answer. Please. I have a feeling there’s something she hasn’t told you about the vandalism.”
“You think she did something else?”
“No, I can’t explain it. Just a gut instinct I’m missing something. I’m asking for you to listen and hear her out before making a rash decision.”
He regarded her in weary silence for a while, then nodded. “Fair enough. I’ll try.”
“Good. I’m sure Ethan is bringing her back, so I’ll be in my room.” Mia stood up from the chair and walked off the front porch. Why was Jonathan being so damn stubborn? What a mess. She hated getting involved with family matters, but spending time with Chloe had affected her. She cared what happened to the girl, and she had no one fighting for her. It would be so much easier if there were a bad guy and good guy in the scenario, but she felt bad for both of them and only wanted to help.
She prayed Jonathan would give her what she so desperately needed. She’d done her best.
Now it was time to hope they could find a way back to each other before it was too late.