Fireworks by Kate Gilead

Author:Kate Gilead [Gilead, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-07-02T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Sara

“Dad!” I jump off Jamie and stand up, heart pounding.

But my father’s not even looking at me.

His eyes bore into Jamie’s, who stands up and immediately puts a protective arm around me.

Dad’s eyes widen, then his lip raises in a snarl. “Get your hands off my daughter, you fucking…shitbag!” He takes a step towards the stairs.

“Shitbag?” Now, Jamie takes a step forward, crossing one arm protectively in front of me. “You better watch your mouth, old buddy. Don’t mistake this for something it’s not.”

My Dad stops his movement forward. “You…whaddaya mean, something it’s not? What the hell is it then?”

“Dad,” I say, sharply. “Don’t you blame him! And don’t you call him a shitbag!”

“Get in the house,” he snarls, without looking at me.

“Carl,” Jamie says, and in his voice is a warning tone, of a kind I’ve never quite heard from a man before. “It just happened. We didn’t mean…”

“Shut up,” Dad grits, his teeth clenched. “Get in the goddamn house, Sara.”

“No! I’m not a little girl any more, Dad. You can’t order me around.” I grab Jamie’s hand.

He twines his fingers with mine and pulls my hand close to his body, watching my dad warily.

“You’re under my roof! You work for me. You’ll do as I say.”

“The hell I will!”

Dad glares at me, hurt and anger in his eyes.

“Carl,” Jamies starts, his voice still carrying that undertone.

My dad glares at Jamie now. “This is bullshit. I thought more of you than this, James. You just got here, now you’re gonna fuck everything up right off the bat? You should be ashamed of yourself!”

“I’m not ashamed of anything. You don’t under….”

“Oh I understand, alright. Jesus Christ! I need this like I need another heart attack.” Dad swipes his hand across his mouth, a gesture so familiar to me it breaks my heart.

“Maybe if you got that temper of yours under better control, you wouldn’t have had a heart attack in this first place. Always jumping the gun, freaking out before you know the whole story. You’re a good man Carl, but you have anger issues.” Jamie says what everyone knows but never wants to say to my Dad’s face.

Dad’s lip curls again. “You fucking piece of…”

“That’s enough!!!” Jamie roars.

My Dad’s fists clench and unclench, his face white except for two red swatches right under his eyes.

But, wonder of wonders, he shuts up.

Still. My heart feels like it’s about to break.

Even if he is a stubborn, ornery, difficult man, he’s still my Dad. And even if he does have anger issues, they’re directed to the outside world, never to his family.

He’s always treated me and my mom like treasures, always putting us first, before himself, before anything else.

“Dad,” I say, the tears starting to come. “Are you okay? Please…”

He waves a hand at me with a growl.

“No, listen,” I plead. “We didn’t mean for this to happen. It just…happened. We just… like each other.”

I’m not gonna tell my Dad that I’m falling in love with Jamie because I know that love can’t happen that fast.

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