Page 132 of Mountain Daddy
Kendra Abbott
My mouth pulls into a frown.
It looks so dumb. The signature is three times longer than the message.
Whatever. Too late now.
I drop the pen back in the tin and carry the card to my office, where I keep my purse.
Taking a hundred dollars out of my wallet, I figure the cash will make up for the lackluster card.
I lick the envelope and seal the card and cash inside.
I groan again when I look at the blank envelope.
Gritting my teeth, I go back to my room, find the pen, and writeAshleyon the front of the envelope.
Why does this also look dumb?
I drop the pen, again, and with stress filling every inch of my body, I head back to the kitchen.
“Did I spell her name right?” I hold the envelope up.
Dad looks at it, looks at the envelope in his hand, and shrugs. “That’s how I spelled it.”
I press a palm to my forehead. “Dad.”
“What?” He lifts his hands. “Rocky talks about her all the time, but he doesn’t spell her name when he says it.”
I groan. “If this is wrong…”
Dad shrugs again. “The cash still spends the same.”
I let my cheeks puff out with my exhale. “True. Alright, let’s go.”
Dad eyes me as he opens the door leading into the garage. “You okay?”
I follow him, keeping my gaze firmly away from the laundry room. “I’m good.”
He stops next to his truck, not getting in. “You sure? Because you’re acting stressed out.”
Cool. Glad that’s translating.
“I’m fine. I just…”
I’m stressed because I’ve been sleeping with your best friend behind your back.
Today I’m meeting his daughter, who is only six years younger than me, and I have this bone-deep need for her to like me.
I’m terrified that she won’t like me and that Luther will call this all off.
Instead of that, I go with a partial truth, knowing Dad won’t drop it until I give him an answer. “I want Ashley to like me. You and Luther are such good friends, it… it would be awkward if we didn’t get along.”
Dad sets his hand on my shoulder. “Of course you’ll get along. You get along with everyone.” He smiles and drops his hand. “And if Ashley doesn’t like you, we’ll fight them.”
A laugh pops out of me. “Them?”
He nods. “Yeah. Father versus daughter.”
