Page 9 of Don't Let Your Mind Go There

Dad frowned. “No waitress. No flirting. This is a family vacation. There are enough girls back in Whitefish you can flirt with, son.”

I drank my orange juice and then waited for everyone to get ready. Mom made us sandwiches and filled our bottles with hot tea so we could stop and have lunch later, and around ten-thirty, we left the cabin and started our walk into the forest.

I followed the trail with Ronan while Mom and Dad kept going off it to look for mushrooms. Mom had brought a basket to carry them in case she found any, and she announced that if they had enough by the end of the day, she’d cook them for dinner.

I liked mushrooms, so I didn’t mind, but I did like the idea of another burger from the camp’s restaurant.

Dad came back to us more often as the time passed.

“Have you found any yet?” I asked, walking next to him, and letting Ronan go in front.

“A few. Not enough for the four of us.”

“Hm. What’s for dinner if we don’t find enough mushrooms?”

“I don’t know. Spaghetti, probably.”

Ronan and I both groaned.

“That’s the most boring food ever,” he whined. “How about a steak? Or another burger like last night.”

“We’re not eating dinner at the restaurant every night. I told you that already.”

“But spaghetti? Come on, Dad. You don’t want that either.”

I pursed my lips and let Ronan argue with Dad. He’d get him to change his mind eventually. He usually did, but it could take a while.

Das was done talking about food, and he left to walk between the trees and through the scrub to look further for the mushrooms.

“I’ll follow him,” I told Ronan, and he waved at me, showing me that he didn’t care.

I left the trail and picked up my pace to catch up to Dad. He didn’t turn around, but he had heard me come. “I want you to stay in your room at night.”

I frowned, confused about what he was talking. Then I remembered what I saw last night. “You saw me?”

“I didn’t need to see you, Tate. I felt your eyes pierce into my back the whole damn time.”

Crap.

Wait…

“Why didn’t you send me away if it bothered you so much?” I didn’t mean to take a hit at him, but he sure didn’t perceive it that way.

He stopped and turned to look at me, with his eyes dark, and a crease between his brows. “Because your mother would’ve seen you, and I don’t need her to be freaked out by her daughter watching her get fucked by me.”

His words made me stop in my track, and a big lump formed in my throat, keeping me from defending myself. Though, I didn’t want to defend myself. Why would I? I believed there was a different reason why he didn’t turn around and send me away. He could’ve masked it as an accident, and that I was walking by to go to the toilet, and simply caught a glimpse of them.

If he truly wanted to stop me from watching him fuck Mom, he could’ve used that as an excuse, but he didn’t.

Dad continued to walk, and I pursed my lips and crossed my arms, following him through the forest. “I don’t think it’s a good thing to lie to yourself, Dad. Denying things is never a good idea, especially when your feelings are involved.”

I was taken by surprise when he turned back around and wrapped his hand around my throat. His grip wasn’t tight, but strong enough to push me up against the closest tree.

He moved in front of me, with his right hand still cupping my throat. His other hand was above me head and against the tree, and his body was pressed against mine.

I looked up at him, unable to hide how pleased I was standing in this position.

He stared down at me, his face serious and tense. “Stop trying to manipulate me, Tate. It’s not a nice thing to do.”

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