Page 47

CHAPTER 47

THINGS LIKE THIS HAPPEN IN BOOKS, SO WHY NOT REAL LIFE TOO?

EMORY

I take a deep breath as I park beside Mom and Dad's house. So much has changed since I was last here, but there's so much that's still the same. I was convinced then that Dad would never appreciate me. That he would always hold me back as long as I worked for him.

I still believe that. But this isn't about me.

I text Lily one more time to check on Kayden. It's been five days since his concussion, and he's mostly back to normal—otherwise, I would have never left his side. But I still don't want him to be by himself, so I asked her to stay with him until I get back.

When she responds with an eye roll emoji and a middle finger, I know that he's still fine. And that I might be checking in on him a little too often. I slide the phone into my purse and head toward the back door.

"This is only temporary," I mutter under my breath as I climb the last step to the weathered deck and stop, staring at the door. "Just until Kayden gets settled. Then I'll find something else."

I can do this. For him.

I force myself to turn the knob and step inside the dark brown kitchen. I barely make it three feet in before Mom and Dad's latest foster cat weaves through my feet. "Wow, you're a friendly girl. Hi, baby," I stoop to pet her. "I'm Emory. You must be Miss Dozer."

"She's putting on an act for you now, but don't be fooled. She's a mean one." Dad leans against the doorway between the kitchen and living room.

It's the first time I've seen him smile in years.

"Oh I can tell. She's definitely plotting ways to claw me to death in my sleep."

"Your mother missed you, sweetie." Dad crosses the distance between us and wraps me in a tight hug. It's so shocking, my body just goes still. A giant "Does Not Compute" error message flashes in my brain.

"Dad? Are you okay?" I'm pretty sure my high school graduation was the last time Dad hugged me. Since then, every time I've seen him, there was just a tiny bit more distance between us. Fractions of inches that have added up to miles over the years until something like a hug became unthinkable.

"I might have missed you a little too. Come on, your mom's in the living room. She's watching Jeopardy, so we might have to compete with Ken Jennings for her attention."

"What else is new?" For as long as I can remember, Mom has been obsessed with Jeopardy. She doesn't just watch every day, she plays along and demolishes almost all the contestants. I spent years pleading with her to try out for the show but could never convince her.

But today she turns off the television and shifts to face me as soon as I walk into the living room. "You could have come home for Christmas." No welcome back hug from her apparently. Instead, her glare follows me as I sit on the couch, as if I need more pressure. My stomach is already coiled so tight it could snap.

"No, I couldn't." Neither of them will ever understand the place I was in over the holidays. And they'll never understand the way Kayden worked day after day to lift me out of that place. "But I FaceTimed you guys. And I'm here now. Happy almost Valentine's Day? "

She rolls her eyes and huffs, but keeps quiet as Dad sits sideways next to me. "You're here now," he says, "and we're glad to see you. But I know that face. That's the face you wear to hide your nerves before asking us for something you think we're going to say no to."

Say whatever you want about Dad, but he's good at everything, including reading me. "You were right. I shouldn't have left. I want my old job back."

The arm of the old beige couch creaks as Dad leans against it and examines me. "The job you hated?"

"I didn't hate it." Except I did. I weasel my hands under me. Pinning them under the backs of my thighs the way I used to whenever I was nervous.

In Salt Lake City, I make less than half of what I used to at Dad's clinic, and Dr. Karchin is still an ass almost every day. But I wake up every morning excited to go to work. It's exactly what I've wanted to do since I fell in love with the idea of being a vet when I was eight.

In the side of my eye, I see Mom take her glasses off as Dad crosses his arms. "You said I demean you and make you feel like you aren't good enough. You expect me to believe that you've changed your mind?"

Why did I think he would make this easy? When has he ever made anything easy? If he wants me to swallow my pride and beg, fine. I'll do it. "I saw what it was like in the real world, and it made me realize how easy I had it here."

He snorts. "Bullshit, Emory. Your job here might not have challenged you, but it wasn't easy. I made sure of that so the 'real world' would be easy in comparison. It's exactly what my dad did to make me the success I am."

He bites the corner of his lip and looks away. For just an instant, his face loses its color. "I, um…" He uncrosses and then immediately recrosses his arms. "I just wish I would have remembered how much I hated my old man for doing that to me." His eyes come back to mine. "I thought I was doing the best for you, but I've learned I wasn't. I'm sorry. "

I just stare at him, speechless. Never in a million years did I expect him to apologize to me about this. What can I say in response? Each day here did push me closer toward hating him. And here I am, about to beg to go right back to that miserable dynamic. But it's for Kayden.

"I was wrong about that," he goes on, "but I'm not wrong about you, Emory. My daughter never wants something just because it's easy. She's never been a quitter, and she's certainly never been the type to come crawling back for something that's beneath her unless she had a damn good reason. So what's that reason? Don't tell me Bouchard did something. You told me that article was bullshit, and I trusted you. Don't make me murder that boy."

I toss up my hands and look to Mom for help, but she's just as determined as Dad. "Are you both serious right now? I thought you'd love the idea of me coming home."

"Sweetie—"

"And no, this has nothing to do with Kayden." The lie hangs heavy in my belly, and I look away from them both as I say it, hoping my face won't give anything away. "I just want to come home, Daddy. I want things to be good between us again." That part isn't a lie, but there's ten years' worth of damage that needs to be undone before that can happen.

"Your mother and I would love nothing more than to have you back here in Denver, but no, sweetie, you can't have your old job back."

My mouth drops open, and I just gape at him, waiting for more. "Because you want me to take a different job at the clinic? Something with more responsibility?" I know it's silly to even ask, but things like this happen in books, so why not real life too?

He just shakes his head.

"You really want me to beg? Because I will."

He drags his hands over his cheeks, smoothing back the skin that's started to sag and reminding me of the younger version of him that I used to worship. "Sweetie, I don't want you to beg. I want you to understand that there is not a position for you at my clinic at the moment. You love the job you have now, and, as much as I hated to see it at first, you love this Bouchard guy. So why do you want to come back here all of a sudden, Emory?"

I try to fix him with a stare the way he's always been able to do to me. "How do you know I love my job? We've never talked about it."

"Do you really think your father would go all this time without checking on you?" Mom asks, like it should be obvious.

"Your partner, Dr. Karchin, and I know each other. That man wouldn't piss on my head if my hair were on fire, but that doesn't mean he won't answer an occasional text asking how you're doing. Mostly he just bitches about you, but I can read between the lines."

"And it makes your father so proud that you're continuing the family tradition of getting under the skin of that arrogant donkey fart."

"Mom!" I don't think I've ever heard her say a bad thing about anyone.

She just shrugs it off like it's nothing. "And Lily still calls to talk to us every week," Mom adds. " She didn't forget about us when she moved away. I bet she would have come here for Christmas if she didn't have her own family now."

"I didn't forget—no, we're not changing the subject. So you spy on me using my coworker who hates me?—"

"He doesn't hate you. He hates me," Dad says. "You just happen to be a chip off the old block who reminds him of everything he can't stand in me." The pride is obvious in his voice.

"Like that's better? So you use him and my best friend to spy on me?" They share a quick glance, trying their best to look innocent, but it makes them look even more guilty. "There's more?" I ask.

Mom hesitates for a second. "There's Kayden too. Lily gave us his number about a month ago. We might have talked a few times since then."

"And texted," Dad says.

"That boy of yours is extremely talkative. Did you know he moderates a subreddit on contemporary feminism?" Mom asks. "He insisted I join. I didn't want to at first. I always thought feminism was just a bunch of…" she waves her hand in the air. "But I've learned a lot from that group. Especially about societal expectations of women's unpaid labor. He sent me a copy of The Second Shift. It's even autographed by Arlie Hochschild!"

Dad shakes his head as Mom glares at him. This is obviously a conversation they've had before. It makes my heart swell to know that the man I love is helping my mom to finally assert herself, but I can't help wondering if these are the same parents I left in October.

"The point is, all of them said that you're doing so well in Salt Lake City, Emory. What's changed? It's not that article, is it? I told your dad to not believe it. It was obviously a bunch of bullshit, so I hope you don't believe it either."

"Mom!" I gasp, sure that this is the first time I've ever heard her curse. "And I can't believe you two have been talking to Kayden!"

"You'd better believe I talk to the man who's going to marry you," Dad booms. "I am not going to sit here and pretend to be sorry about it. Maybe I haven't always done things the right way, but you're my little girl, and I'm always going to look out for you. Now tell us why you really want to come back here."