Page 79 of Make You Mine

“Dognap? Hardly. He’s mine too. You’ve always had a problem with me wanting to take care of him.”

“What are you talking about? No, I didn’t?—”

“You never let me in, Piper. You were always so closed off. So I had to turn to Dana. She can’t handle working with you anymore, so I’ll let you buy her out, we’ll agree to that. But I’m keeping Cody. She needs him.”

“Like hell you are. She doesn’t give a shit about Cody. She just wants to hurt me for some reason. And you? You’re talking about ten different things right now. What is the real problem, Richard?”

“She’s not the one responsible for your daddy issues, Piper. I want you to leave me and Dana out of all your drama.”

“Dana has nothing to do with this. You keep bringing her up as if she’s the main issue. The real issue here is your complete disregard for my feelings and the way you’ve treated me,” I retorted, my voice trembling with frustration.

Richard’s face contorted with anger. “My disregard for your feelings? That’s rich coming from you, Piper. You never cared about what I was going through. You only ever thought about yourself and your precious bakery.”

“How dare you! I’ve always been there for you, but you never let me in. You’re the one who shut me out and turned to Dana. You’re the one who betrayed me,” I shot back, my eyes blazing with fury before narrowing on his face as I studied his reaction. “Are you trying to gaslight me? Because you suck at it.”

His face reddened as his anger became palpable. “You think you know everything, Piper, but you don’t. You’ve never tried to understand the pressure I’m under. Dana was there when I needed someone. You weren’t.”

I clenched my fists, trying to keep my composure. “Pressure? Stress? That doesn’t excuse your behavior. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, you talk it out. You don’t betray the people who care about you and then expect sympathy.”

“I tried to apologize to you. I accepted the blame for my part in this situation, but for some reason, you can’t let it go. Dana has done nothing wrong here. This was all about me, looking for some affection. Someone who cared just a little bit about how I felt and what I needed. She was there for me when you weren’t. Can you blame me for?—”

Grandpa’s voice interrupted our escalating argument. “Funny,” he said as he came stomping around the edge of the garage door. “You’re acting just like her father right now and trying to blame your failings as a man on herdaddy issues.You’re the one who lied and cheated. You’re the one who betrayed her trust, and now you’re trying to manipulate her into doing what you want her to do. That’s all this is, Piper, and he’s a weak, pathetic excuse for a man. That’s what this is about. Don’t try to make any sense of it because it's all a crock of shit. Like throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what will set you off so he can pick it apart and try to get at you.”

“That’s not it,” Richard insisted. “If she had just listened to reason and forgiven Dana, none of this would have had to happen?—”

“You mean, if I accepted your bullshit lies and excuses and let you walk all over me… go on, Richard. What else is my fault?”

“God. Nothing.” He took a step back, his expression hardening. “I don’t have to stand here and take this. Just like always, I can’t talk to you. I’m leaving.”

“This isn’t over, Richard” I snapped. “You don’t get to declare you’re keeping Cody and that’s it.”

“I said I’m leaving.”

“You can’t?—”

He spun back around to face me. “Why couldn’t you just forgive and forget? How hard is that? Damn. I have to live in this town too.” He flung his arms out in frustration before stomping off toward the Inn’s parking lot.

“I’ll never forgive you,” I shouted to his retreating back. “But I’m going to try like hell to forgivemyselffor falling for your bullshit.” I started to run after him, but Grandpa stopped me with a gentle hand on my arm.

“Let him go, sugar. No use trying to talk to him right now.”

“But he has Cody,” my voice trembled. I hated how weak I sounded.

“You’re taking care of that, yeah? No way Jake is going to let this slide. You’ll give him a call and let him tell you what to do next. Okay?”

“Okay, you’re right. That makes sense.”

I took a deep breath, trying to calm the storm of emotions raging inside me. Just then, I heard the faint sound of footsteps approaching from behind. I turned around to see Ren, his face a mixture of concern and determination.

“Hey,” he said softly, his eyes scanning my face for any sign of distress. “We heard yelling. Are you okay?”

I nodded, grateful for his presence. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just think I need to go home and call Jake. I need to think, I?—”

“Richard was here,” Grandpa explained. “He went to her place and took Cody and said some shitty things.”

Ren’s face hardened, and then I looked beyond him to see each member of my family, plus Spencer and Hunter, standing there wearing similar expressions.

Oh shit.

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