Page 149 of Ice Darling
“That sounds cool,” Gordie says.
“Doesn’t it?” Mom’s eyes narrow to slits as she smiles. “Renthrow, if you don’t mind, I have many contacts in the pageantry space. And I’ve learned that it’s better if you start them young, so they develop a system for balancing school and competitions?—”
“Why would you force a six-year-old into pageantry, Mom?” I grind out.
The entire table falls silent.
Mom’s mouth opens and closes. She sends me a perturbed look before saying politely, “I’m not trying to force anyone. I’m just bringing it up.”
“Gordie’s been talking about stars nonstop since she got here. What part of that says she wants to model in tiaras?”
“Well, you can like the starsandpageants. I don’t expect you to understand.” Mom turns away from me and starts talking to the rest of the table. “It’s a terrible misunderstanding that pageantry is just for showing off your face and body. It’s also about empowering women and girls to?—”
“She likes cars and motorcycles too,” I add, forcing her attention back to me. “She’s not some doll to dress up and parade around. She’s not yourdo-over.”
Mom’s jaw drops.
My bottom lip quivers. I let go of Renthrow and push my chair back. “I need to use the bathroom.”
Chapter Forty-Nine
Renthrow
The shattered look in Cordelia’s eyes breaks my heart. I stare at her as she plods into the house. Her shoulders are slumped, and her head is dipped.
She looks…defeated.
“You see what I mean, Brenda? The moodiness.” Sasha’s hands wave back and forth as she vents. “I try to be patient with her. I really do. And still, I’m the bad guy.”
“Well, maybe she’s just having a hard time right now,” Mom says, her eyes darting to Gordie who’s looking confused, concerned, and a little scared by Delia’s sudden exit.
I reach across to pat Gordie’s hand. “I’m going to check on Delia. You stay with Grandma.”
“Okay, Daddy.”
“It’s always about her. Everything is always about her!” Sasha tosses her cloth napkin on the table in frustration. “It’s like she’s blind to the rest of the world and thinks her problems are the only ones that exist.”
My jaw tightens at her harsh words. That doesn’t sound like Cordelia at all. Sure, she appears tough and cold on the outside,but once she warms up to someone, she’s kind and considerate. Almost sacrificially so.
“Does she think I didn’t try? Everything she’s ever wanted, I gave to her. That stupidly dangerous bike? I let her have one at seventeen when any sensible mother would forbid it. I let her prance around at questionable bike shows and exhibits filled with dangerous men. I let her bring all kinds of strangers to our garage to teach her how to fix the thing when it breaks—it’s like none of it matters!”
My chair scrapes loudly against the porch floor as I stand.
Sasha looks up at me. “Where are you going?”
“I’ll talk to her.”
“Don’t bother.” She waves a hand adorned with gold jewelry. “Like I said…she’ll bite your head off if you try. It’s better to give her time to cool off.”
A frown works its way over my mouth. “I’ll be right back.”
I run to the guest bathroom and knock on the door. “Cordelia?”
There’s no sound from inside.
I press my hand against the wooden panel. “Cordelia…”
The quiet is booming.
