Page 16 of Don't Let Your Mind Go There

During breakfast, he strictly kept his eyes on his food, while Mom and Ronan continued their argument from last night.

I couldn’t listen to them anymore. It was exhausting, and they had never been this annoyed with each other, ever. At this point, they probably didn’t even remember why they were arguing.

Once I was done with my breakfast, I got up from the table and put my plate into the sink. Without saying a word, I went into the bedroom to change into the clothes I had picked out earlier.

Dad and I were going to the store in town, and I wanted to wear something I knew he would like. He always told me how pretty I looked wearing dresses, but because it was too cold for that, I decided on my best pair of jeans that I brought from home. The ones that hugged my hips and ass perfectly to show off my curves.

On top, I chose a simple, white sweater, a red scarf, and a black leather jacket.

For shoes, I chose my New Balance sneakers that were off-white from being worn too often, but clean enough to still look good with this outfit.

I left my face make-up-free, and I brushed my hair quickly, letting it fall over my shoulders and down my back without styling it. It was perfect the way it was, and I rarely had to do anything to it to make it look good.

After I was done and had checked myself in the mirror for a few minutes, I headed out of the bedroom to see if Dad was ready too. He was standing by the cabin’s front door, with his jacket on his arm, and his eyes fixed on the phone in his hand.

“Are you ready to go, Dad?” I asked.

He looked up and nodded. “Yes, I’m ready.”

“Don’t forget the broccoli!” Mom called out from the kitchen.

“I won’t! You added it to the list you sent me, darling.”

“Good. See you two later!”

I smiled at Dad, excited to spend time with him alone. “Let’s go.”

We headed outside and got into the car and drove off. The radio was on, and we didn’t talk to each other until the silence became unbearable for me.

Looking over at him, I studied him for a while, wondering what he was frowning about. “Is everything okay, Dad?”

I saw him come out of his trance and blinked a few times before he shot me a look. “Yes, everything’s fine.”

“You look upset. Is it because of Mom and Ronan arguing all the time?”

“No.”

I pursed my lips and dug deeper. “Is it because of what we did last night?”

“We didn’t do anything last night, Tate.”

Right…we’re back to denying everything.

I wasn’t going to let that slide this time. How dare he ignore his feelings for me?

I turned toward him in my seat and reached over to place my hand on his thigh. “Dad, you can talk to me. I know how you feel about me. We’ve been over this before, so I would really like to understand why you’re acting this way now.”

I kept my hand on his thigh, and I felt his body tense.

His jaw clenched, and he gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands.

He didn’t answer.

He kept his eyes on the road ahead of him.

“Daddy…” I sighed and tried to move closer, but with the seatbelt holding me back, I couldn’t. “I think you feel this way because you have to suppress your feelings for me in front of Mom and Ronan. They can’t know about us, I know that, but in situations like this one, you should take advantage of us being alone.”

He took a deep breath. I wasn’t trying to manipulate him into thinking a certain way, but how else was I supposed to make him see that we were meant to be?

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