Page 10 of Doctor Grump

“And who the fuck do you think you are to make that decision?” I demanded. “You don’t know her. The first question you should have asked was who her guardian was. Heck, you should have called me immediately the minute you knew something was wrong.”

“Wait, how the heck was I supposed to do that when I barely know you, much less know she’s your daughter?” she bit back, and I saw a hint of temper in her eyes. Good. I was itching for a fight, too, a dirty one. “I’m not even sure what’s going on right now.”

“Well then, in that case, maybe you should have minded your own business,” I scoffed.

“If I had minded my own business, your daughter would have been halfway to Timbuktu by now. Or leveled out by a Mercedes, which, by the way, almost knocked her down whenIfound her.”

“Yeah, Dad,” Kendy piped up. “You’re being kind of an asshole right now.”

I turned to her with a scowl. “Language.”

“You use words like that all the time. Why can’t I?”

“Because you’re the child, Kendy, and I’m the parent, and I damn well decide who can say what!”

“You’re not the boss of me!”

“Oh yes, I am. I’m also the one who takes care of you, and I’m tired of you doing everything humanly possible to make my job so much harder than it needs to be.”

“Okay, enough, the both of you.” Piper held up her hand at that point and, to my surprise, turned to Kendy.

“Sweetie, your father is right,” she said. “You’re too young to be using language like that. It’s vulgar, and it shows a lack of vocabulary. Only dumb people resort to that. And you’re not dumb, are you?”

Kendy thought about it and shook her head but pouted. “But Dad says it all the time.”

“That’s because your dad lacks manners.” Piper gave me a tight smile before turning back to my daughter. “But you don’t want to be as tacky as he is. Trust me.”

Kendy nodded, and it only made me more irritated.

Then, Piper straightened and turned to me with a triumphant smile. “See? Was that so—”

“Kendy, get in the car,” I said without taking my eyes off Piper. I heard my daughter hesitate before she gave a resigned sigh and began walking to the car. I kept her in my line of sight, though, making sure I saw her enter the vehicle. If she ran off, I would also see it.“Look, I don’t know who you think you are,” I continued. “Or if you think that by stalking me and injecting yourself into every aspect of my life, I’ll somehow fall in love with you, in which case, you’re sadly mistaken. And you can ask the tens of women in this damn town who have tried the exact same thing.”

Her eyes widened, and she was clearly offended by what I said. “Now, wait a minute—”

“I’m not done, so listen closely. I don’t have any intention of being your friend or whatever the hell else you have been riding my ass for. I don’t give a damn who your family is, I don’t know you, and I don’t want to. So, from now on, if you see me in public, I want you to walk the other way. I don’t want you to ever talk to me again unless you absolutely have to. Understood?”

Hurt flashed through her face, and I almost felt a little guilty, but then I remembered what she had said to my daughter, so I remained firm. Just because she came from a family of hotshots didn’t mean she could interfere with my life however she pleased.

As the words sunk in, Piper’s face became a tight, angry mask, and her mouth opened, but no words came out. Then, she gave me a stoic nod.

That was the only answer I needed. I walked away.

“That was kinda mean of you, Dad,” Kendy said when I got in the car, making it clear she had heard at least some of the conversation.

“I don’t want to hear it,” I said firmly. “Not to mention how much trouble you’re in for that little stunt you pulled. Do you have any idea what could have happened to you, young lady? And what’s this about you almost getting run over by a car?”

Kendy shuffled in her seat. “It was just a little blunder. I wasn’t watching where I was going. But Piper saved me, so it was all good.”

“She saved you?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

“Yeah. She kinda ran over and yanked me out of the way. It was pretty cool of her.” Kendy looked thoughtful. “And I didn’t even get to say thank you.”

Shit. Now I felt extra guilty about the way I had spoken to her. At the time, I had been blinded by concern for my daughter and indignation at what Piper was insinuating. And while I still thought the woman needed to stay away from me, maybe I could have gotten the message across in a ‘nicer’ way.

So, what, did I apologize to her now?Damn it. Choosing instead to focus on my daughter, I decided I could figure that out later.

“And what was your plan when you got to New York?” I asked. “You don’t even know where your mom is. Do you even know how to get to New York?”

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