Page 94 of The Offer
“You did. You kicked me out.”
She watched as her father blew out a breath and looked down at his boat shoes, pink coloring his cheeks.
“You also told me—”
“Don’t. I know what I said. Those words haunt me every minute of every day.”
She tucked her legs underneath her and made herself small, shielding herself from the pain she knew was inevitable, hoping it would hurt a little less this time.
“I didn’t mean it, Jessie.”
“Then why did you say it?”
“Because you were my pal and your words broke my heart. I wanted you to hurt like I was. I was foolish. I am your father and it is my job to protect you, and I failed miserably. I let you down. With Cap’s, with how you felt about Charlie, with everything.”
“You didn’t let me down with Cap’s,” she exhaled. “I eventually put the pieces together and figured out that none of it was your fault. I know he ousted you.”
He nodded, lifting the worn ball cap on his head to brush his hair back before fastening it back on. “My life’s work, taken away, like that.” He snapped his fingers.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“I know you are, love.”
They waded in silence for a little while, the waves swaying the boat as the sun peeked out from the clouds in the sky.
“Dakota really misses you,” he murmured. “Your mom really misses you.”
“And I miss them.”
“…I really miss you.”
She refused to give him that sliver of hope. At least not yet. “Have you gone clamming?”
“Not since you left.”
“That’s incredibly stupid.”
He chuckled. “I tried once, but I ended up crying the entire drive there, so I turned the car around and didn’t try again.”
“So many clams just sitting there.”
“Then maybe we could go sometime.”
She pursed her lips. “I’ll think about it.”
His lips curled into a smile. “Good.”
Jess nodded.
“How’s business going?”
“Figured you would already know that.”
“Kevin refuses to tell me anything, says I need to fix my problems before I can see the books.”
She huffed. “At least he got one thing right.”
“I think that boy got a lot of things right.”
