Page 35 of Breaking Emily's Rules
“Yeah.”
“I’ve done my share of hiding from my life. It doesn’t work. And now I’m doing something with it.”
“Flying is a crazy kind of something.”
“I know you said I was nuts to try this, but if I can do that crazy thing, you can talk to Dylan. He can’t be any scarier than flying a plane, can he?”
“Guess not. But he’s not going to listen to me. I just know it.”
“You’ve got to at least try.”
Molly nodded but didn’t speak.
And something told me that this whole matter was far from over.
CHAPTER8
Emily
The following week, Dad finally got himself home.
“He’s here! Daddy, Daddy!” Molly yelled, and I marched out of the dining room to see my sister run down the steps, taking them two at a time.
I wished I could do that, but I’d face plant if I even tried. “Slow down.”
Dad had been in Texas three weeks this time. Molly always missed him most of all, and Itriedto miss him. I really did. Unfortunately, I resented that he hadn’t been supportive of any of my ventures to date, calling them myI Love Lucymoments. I knew it was love and concern talking, but he had shot down every one of my business ideas even before they’d gotten off the ground.
He couldn’t see I was at least making an effort at accomplishing something significant in my life. I’d been the one to go to college, while Molly insisted it would be a waste of good money on her. While Dad adored Molly, he didn’t expect much from her. A big mistake because I was convinced Molly had a lot more ability than she wanted anyone to recognize. If onlyhewould expect more from her, she might actually deliver it.
Tonight I expected I would probably get a whole heap of that judgment from him because I’d been taking flying lessons for two weeks. Even if I’d used my own savings to pay for them in advance, Grammy had asked where I’d been spending my afternoons and I couldn’t lie to her.
So there was probably little coincidence Dad had made his way back home shortly after Grammy heard about the lessons. He would probably forbid me from continuing, since he never approved of anything I wanted to do on my own. But I was ready for this, and had been for a while. Dad couldn’t tell me what to do. Not anymore. I was done with Doormat Emily.
“Hey, Dad,” I said as he walked in the front door, Molly’s arms wrapped around him like she was the bread and Dad was the peanut butter.
“My Emily-girl.” At least he hadn’t called me his favorite nickname for me: Lucy. “Thank God you’re safe on the ground. Where you belong.”
Grammy spoke from behind me. “Decided to come home? Won’t lie, we’ve missed you around here.”
“Hello, Mother. Sorry I didn’t come last week, but we bought two hundred more head of cattle. That ought to increase the net worth of Parker Inc. Don’t you think, Trouble?” Dad ruffled Molly’s hair like she was ten, and in his eyes she probably was, even if she now had a baby of her own.
“That’s right, son. That’s what we need. More cows.” Grammy shook her head and disappeared into the kitchen.
He made his way to his brown leather recliner in the living room and collapsed into it. “I’d like to know what you’re thinking, Emily.”
“That’s what I said,” Molly chimed in. “It’s not safe. Of all your schemes, Em, this one has got to be the nuttiest.”
So we were going to slide right into it. “You must be so tired. Why not go upstairs and change? Take a shower?”
“Lord love a duck, I am tired,” Dad said. “Hey, sugar, why don’t you go get me a beer? That ought to relax me.”
Of course,sugarmeant Molly. “Be right back.”
Dad scratched his ear and glanced at me. “Did you get this idea from a late night infomercial or something?”
One time. One time I’d ordered a real estate course from a late night infomercial and I would never live it down. “No!”
“Where did this confounded idea come from?” He accepted the beer from Molly, who then pulled up the ottoman so she could sit closer to him.
