Page 66 of The Mountain Man's Mail-Order Mafia Princess

“He sent you to a stranger’s cabin as punishment.”

“He believed you’d accepted me.”

“That doesn’t make it better.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

“Does he think the week ends because he says it does?”

“He does.”

“And what do you think?”

I set down my fork.

“I think he’s going to find out that I’m an adult.”

“Is staying with me the only way you can prove that?”

“No, it isn’t.”

“Then what else are you choosing?”

“My own accounts. Graduate school. Continuing therapy. Work that doesn’t depend on Daddy’s approval.”

“You’ve thought about all of that.”

“I’ve thought about it for years. I’ve only recently stopped treating it like a fantasy.”

“Have you done any of it yet?”

“Not yet. I haven’t applied or opened an account, and I don’t have a complete plan that doesn’t depend on Daddy restoring access to my money.”

Jonah nodded once.

“You’re right,” I said. “Wanting independence and building it aren’t the same thing.”

“They aren’t.”

“I can still start.”

“You can.”

After breakfast, he carried his work gear outside.

I followed him to the truck.

The morning had turned hot. Dry pine needles crackled beneath my boots, and the air smelled of dust and sun-warmed timber.

Jonah lowered the tailgate and checked his gloves, radio, first-aid kit, water, and the tools he needed to inspect and clear the launch-zone perimeter.

“Do you need help?” I asked.

“Not right now.”

I folded my arms.

“I’m not saying you can’t help. I’m saying I need to do this alone for a while.”