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RILEY

“Are you out of your mind ?” I stormed into my dad’s house and threw my purse and keys down on the end table. His patrol car was out front, so I knew he was home.

After Cody left me and Nana, I’d stayed to have dinner with her while we both grumbled about how much of an asshat Dad was. Asshat was her word. Where she learned it, I had no idea.

“You were over at Cody’s Saloon, hassling his customers?”

He came out of the kitchen, beer in hand, and folded his arms across his chest. “It was perfectly within my rights,” he said evenly. “I heard my nineteen-year-old daughter was frequenting the place.”

“Sipping ginger ale , dad–and that’s beside the point! I’m not the one–”

A vein in his temple pulsed. “No, it is exactly the point. You are twenty years younger than Cody McIntire and completely out of your depth.” He uncrossed his arms and came toward me, his face softening. “Honey, I’m sure it feels exciting to have an older man interested in you, but–”

“But, nothing.” Two could play at the interruption game. And it was my turn to cross my arms. “You don’t get a say in this. I’m a grown woman. I make my own decisions.”

He shook his head. “Not when I’m paying your college tuition. Plus, I’ll find a renter for Nana’s place. One who actually pays rent. ”

My mouth fell open. He hated the idea of me and Cody that much?

“Then I’ll drop out of college!” I threw it back in his face. “And I’ll move in with Cody.”

Yep, I was just pouring gasoline on the fire now. But this situation had been going on for far too long. I was still a virgin for several reasons. One was how he’d harassed every guy who ever tried to date me, and now that he was up against one he couldn’t intimidate with his sheriff’s badge, he was taking things way too far.

He put his hand out in a placating gesture. “Riley, just settle down.”

“Settle down? Settle down? ”

He forged on even though I wasn’t settling down at all. I was like a kettle ready to boil. “You don’t know Cody like I do,” he said. “Do you realize I went to high school with the guy?”

I was shaking all over from the confrontation, and I didn’t like the sensation of misgiving my dad’s words were giving me. Still, I lifted my chin. “So?”

“So, first of all, the guy is a player. He’s been with more women than there are wildflowers in Montana.”

I felt my eyebrow start to tic. I ignored it and gave a jerky shrug of my shoulders. “You led with that this morning. And that was before me,” I said although I didn’t believe the words as much as I wanted to. I didn’t think he was a cheater, but we hadn’t been… together long enough for him to move on to tire of me. Plus, he hadn’t gotten what every guy wanted. Sex.

But Cody said he was serious about me. Showed up at Nana’s. Brought flowers. Said I was his mate. So I believed it–that he–was different with me.

But what if it wasn’t? What if…

I mentally shook my head. No, I couldn’t go there. Couldn’t let on that my dad’s words may have hit a sore spot. Again.

Dad looked at me with sympathy, and he softened his voice. “You really believe that, hon? What would he want with a girl the same age as his son?”

I couldn’t tell my dad about the mate thing, that Cody couldn’t help himself when it came to me. I sort of felt like it would resolve a lot of his objections, but I’d promised I’d keep Cody’s and Tyler’s secret.

“Sometimes, you just know with someone,” I attempted, as an explanation. “It feels right. Like destiny.”

My dad rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I thought it was destiny with your mom, too. Look where that got me.”

His words hit me like a punch to the gut. It was true Mom had fooled around with a lot of men. She was the type of woman who craved attention and had to seek it everywhere. Not just with one guy but with all the guys. Guys that took her away from Cooper Valley.

Dad didn’t want me to be like him. Ditched.

I cradled my waist. “He’s not like Mom,” I said, but my voice had lost its power.

“Honey.” My dad stepped closer and tried to hold my shoulders .

I sidestepped away from him, trying to gather some of my previous rage. He was wrong about Cody.

I knew he was. I didn’t have the mating thing inside of me, but I felt a connection to Cody. Something special.

“Cody isn’t the kind of guy I want for you, Riley Roo. He’s not a family guy.”

I spread my hands. “He literally is, Dad. He has a son.” Even I winced thinking about that son who was the same age as me, not a preschooler where I worked.

Yipes. Would I be Tyler’s stepmom if this worked out? That was so weird.

“He had a son twenty years ago. You think he’s looking to start all over with you? Did he tell you he wanted more kids?”

A stone settled in the pit of my stomach. I hadn’t thought about that. Shit. I couldn’t imagine Cody wanting to start over with a baby again. He’d gotten rid of a crib right around the same time Dad ditched mine.

I didn’t want to admit my dad might be right about that part. But I could talk to Cody about it, see what he thought. Kids were something I always wanted. It wasn’t like I felt my biological clock ticking or anything, but it was something for later. Either way, it wasn’t my dad’s business .

I mustered as much anger as I could. “I appreciate that you have opinions, but bottom line–you don’t get to choose for me.” I made my voice firm and my gaze hard. “Leave Cody and his business alone. Until you can get on board with the idea of the two of us together, leave me alone, too!”

I picked up my purse and keys and marched back out his door, slamming it hard behind me.

Damn my dad and his overprotective bullshit.

And damn him for making me feel a bit queasy about this thing with Cody. How dare he put doubts in my head! He was sabotaging us without having to check anyone’s ID.

I blinked back tears as I got behind the wheel of my car. I suddenly felt lost–trapped between the man who had been my entire world and the one who made me feel like I was his entire world.

I swiped at my tears with the back of my hand and dialed Cody’s number.

“Riley?” He sounded concerned, as if he already knew I was a mess. “You talk to your dad?”

“Yeah.”

“How did things go?”

“Not good.” I sniffed.

“I’ll meet you at your place in ten minutes.”

“What?”

“You heard me. You need me. I’m there.”