Page 112 of Hideaway Heart

“Some.” I tested the waters. “I might walk away.”

He looked offended. “Why would you do that?”

“Because I want to make music that means something to me. And I’m tired of not having a say in that.”

“But they’ve been good to you. Duke thinks you’d be crazy to—”

“I don’t really care what Duke thinks,” I said firmly.

He rubbed a hand over his jaw. “I just think you ought to listen to him. He cares about you.”

“I doubt it.”

“You two have history,” he said pointedly. “And history matters.”

“Yes, history matters. And he wasn’t good to me, Daddy.” I met his eyes. “No matter what he says now, he wasn’t good to me then. He hurt me.”

Anger flashed in my father’s eyes. His spine straightened. “He hurt you?”

“Not with his fists. It wasn’t physical.”

“Oh.” As if my emotional pain was just a trifle, he relaxed again. “All relationships have ups and downs.”

“He wasn’t faithful to me.”

“But he still loves you. I know he does.”

“That’s not enough, Daddy.” My chest was so tight, I could barely breathe. “It’s not enough to just love someone. You have toshowthem you mean it. You have to stay.”

His jaw ticked. “Some people just aren’t meant for it. So you take what you can get when you can get it.”

I knew his warped philosophy on love stemmed from his own upbringing, and I nearly backed down. But then I remembered what I’d said to Xander in the car the night we’d danced at The Broken Spoke. The words I’d practiced.

“That’s not the kind of love I want, Daddy. It’s not good enough.”

“Is that why you won’t give me the loan? Because I wasn’t a good enough father?”

“It’s more complicated than that.”

“Nobody’s perfect, Kelly Jo,” he argued, like I’d known he would. “That’s your problem. You expect perfection. You can’t handle it when the people who love you are flawed.”

“Yes, I can, Daddy. I can accept your flaws. And I love you, I honestly do.” I stood up. “But I deserve better.”

Leaving him there, I walked into the house. My legs trembled, my chest ached, and my eyes were filled with tears.

But I’d done it.

What the fuck was thisday?

* * *

I went straight to the gym in my basement, where I found Xander doing pushups on the mat like his life depended on it. When he saw me, he popped to his feet, his expression concerned. “Hey. You okay?”

I threw my arms around him. “I’m okay,” I said breathlessly. “I had the chance to say the words to my dad, and I said them. I said them!”

“Holy shit. Did you really?” He held me a little tighter. “Your entire body is shaking.”

“I know.” I peeled myself off him and hitched up my towel. “But I did it.”