Allie cleared her throat and blinked back tears. Trevor wasn’t a sweet man. He wasn’t a kind man. And yet…he had taken in her sisters, he was gentle with Brynn, made sure Monica had a place to stay. He could have totally taken advantage of her the day she was sloppy drunk. Instead, he took care of her. And he’d begged for forgiveness. Now he brought her car back.
She didn’t know what to think about any of this, how to process it. But right now, she needed to talk to her dad, have it out with him once and for all. He needed to start acting like a father again. Then she could think about Trevor.
“Thanks,” she said to Simmons, hopped into the Festiva, and took a minute to appreciate it. It smelled clean and fresh. She started the engine and smiled when it purred instead of clunked.
Trevor. That look he’d given her at the breakfast table—it made her ache. She wanted him too. Four days seemed like a long time without sex—even though she’d lived without for over four years. Now she craved him, like a gambler craved one last bet. But she couldn’t do anything with her sisters in the house, so moot point.
She waved at Simmons and drove home, enjoying the familiarity of her old car. When she pulled up to her house, she saw a strange Honda sitting in the driveway. She snapped off the radio. Who would drop in at seven-thirty?
Allie used her key to let herself in. At the sight of a strange woman walking from the hallway to the living room, wearing one of her dad’s T-shirts and nothing else, Allie yelped. “What the hell?”
The other woman screamed and yanked at the hem of the shirt, trying to pull it down over her hips. “Who are you?” She wore glasses and had chin-length dark hair. She was on the short side and a little heavy.
“I live here. Who are you?”
Her dad walked out of the kitchen, a spatula in his hand. His brows lifted, causing the horizontal lines along his forehead to deepen. “Allie, I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Yeah, no shit.” She looked back at the woman. This had to be Karen, the guidance counselor. “What if Brynn was with me? And why wouldn’t I be here, considering Brynn and I left you messages all night?”
His mouth opened and closed. “I forgot to charge my phone.”
“Really? Well, while you were dicking around and not checking your phone, Monica was sitting in jail.”
The color drained out of his face. “Is she all right? What happened? What did she do?”
“I’d like to speak to you in private.” She glared at Karen, her lip curling as she glanced at the woman’s bare legs. Her father had sex last night, in the house he’d shared with her mother. Allie trembled with anger.
“I’ll just go get dressed.” Karen scurried out of the room.
Once she was out of sight, Allie turned on him. “Nice, Dad. Brynn ran away from home, Monica’s in jail, and you’re shagging the guidance counselor.”
He pointed the spatula at her. “I told you not to use that tone with me. Now, come in the kitchen and tell me what happened. I need to flip a pancake.”
She couldn’t remember the last time he’d made himself a meal and he was cooking pancakes for Karen? She tossed her purse down on the sofa and stalked to the kitchen. She glanced around. The place was a mess—spilled pancake batter congealed on the counter, newspapers and mail littered the table, and three trash bags stood next to the back door. Well, forget it. She wasn’t picking up after him this time. Let Karen do it.
He flipped a pancake, then faced her. “What happened with Monica?”
“She was arrested for pot possession and underage drinking. Trevor bailed her out and she spent the night at his place.”
He rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand. “Shit. This boy she’s dating is trouble.”
Allie gasped. “No, you don’t say.”
“I get it, Al, you’re upset.”
“Let’s get one thing straight. I’m not upset, I’m pissed.” She tried to control herself, but her breaths were spastic and her chest felt tight. “You’ve spent the last six months so depressed you could hardly get out of bed in the morning. I’ve been doing everything around here, the cooking, cleaning, shopping, taking care of the girls.” Not to mention keeping them from losing their house and trading out medical bills on her back. Okay, so sex with Trevor wasn’t exactly a chore, but she had traded herself for her family. And it was humiliating. “And now that you’ve replaced Mom, you still don’t give a shit about Monica or Brynn.”
“That’s not true, Allie. I do care, and I could never replace your mother. Never.”
“May I say something?” Karen stood in the doorway, dressed in a skirt and blouse, her glasses gone, her hair combed.
“No,” Allie all but snarled at her.
“Yes,” her dad said.
Karen stepped into the room. “It’s very normal to feel anger when a parent moves on.”
Seriously, a lecture about feelings? This strange woman stood her ass in Mom’s kitchen, then had the nerve to talk about moving on?
Allie stared at the rooster clock and fought for calm. She pressed her shoulders down and took a deep breath, held it for a couple of seconds, then turned back to the woman. “Karen, if you don’t mind, I’d like a private conversation with my father?”
“She can say what she likes. This concerns her too.” Her dad suddenly looked down at the burning pancake. “Shit.” He grabbed the pan, tossed it into the sink, then reached over and flipped the stove switch.
“It doesn’t concern her, it concerns the family.”
“Allie’s right, Brian.” She walked toward him and kissed his cheek. “Call me later.” She smiled at Allie. “It was nice meeting you.”
Allie remained silent until she heard the front door close. “You are unbelievable. You’ve known this woman a week and suddenly she gets to pop off about our family? What are you going to do about Monica? And Brynn? Or are you too busy sexing up your girlfriend to worry about them?”
Ignoring the dig, he leaned against the counter and folded his arms. “What do you want me to do about Monica? What can I do? And I was going to call you about Brynn today. It’s time she came home.”
Allie shook her head. “Forget it. She’s not coming back if you’re letting that woman sleep here.”
His expression closed down. “I’ll do what I like in my house, Allison. And Brynn is my daughter. First, you want me to act like a father, then you veto my decisions. And you’re right, it’s past time I started pulling my head out of my ass. Brynn comes home today.”
“That’s before I knew you were having sex with Karen. Can’t you see how messed up that is?”
“This won’t happen when Brynn’s here. I want her home by tonight. She has school tomorrow.”
“But—”
“It’s not open for discussion.” He gave her his back and hit the taps, filling the sink with water.
Allie felt like she’d been sucker punched. She had done everything she could for him, for their family. And now he was dismissing her.
She watched his tense movements for a moment as he scrubbed at the pan. When he refused to look at her again, she left.
***
Trevor stood at the window, staring out at the garden. He had more than enough work to keep him occupied, but he couldn’t maintain his concentration this morning. What did she think of the car? Was she pleased? He didn’t know why she would be, it was a piece of rubbish, and no matter much paint they applied, it was still an eyesore.
Allie knocked on the door and leaned into the room. “Sorry to bother you again.”
He turned to her and smiled. “No bother.” She looked worried. She always did after a go-round with her family. They put too much on her, expected more than they should. Her father seemed something of a cockup since Allie’s mother died, and it all fell on her slender shoulders. “Want to take a walk?”
He held out his hand. As she moved forward, he watched the slight sway of her hips, her pretty, long legs. Even her sandal-clad feet were lovely, the tips painted pale pink to match her dress. He obviously needed to get laid. Badly.