Page 50 of Bossy Mountain Daddies
Skye stands now, my shirt wrapped securely around her waist. "No. I didn't even know Griff existed until my car broke down here. I had no idea he was your father."
"Right," Daniel says, skepticism dripping from the word. "What a convenient coincidence."
"Itisa coincidence," I insist. "A weird, uncomfortable one, but a coincidence nonetheless. Now why don't we all go inside and talk about whatever brought you here?"
Daniel takes a step back, shaking his head. "I'm not going anywhere with either of you. This whole thing is disgusting."
I see Skye flinch at the word, and something protective rises in me. Whatever happened between her and my son is their business, but I won't let him make her feel ashamed for what’s going on between us.
"Son," I try again, softening my voice. "Please. It's been years. Whatever you came here for, we can figure it out. But you need to calm down first."
For a split second, I see something vulnerable flicker across his face—a glimpse of the boy I used to take fishing, who wouldcurl against my side during thunderstorms. Then it's gone, replaced by a hard mask of adult resentment.
"I can't believe this," he says, more to himself than to us. "Of all the women in the world, you had to go after her?"
"He didn't go after me," Skye says quietly. "And I didn't go after him. It just... happened."
Daniel's laugh is cold. "Sure… it just happened."
I take a step toward him. "Daniel?—"
"Don't," he cuts me off. "Just don't. I can’t talk to you right now." He backs away further, his eyes never leaving us.
With that, he turns and stalks around the side of the house. A moment later, I hear a car door slam and an engine roar to life.
Skye and I stand in stunned silence. She quickly begins to put the rest of her clothes on.
I'm about to reach for her when I hear the car door slam again. Footsteps crunch on gravel, then Daniel reappears around the corner of the house, his face flushed with anger. Whatever momentary retreat he'd planned has clearly been abandoned in favor of continuing this confrontation. I instinctively step closer to Skye.
"You know what? No. We're going to talk about this now," Daniel spits out, striding toward us. His finger jabs the air in Skye's direction. "You skipped out and left me to pay the rent. Three thousand dollars, Skye. Three thousand fucking dollars I had to cover because you decided to run away."
Skye's jaw drops and I can see the fight come back into her eyes. "Are you serious right now? You cheated on me with my boss. In our bed!"
"That doesn't mean you get to just leave without paying your share of the rent," Daniel counters. "We have a lease agreement."
"You should have thought about that first before you fucked Alicia!" Skye's voice rises.
Daniel scoffs. "That’s got nothing to do with you paying the rent."
"You're seriously going to stand there and act like I owe you something?" Skye steps forward, her hands clenching into fists. "After what you did?"
"I wouldn't have cheated if you hadn't made my life a living hell," Daniel snaps, his face reddening. "Always working late, always too tired, always with your nose in some stupid book instead of paying attention to me."
I feel my fists clench at my sides. The urge to defend her is overwhelming, but I force myself to stay quiet. This is between them.
Skye laughs in disbelief. "So it's my fault? Classic Daniel. Nothing's ever your responsibility."
"You pushed me away!" Daniel's voice rises. "What was I supposed to do?"
"Oh, I don't know," Skye says, sarcasm dripping from every word, "maybe talk to me? Or break up with me? Instead of fucking my boss in our bed?"
I feel anger invading my chest at the picture she's painting. My son—the boy I raised to respect women, to be honest—did this to her?
"You know what?" Daniel runs his hands through his hair, his face flushed with anger. "I don't give a shit anymore about what happened between us. But Alicia is moving in next week, and I need your stuff out of the apartment."
Skye stares at him, mouth open.
"And if you don't come get your shit by Friday, I'm throwing everything on the street. All those precious books of yours? Gone."
