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“I don’t want to hear any more lies or excuses for the inexcusable. I just want to meet my dad, get to know my sisters, and be a part of a family who doesn’t expect me to be anything but me. For once, I’m going to do what I want to do.” Summer eyed her mom. “I think it’s time I took a page from your book and left all my responsibilities behind for an adventure of my own.”
Summer walked to the door Cody held open for her without looking back, making Charles so damn proud that she’d taken the reins of her life.
Chapter Five
Summer heard her mother’s outburst through the thick door at her back and didn’t even consider stepping back into that mess. She stopped at her desk and stared at all the work there. A whirlwind of emotions swamped her.
“You can’t just walk out of here, can you?” Cody took a seat in front of her desk. “Go on. Take some time to do what you have to do to leave without feeling like you’re putting your grandfather in a bind. Even if he deserves it.” Anger filled Cody’s blue eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
He shrugged. “Don’t apologize. I get it. I was in the middle of a contract negotiation when Nate sent me here. I had to hand it off, and all I can think about is whether my replacement will get the concessions we want.” He pulled out his phone, probably desperate for information from his office.
“I’m sorry you had to come here and miss it.”
“I’m not,” he assured her. “Nate protected and looked out for me, nearly my whole life. When he asks, whatever he asks, I’m there for him, the way he’s always been there for me.”
A burst of jealousy joined all the other emotions swirling inside her. “It must be nice to have someone in your life like that.”
Cody frowned. “Based on what I witnessed today, no one truly has your back.”
She shrugged. “My grandfather has always been there for me. But he’s... complicated. He treats my mother one way, me another.”
“And it makes you angry that he expects your best and cleans up when your mom is her worst.”
“That’s just it, he can’t make right what my mother has done to me. But he was a better version of himself for me than he was for her. I saw that growing up. I see it now.”
“Why go through all this trouble to get you and your dad together and not just simply tell you where he was and that he didn’t know about you?”
Her mother’s voice grew even louder.
Cody shook his head. “Right. To avoid that scene.”
“He has another meeting in thirteen minutes. I need to hurry and get out of here before he kicks her out of there.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ve got two hundred and nine new emails to read.”
She checked her inbox. “Is that all? I’ve got three hundred and thirty-six, just from the time we met.”
He shrugged one shoulder. “The demands of the job.”
She liked that he understood her position here and that she was more than just an assistant. Still, she offered what she’d offer anyone visiting the office. “Can I get you a cup of coffee or something?”
“No, thank you. I’d like to get out of here as much as you do and as quickly as possible before your mother tries to tell you again why you shouldn’t leave with me.”
“Don’t take it personally. She’s just afraid I’ll like my father more than I like her.”
“Do you like her at all?” The question seemed genuine and not meant to hurt her feelings or disparage her mother.
“She’s my mom. She has her moments. It’s in-between those moments that make it hard to like her sometimes. I have to remind myself that she doesn’t mean to hurt me. What she does isn’t done out of malice, but unconscious selfishness. What she wants to do, she does without thought to consequences, because everything, in her mind, can be fixed.”
“You can’t fix a broken heart. You can’t fix missing twenty-five years with your father.”
“No, you can’t. But I can choose to stay angry and tarnish this chance I have to get to know him with it, or I can let it go and meet my father with an open heart and mind and see where that takes us.”
“I’ll give your mother credit for one thing. She gave you a lot of practice at forgiveness.”
Summer laughed under her breath. “I guess she did.”
