"I'm here to stay, girl. If you want to get rid of me, you're going to have to try hard."
"Or just piss you off and you'll throw yourself off a snowy mountain." She nipped at my lips and laughed. "Too soon? Too much?"
"Yes, you wicked bitch."
She laughed and sat up. "So I figure you spend Christmas with your father, but I want a night with you right before or right after. I got you a few things and I want to watch you open them."
"Chloe. I told you that I didn't want anything."
She turned and pressed her fingers to my lips. "I know that, but I'm a woman. We do what we want to, when we wanna do it."
"Why is that hot all of a sudden?"
"Because you're turned on." She brushed the back of her fingers over my arousal and pulled her bottom lip into her mouth. "I wonder if they would bother us if I got under the covers."
I growled and shook my head. "No. I'd never hear the end of it. This part of town is too damn small."
She chuckled and stood up. "I'm glad you're awake. I knew you were going to be okay, but there's always that part of you that feeds the doubt and fear, you know?"
"I do." I reached out and took her hand into mine. "Hey. I get out of here on Friday. There's an incredible festival of lights in downtown during the week of Christmas. Do you remember it from when you were a kid?"
"I do." Her eyes lit up. "Man it's been so long since I've seen it though."
"Let me take you?"
She glanced down at my cast before giving me a cocky smile. "How about I take you?"
"Either way. As long as I'm with you, I don't care."
"I feel the same way." She leaned over and tucked herself against me, right where she belonged.
Chapter 27
Chloe
I left the hospital later that night and slept for twelve straight hours in my bed. Brian wanted some time with Finn and I was beyond exhausted. I made sure to text him most of Thursday, but we decided that he would spend some time with his Dad and then we would get together on Friday, so I could help him settle back into the house. Brian was staying Friday night with him, but I wasn't missing the opportunity to go over and spend a few minutes with him. I'd had all the patience I could with not seeing him. It was nice to know that I wasn't alone in my feelings.
He was grumpy from us not seeing each other too, but his family wanted his time, and I really needed to work out a few things with my Dad.
After taking a quick shower, I braided my hair and put on some comfy clothes, and walked out into the living room. Parker was playing video games on the big screen, which was out of the ordinary.
"Morning," I mumbled as I walked toward the kitchen. "Where's Dad?"
"Hey, Sis. He's in the garage."
I didn't waste any time finding him, though I could think of a million other things that I'd rather have done. The tension between us had only grown worse, and I had to hope that some of it was due to the fact that he knew that he was responsible for Finn going up on Bear Creek Mountain. If it wasn't, then I didn't know my father at all, nor did I want to.
I poked my head in the garage to find him putting chains on the grey Lexus he loved to drive.
"Dad. You got a minute?"
He glanced up, covered in sweat and grease, but nodded, sitting back on his heels. "Yeah. This going to be a short talk or a long one?"
"Long." I moved out into the garage as he stood up and cleaned off his hands.
"Okay. First let me say this..." He reached up and wiped his forehead with the back of his forearm. "...had I known that Clark's boy was going to get hurt, I never would have said anything to him. I can't imagine having to go through almost losing you or Parker, so I'm sorry for that. I still don't like the kid, but wishing him harm isn't at all who I am."
Letting out a long breath, I nodded. I was beyond grateful to hear that my Dad wasn't a total monster. Now to see how far his benevolence could go.
"I'm sorry about attacking the other day."
"Don't be. You were right." He leaned against the car and sucked his bottom lip in his mouth before patting the hood next to him. "Come here and sit beside me."
I walked out without hesitation, and sat down next to him, pulling my legs up and wrapping my arms around them.
"I grew up not too far from here, the mountains behind the old house my favorite place to play. One of the reasons I love bringing you guys up here during the winter, was because I honestly wanted you to experience some of the fun that I did as a kid." He paused and wiped his head again. "My best friend lived next door, and we did everything together. I mean from the time we could walk to slapping each other in the face with our diplomas. He meant everything to me."
Sickness rolled through me. I'd come out to talk about Finn, but something told me that we were talking about his father.
"So things went on as they always did until we got to college. We both went to the University of Colorado, because we loved to snowboard and there was no damn way we were splitting up." A smile brushed across my father's face as he got a faraway look in his eyes. "We were there three years and I fell in love with this beautiful brunette in my history class. She was so damn funny, and left me feeling alive, like really alive."
"Dad. You don't have to talk about this if you don't want to." I reached out and touched his arm, not sure why I was giving him grace, but I was.
"No, it's good. I need to get it out." He glanced over at me and continued. "The problem was, that my best friend decided to snatch her up before I could get to her, even though he knew that I'd had my eye on her for the last year. I was just waiting for the right time."
I didn't want to hear anymore. My father hadn't been at fault from what I could tell, and yet I had pinned him as the villain without even considering that Clark might have started the whole thing.
"So he starts dating her, and as you can imagine, the riff between our friendship, our brotherhood, was deep and wide. I hated his ass, and without thinking too much about it, I got her drunk and made love to her on a night that I knew he would show up." He turned to me. "He stabbed me in the chest, and instead of trying to work it out, or even walking away, I cleaned off the dagger and I drove it deep into his heart."
Tears filled my father's eyes and I couldn't fight back the ones in mine too. There was so much hurt in his face. I reached out and wrapped my hands around his thick arm before pressing my cheek to his shoulder.
If I had been in love with Seth, and then Jessie had taken him, I wasn't too sure I wouldn't have stabbed her back too.
"So you see, it's not just about seeing Clark that twists that dagger around in that old womb, but his boy is a product of the relationship that was supposed to be mine." He sniffled and wiped at his nose. "I think the only thing that healed me was finding your mother. All those years we were together, none of this mattered, and honestly, it doesn't now either, but when she died, it came crashing back in. I don't want him near you, and I don't want Clark near me."
"Dad...it was thirty years ago and you both hurt each other." I moved from the hood of the car to look at him. "You can't put that one incident on me and Finn. I'm in love with him, and I want my life to be here in Aspen with you, Parker and Finn, but if you think you're going to disallow that..."