“I understand,” Kate told her. And she did. “It shouldn’t be like this. You shouldn’t have to choose.”
“No, I shouldn’t. Neither should you, but I’m afraid it’s going to come down to that—sooner rather than later.”
Hearing Karyn put voice to the fears already plaguing her mind made them all that more real.
“What makes you say that?”
“Because I recognize the signs. You forget, I’ve been where you are, Kate. I was once the one they looked to be the good, dutiful daughter. Then, I left, and they laid their hopes and dreams on you. Now, you’re rebelling, and it’s making them look bad.”
“How am I making them look bad?”
“You insist on ‘carrying on with the riffraff’ instead of settling down and marrying a ‘fine, upstanding young man like Luther.’ Those are direct quotes, by the way.”
“Luther is stealing from our family business!”
“Mom and Dad will never admit to that. You heard Mom. They consider Luther part of the family. He’s the son they’ve always wanted and never had, and they’ll do whatever it takes to keep any unpleasantness within the family even if that means turning their backs on you.”
Kate shook her head, unwilling to believe that.
“Mark my words, Kate. Unless you start toeing the family line, they’ll move on to door number three. Don’t be surprised if Luther and Kylie end up engaged by summer.”
~ * ~
Kate was still thinking about that conversation when she walked across the street to open the store the next morning. She’d gotten up early to see Karyn and Amanda off and been unable to fall back asleep, Karyn’s words on an unpleasant loop in her mind.
Sure, her parents had outdated views on things, but they’d come around eventually. And they did appreciate the things she did even if they didn’t come out and say so. Kate didn’t work in the store because she wanted accolades. She did it because it helped the family.
As usual, she got the wood and pellet stoves going and prepared for the day.
She’d just switched the sign on the door from Closed to Open when Luther and Kylie came in together. They were laughing about something, but their laughter faded when they saw her staring at them. Kate wasn’t sure what surprised her more—seeing Luther with his hand on her younger sister’s back or seeing her sister up and about before noon.
“Kate, what are you doing here?” Kylie asked, as if Kate wasn’t the one who opened the store every morning.
“Uh, working. What are you doing here?”
Kylie looked at Luther and then back at Kate. An awkward, uncomfortable silence ensued.
“We didn’t expect you in today,” her father said, coming in behind them. “And I figured it was time she started learning the business.”
Kylie? Learn the business?
Kate blinked, stunned. “Dad, can I talk to you for a moment in private?”
Her father looked like he’d rather do anything but. “Sure, Kate.”
Kate. Not Katy. Not Katy-belle.
Her stomach twisted.
She followed her dad into the back office and closed the door, waiting until he hung up his coat next to hers and sat down behind his desk.
“What the hell, Dad?”
She’d never cursed at her father before. She’d cursed in his presence, like the time they had been fishing and an errant cast had resulted in a fish hook in her backside, but never at him.
“Do not take that tone with me.”
“I’m sorry, it’s just ... what the hell, Dad?” She tried to think of another way to phrase that, but what the fuck was even worse. “How can you let Luther back in here after what he’s done?”
“He explained everything. He knows what he’s doing. Leave it be, Kate.”
“Did you know?”
Her father’s lack of response was her answer.
“I can’t believe you’re okay with this. What’s he doing with all that money anyway?”
His lips thinned, a sure sign he was losing his patience. “Investing.”
“Investing in what exactly? Please, Dad, help me make sense of this because I’m not getting it.”
“You wouldn’t understand, Kate. I trust Luther to handle things, and that’s all you need to know.”
“I wouldn’t understand? Do you think because I didn’t go to college, I’m incapable of knowing the difference between making a profit and operating at a loss?”
“Enough.”
“But, Dad ...”
“I said, enough,” he said, his voice stern. “You might help out around here, Kate, but last time I checked, I was still in charge.”
She reeled back as if slapped. Helped out? Was that what he thought getting up every morning at the crack of dawn or earlier was? Or working ten-hour days, six days a week?
Silence stretched between them. With each tick of her great-great-grandfather’s hand-carved, wall-mounted clock, she felt closer to crying. Her eyes grew wetter as the band around her chest squeezed tighter.
“I need to think about the future, Kate,” he continued, his voice not as harsh. “About providing for my family and continuing our family’s legacy. In today’s world of mega superstores and online retailers, we need the support of our community to survive. Luther understands that.”
“But at what cost, Dad?”
He looked her directly in the eye and said, “Whatever it takes.”
And a piece of her heart broke.
She grabbed her coat and walked out. Her father didn’t even try to stop her. Out front, Luther was showing Kylie how to work the register without regard to her personal space. She didn’t seem to mind. In that moment, Kate knew that everything Karyn had predicted was already coming true.
“Are you leaving?” Kylie called out as Kate walked out the door.
Since she thought that was pretty obvious, she didn’t bother responding.
She went into her house—correction: her grandparents’ house that her father was allowing her to live in—and pulled out some boxes. She spent the rest of the day packing up the stuff that was hers—photos, books, clothes, and kitchenware. There wasn’t a lot. Most of the stuff had been here when she moved in.
Then, she called Chris. He answered on the first ring, as if he’d been waiting for her call.
“Kate.” It was only her name, but he managed to convey so much of what she felt in that one word—relief, hope, worry.
“Hey,” she said softly, closing her eyes and saying a silent prayer that her heart was smarter than her head. “Know of any place looking to hire a one-armed kitchen wench?”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Mad Dog
The selfish part of him let out a great, big, Hooyah, while the more decent part worried what had prompted such a request.
“I might,” Mad Dog said, opting for cautious levity. “Can you tell me more about the applicant?”
“Chris.”
“Yes?”
“Please come get me.”
Those last words were a whispered plea that shredded his heart. He didn’t know what had happened, but he knew it must have been bad.