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Chapter Two

Gracie

“ R emember your manners, and don’t let the kid run wild.”

I bite into my cheek to stop myself from responding.

My father doesn’t so much as speak Bonnie’s name, and run wild?

She doesn’t even walk yet, and remember my manners?

Since when don’t I remember my manners? My mother brought me up the right way; she was everything pure and genuine in the world, but my father? He’s the complete opposite.

When I was fourteen, she passed away from cancer, and the day my father came to collect me from the only home I’d ever known was soul destroying.

I’d only met the man once before, and that was when he came to the ranch I grew up on, demanding money or custody of me.

My mom complied, and I didn’t see him again until the day after her funeral when he came to take me to live with him.

He’s spent every day since reminding me of his sacrifice for me.

According to him, he could be at the heart of a privileged family by now, but they wanted nothing to do with me because I was born out of wedlock.

Instead, my father drowned his sorrows in alcohol and indulged in drugs.

He spent months away from the house he owned, and I was only too grateful for that.

When my father was home, he was not a nice person to be around.

I preferred my solitude to dream about my future, one without him in it.

My mom said when she met him, he was a different man, before the addictions took over, and I can only live in hope that one day he becomes that man again.

For now, I’m grateful because his extended family has offered me and my daughter sanctuary while my father is away hopefully becoming a better person, and even more, I’m hoping to use this time to get out from under his clutches once and for all.

While I wish my father well for his future, I want him to stay the hell out of mine, and more importantly, I want to go home.