Page 33 of Ace of Spades
“Why don’t we take this conversation upstairs,” my dad suggests, rising from his seat and placing his napkin on the table. I keep my head down as the three of them make their way upstairs, leaving me along with my mother.
“Sweetheart—” Mom begins, but I push from my seat and leave the room before she can reprimand me, or coddle me, or do whatever it is she plans on doing. She didn’t follow as I made my way out to the guesthouse and threw myself on my bed, Gypsy coming to offer me kisses as I let tears of frustration roll down my face.
I felt caught in the middle—between my family, and the friends I had grown fond of. They didn’t deserve any of this. Worst of all, I had no idea what was the right thing to do. Did I warn them? Did I try to talk my dad out of it? Did I sit back and let it all play out? I wasn’t on speaking terms with Weston, and I wasn’t very close with Beau, but I could tell either Chance or Rafe.
I took a shower to clear my head, settling in bed with a book for the night. It wasn't until the next morning that my dad came to find me as I was doing my morning feeding for the horses.
“Hey sweetheart, can we talk?”
“About what,” I play dumb, moving past him to grab a bucket of grain as Gypsy runs up to greet him.
“Hailey, I’m sorry about last night,” he admits.
“Sorry for what? For essentially telling me to shut up? Or for stealing my friends’ business idea? Or for stepping all over the small towns in the area and making us one of the most hated families in the area?”
“Enough with the attitude, Hailey. This is business we’re talking about, which you know nothing about.”
“Oh yeah?” I dump the bucket of grain into Casino’s feeding trough, turning to face my dad. “Then please, explain it to me. Explain to me how it’s good business to essentially step all over everybody else to get what you want. To fuck everyone over just for another dollar in your pocket.”
“I’m not stepping over anybody,” he argues.
“But you are!” I yell, getting fed up with all of his deceptions. “Everything you’re doing in Cedar Creek is making life harder for everybody who currently lives there. People are losing their businesses, cost of living is going up, it sounds like it’s all just going downhill over there for the locals.”
“Making Cedar Creek the newest tourist destination will only help the locals. It will bring in some much-needed business. Besides, the plans are already drawn up, Hails. Scott and I are finalizing everything in the next few days. I didn’t want to bring this up last night because of how we left things at dinner, but I figured you should know that Scott is going to formally ask you and Bradley to be the faces of the new venture. You’re a young, good-looking couple, and would make great spokespeople for the brand.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I spit, completely dumbfounded. “Not a chance, Dad. Not only because Brad is a trash human being, but because I don’t stand by any of this.”
“Then what do you suggest I do, then? Huh? What’s your bright idea?”
“I don’t know, dad! For starters—why do you insist on bringing in all of these chain businesses? Don’t the mom-and-pop places add to the small-town charm that you’re advertising?”
“Because I have to keep the investors happy, Hailey—that’s how we’re able to make all of this happen. I can’t help that a lot of the family-owned businesses around here are bleeding money, I’m just trying to step in and help in any way that I can.”
“But you’re not helping, Dad. You’re making everything worse for them.”
“Listen, Hailey—as much as I admire the passion, why don’t you let me worry about these things, and you just focus on rodeo. Keep in mind that it’s my money from these business ventures that make it possible for you to do so. So how about you just say thank you and let it go, and stop being so ungrateful for everything I’ve done for you”
He turns to walk away, but I call after him.
“When was the last time you came to watch me compete?” I ask.
He turns to face me.
“What are you getting at, Hailey?”
“When?” I ask.
“I don’t—I don’t know,” he admits.
“Do you know my horses’ names?”
“Of course I do, I bought them.”
“Not their registered names, Dad. Not the names on their papers, the names that I gave them. What do I call them?”
He looks over at my horses in their stalls. I feel my heart sinking to the ground as he sticks his hands in the pockets of his trousers, looking down at his shoes in defeat. I didn’t think it would hurt this much, finally admitting the truth to myself after all of this time.
“I don’t want your money anymore, Dad,” I whisper, fighting to keep the tears at bay. “You can have your house back, the one you bought for me. I don’t want to stay here under your roof anymore, not when I know where that money came from. It’s not worth it to me when all I can think about are all of the people struggling because of you.”
