Page 68 of Craving Francesca
We exited the elevator, and I waved to the women as I walked over to the Tahoe. The day hadn’t been as bad as it could’ve been, at least Scott had been gone the first half of the day, but after his little performance that afternoon, I was jumpy. I climbed in and locked the doors before turning on the engine.
Lou had texted me a list of groceries to pick up, and I let my hair down and ran my fingers through it as I drove to get them. I was looking forward to not having anything to do all weekend. Maybe I’d hit up some garage sales or something—though, I’d started being really careful about what I was spending, even more so than usual. If I had to quit my job without finding something new, things were going to get tight, even considering my savings.
My phone rang through the car speakers, startling me, and I grimaced when I realized who was calling.
“Hey, Dad,” I answered.
“Hey, baby girl. How you doing?”
“Not too bad. Just working hard and playing harder,” I joked. “What the hell have you been up to? I haven’t heard from you in weeks.”
“Oh, nothing too exciting,” he said with a sigh. “My hip’s been acting up again, so I haven’t been getting around all that well.”
“That sucks. Have you been to the doctor?”
“Appointment next week. I’m sure it’s nothing. Jules says that it’s probably just arthritis.”
I rolled my eyes. My father’s wife had been a vet tech for about ten minutes years ago—she wasn’t exactly a doctor.
“Well, it’s good you’re getting checked out.”
“We’re thinking of coming up for Christmas this year,” he said, abruptly changing the subject. “How’s that sound?”
“Sounds great, Dad,” I replied, infusing enough excitement into my voice that he couldn’t hear the disbelief in it. “For how long?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” he hedged. “Maybe a week or so.”
“That would be awesome.” I pulled into the little discount grocery store down the road from the office. It sat in a strip mall that was slowly but surely gentrifying. A couple of empty spaces sat between the grocery and a nice bar and grill. Next to that was a laundromat and a small tobacco store. On the furthest end was an art gallery of all things.
“Well, I’ll let you know when we’ve got the tickets booked,” he said gruffly. “You could come down here, you know.”
“I know,” I replied, parking the Tahoe. “But work just doesn’t slow down.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Hey, Dad, can I call you back? I just got to the grocery store. Lou’s waiting on me to start dinner.”
“Sure,” he said quickly. “You give the girls hugs for me.”
“Will do. Love you.”
“Love you.”
My mood was even shittier as I grabbed a bag out of the back seat and climbed out of the car. I wondered if he knew, before he even mentioned it, that he was going to cancel on me.
In the four years he’d been living in Arizona, he hadn’t been back to Oregon once. Oh, he’d madeplansto come back, calling me to block out dates so that I could spend time with him, but he never actually followed through with any of them. He wouldn’t visit on Christmas either. I would’ve bet my savings on it.
I’d long ago moved past any jealousy I had over how close Myla’s family was and how wonderful Lou’s grandparents were, but it still stung a little that I’d never had the same thing. My dad wasn’t a bad guy. He’d never been a bad guy. I knew he’d tried his best. But our conversation that day was a pretty good representation of our relationship since I was a child. We didn’t have anything to talk about. Some days, when I was young, the only thing we’d say to each other was hello and good night. He’d made sure that my needs were met, but that had been the extent of his contribution. My counselor in college had called him emotionally unavailable.
I just figured he was as deep as a mud puddle. I wasn’t even sure that he was capable of human interaction beyond what he’d given me. The fact that he’d found two women willing to put up with it and actually marry him boggled the mind.
Taking my time, I perused the grocery shelves as I found everything I needed on Lou’s list and added a few treats for myself while I was at it. If I was going to have a solid stay-at-home weekend, I may as well have some snacks to get me through. I hoped Lou wasn’t planning on some big gathering at our house. I should’ve asked about it that morning.
It was pretty standard for our core group of friends to have dinner together a few nights a week, but I wasn’t in the mood to deal with anyone else. We’d built a little family within a family, and I was comfortable with that. I didn’t feel the need to do my hair or wear something cute when Cian and Myla or Bas or Brody or Titus or Noel and the kids were there. I could just be myself without all the extra. I didn’t need to beon.
I was loading the bags into the Tahoe, debating whether or not I should just call Lou and ask her how many people were coming over, when a familiar sound made me whip around in surprise. A flat black Harley was pulling into the parking lot, and I found myself straightening and a smile tugging on my mouth when I realized who it was. I lifted my hand about halfway up and waved, but he must not have seen me across the lot because he passed right by.
Dawdling, I slowly walked the cart to the return and watched as Gray parked near the bar and grill and took off his helmet. God, he was good looking. He’d shaved his face again, and his sharp jaw and cheekbones were droolworthy. He was dressed up a little, wearing a dark flannel under his cut with a pair of clean jeans. I only had a minute to wonder what he was doing when a skinny blonde woman climbed out of a car a couple places down the row.