Page 28 of Ajax

Ajax offeredto come home with me, but I need to do this alone.

Dad should be happy for me—being out in the world and moving on with my life. Even if I’m not moving that far away.

But I already know the move is the right thing to do.

And if, ultimately, things don’t work out with Ajax—after talking to him and the others again, I’m confident that my new job will pay enough for me to save and have the nest egg I always wanted.

It’ll give me the security I don’t currently have and, as I’ll be helping out around the farm, new skills that I can use elsewhere if need be.

Once I’ve pulled up to the house, I sit in the car for a moment.

This is it.

Mum would be so disappointed at how things have turned out.

I walk in the door to find Dad and Tyler at the dining table. The smell of toast lingers in the air.

At least they know how to make their own damn breakfast.

“Where have you been?” Dad asks. “I’ve been calling and calling.”

I drop into a seat. “I turned my phone off. I needed some space.”

“We had to make our own breakfast.” Tyler rolls his eyes.

“I’m moving out.”

Tyler’s mouth falls open, and Dad drums his fingers on the table. “There’s no need for you to go anywhere. Where are you going?”

I swallow hard. “I’m going to live on the farm with Ajax Monroe.”

He holds it together, but his jaw clenches.

Tyler says nothing—his eyes dart back and forward between me and Dad.

“I didn’t think you’d be so selfish, Ivy. We all had a deal.”

“A deal I got screwed by. I’ve been offered a job—a full-time one. And I can still work my bar shifts. For the first time in years, I’ll be able to save and live my life. I’m twenty-five, Dad. It’s time.”

His breathing grows heavy as if he’s trying not to cry. But I’m prepared for the theatrics this time.

It’s manipulation.

My father loves me. But he’s had it so easy since Mum died, and dumped everything on me. It’s time he got his act together. My brother too.

“Your mother would be?—“

“My mother would be proud and happy that I’m going to go and live my life.”

He settles down again and says nothing more for the moment—just eyeballs me across the table. “When are you moving?”

“I thought by the end of the week?”

He gives me a short, sharp nod. All I can do is hope in my absence that my father finds himself again.

And he needs to give Tyler a kick up the bum to get him moving in the right direction.

“Are you serious about Ajax?” Dad asks.

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