Page 59 of When Cardinals Appear

He opened his mouth, probably to respond with some sarcastic retort, but I was saved by the server. She took our orders, though I had to admit, the idea of eating right then made me nauseated. I resisted the urge to glare when he ordered steak and potatoes. His doctor had given him strict orders to avoid red meat because his cholesterol was so high, but we had enough battles ahead of us without adding his health to the list.

“Have you given any more thought to the position at the middle school here?”

I blanched. “How did you know about that?”

“Steven told me. Apparently, Nate told him about it when he came by to help move the furniture.” My father raised his eyebrows. “Are you going to answer my question?”

Buying time, I took a sip of water. My best bet was to tell him a half-truth. He wasn’t the most social of people, and I doubted he would find out about the offer before I told him. However, I knew he’d probably already heard that I’d interviewed.

“I applied for the position.”

“Good,” he said, leaning back in his seat with a satisfied smile. “What are you going to tell them when they offer it to you?”

“First, we don’t know if they will offer it to me. And second, I have that job in California that I’ve already accepted—”

“I’m sure if you explain the situation, they’ll understand,” he interrupted. “Besides, you don’t even start until the summer. If you tell that other school you’ve found a job here, that will give them plenty of time to replace you.”

“Dad, we’ve been over this.” It didn’t matter that I’d recently begun to second-guess my decision to go to California or that I’d broken up with James. If I decided to stay in Cedar Haven, it had to be because it was my choice, not because I’d been bullied into it by my father.

He leaned forward, his thick, dark eyebrows pulling down over his brown eyes. A fire burned in his eyes, and I knew he was working to keep his infamous temper in check.

I stared back at him, rising to the challenge and not blinking. A moment later, he surprised me by lowering his gaze and taking a long drink from his water.

“Heard James came to see you,” he said, his voice nonchalant.

I kept my face neutral. “And?”

“Well, as he’s not with you, I assume he left in a hurry.”

He was trying to rattle me, but I refused to let him see how much he’d succeeded. If he knew James and I broke up, he would use it to further his goal of convincing me to stay, and I couldn’t allow him that power.

“He’s in DC on business.” I shrugged but didn’t meet his eye. “He had to return to the city, and he’s flying back to LA today.”

Our food arrived, and I forced myself to focus on my salad, even though my small appetite vanished as soon as he mentioned James. He harrumphed a thank-you to the server as she set down his plate.

“So, things are still good between you?”

I sighed and set my fork down, finally raising my eyes to his. “Why? Have you heard something different?” Better to ferret out what he knew to avoid being caught in a lie.

“Just that you and Nate seemed to be having a moment in the parking lot before James showed up.”

If I still needed a reason to go to California, that was it. In LA, I’d be just another face in the crowd. Small towns were the bane of my existence.

But from the pieces of information he was giving me, I guessed that someone had seen Nate, James, and me in the parking lot. For the first time since that night, I was grateful to have left with James. Our breakup happened in private, and it gave me plausible deniability in that moment, when I needed it most.

“It was a misunderstanding.” I forced a smile. “James came back with me to the house, and we talked. Everything’s fine.”

His eyes widened for a second before he recovered. “Is that so?”

“Of course,” I lied.

“I don’t believe you,” he said, his voice deceptively calm.

“What does that mean?” My carefully crafted cool demeanor cracked.

“I’ve seen the way you and Nate are together. Steven’s seen it. For goodness’ sake, the whole town witnessed the love song you sang him the other night!” He pointed at me. “You’re still in love with him, and James found out.”

I snorted. “You need better sources for spies.”

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