Page 15 of A Touch Charmed

The whole time I was running over the things I’d done in the last year, trying to find a justifiable reason for why I’d gotten fired, my father had been responsible. I gave everything I had to that job. Admittedly, because it was all that I had, but still. I thought it had been my fault.

I huffed out a bitter laugh. God, I was such an idiot. Of course, my father was involved. Why was I even surprised? He had controlled every aspect of my life from birth. The only thing he hadn’t been able to control was Finn, and it still ate away at him to this day.

This went beyond his usual machinations though. Between ruining my career and what he pulled at the town hall meeting, he had veered dangerously into purposeful cruelty. And for what? What did bringing me back here gain him?

One way or another, I was going to find out.

I had dinner with my parents a few times a week. Not because they enjoyed my company or wanted to hear about my day. It was more like a business meeting.

Tonight, I pushed my food around while my father flipped through some final paperwork on the festival. My mother moved her plate in front of the rose centerpiece and took yet another photo of it. Dinner had been served twenty minutes ago and she hadn’t even started eating yet. Not until she had the right shot for Instagram. She hadn’t said one word to me. Not even a hello when I took a seat at the table.

This might as well have been my last night in Zodiac Cove seven years ago. When I stood up and walked out of the dining room and no one bothered to ask me why I was leaving or where I was going. Nothing had changed since.

Except this time I was fully done with my father’s shit.

“Everything should be finalized for the festival tomorrow.” I clasped my hands in my lap, my back straight and tense. The portrait of the perfect mayor’s daughter. When my father didn’t so much as grunt a response, I decided it was past time for me to get his attention. “Everyone is talking about what a great job Finn did on the booths and stages. We should probably offer him more money now, so we can secure him for next year.”

The clatter of his fork and knife hitting his plate scraped against my eardrums. It had been so quiet in here, any sound at all felt like a cannon going off. “I was actually thinking about hiring Newcomb for next year.”

I folded my arms in front of me and leaned forward. “Wes Latham would never allow it.”

His eyes widened as if he couldn’t believe I’d attempted to challenge him. “The Lathams don’t run everything. The festivals fall under my jurisdiction as mayor.”

“I thought I was the events coordinator. So technically, it’s my jurisdiction.”

His face turned red and he threw his napkin on the table. “Aren’t you tired of letting Finn Wilder make a fool out of you? You saw how people reacted at the town hall meeting.”

“That was your fault.”

He narrowed his eyes. “What did you say to me?”

I was so tired of biting my tongue. Losing my job had been a blow, but it never should’ve knocked me out. My father had been steamrolling me because I let myself believe I was out of options. Damn it. I was an Aries. I should’ve been a fighter. What the hell happened to me? How had I given up on myself so easily?

I pushed back from the table. “Finn is staying on as the contractor for the festival.”

“No, he’s not.” A vein popped out of my father’s temple. “I brought you on as an events coordinator to give you something to do because you lost your fancy PR job in Boston. That doesn’t give you any power, so get that idea out of your head right now.”

“I only lost my job because you own the company.” My throat burned. “What kind of monster does something like that to their own daughter?”

My mother, who rarely paid attention to anything outside her social media presence, looked up from her phone. Her lips pinched tight enough to turn white. Fear widened her eyes as her gaze swiveled between the twitch in my father’s right eye and the way his hands shook from the struggle of getting his temper under control.

None of this felt good, even if it needed to be said. Growing up, I defied my father in quiet ways, disappointed him in unintentional ways, but at the root of it all, I’d always wanted him to care. It hurt to understand that he never had and never would.

I used to think the only things he wanted from me were obedience and silence. He had no use for anything else. But the truth was, if he couldn’t use me, he didn’t want me. And didn’t want anyone else to want me either.

His handlebar mustache twitched. “I gave you opportunities you never would’ve gotten on your own. You’re lucky you kept your job for as long as you did. I gave you a second chance with the events coordinator position. The least you can do is show some gratitude.”

I didn’t have to do this. I wasn’t a child anymore. “Fuck your gratitude. I quit.”

“You’re being irrational.” He picked up his napkin and carefully folded it, wearing his level-headedness like an oily second skin. “If you quit, I’ll freeze your savings account. You’ll have nowhere to go.”

“Warren.” My mother glanced between us. “You can’t.”

The shock of her actually speaking up for me for once froze me to my seat.

“I’ve done what I said I’d do for years, despite you not doing the same.” My father looked down his nose at my mother. “Either she gets in line or she’s out.”

“I’d hate to be the cause of problems in your oh-so-happy marriage, so I’ll just make the decision for you. I’m out.” I stood. With clenched fists, I stormed away from the dining room.

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