I want to lie. Like maybe if I tell her it was today because I was sad it’ll make it easier for her to process and she won’t be as harsh. But Jenna means a lot to me and I don’t want to betray her even more than I have. “When we had the storm.”
Her head shakes as she leans against her hands. “You fucking horny so-called adults are driving me up the wall. I can’t wait for you all to go back to college and be someone else’s problem. I’m so annoyed with you, Aurora.”
“I’m so sorry, Jenna. I will leave with no drama, I swear. But please don’t fire Russ. He will be crushed if he loses this job. He doesn’t deserve it, I promise.”
“Can you stop with the pity party, please? You’re giving me a headache and my head already hurts after seeing a half-naked man crawling all over you today and then having to look your mother in the eyes.”
“I’m so—”
“Stop apologizing and go do your job, please. No, bring me a lemonade. Then go do your job.” My eyebrows raise in surprise. She huffs, folding her arms across her chest and leaning back in her chair. “What? You think you’re special? If we had to fire every member of staff who fooled around together, we’d have no staff.”
“But I thought . . .”
“I saw him the night of the storm, Aurora. I knew you’d be scared so I went back to your cabin when the power was out. I watched him hover around the steps to your cabin in the rain, arguing with himself, until he finally knocked. That’s when I knew.”
“Knew what?”
“I knew he cared about you.” She sighs. “And I realized you weren’t just doing it to give your middle finger to the rules.”
“I care about him too.”
“We’re your family, Rory. You will always have a home here, even if you do things that make me want to strangle you. I’m not going to report it like I’m supposed to, but that doesn’t give you a free pass to do what you want until you leave, alright? Keep sneaking around until you are out of my hair. I don’t wanna hear a peep out of either of you.”
Family. “I love you, Jen.”
“And I love you. People don’t always let you get away with things because they don’t care. I let you get away with things because you deserve to be happy. You deserve to feel and believe and enjoy being loved, because so many people love you, Ror.”
“I had a really great heart-to-heart with my mom today. A lot of things make sense now, especially about my dad.”
She stands and walks over to me, wrapping her arms around me. “Dad is a word. It doesn’t mean anything unless there is action and intention behind it. He’s really just an asshole who you happen to share DNA with. That’s it. We don’t need him. You don’t do fine without him, you do better.”
Jenna kisses the top of my head before moving back to sit at her desk. “Okay, heart to heart is over. Scram. And so you know, you’re mucking out the horses for the rest of the week. Take lover boy. You’re both pains in my ass.”
This is not at all how I would have predicted this going and I’m walking out of here feeling totally confused but thankfully, I’m not leaving and neither is Russ. If I have to deal with some horse crap but Jenna isn’t truly mad at me, I’ll definitely cope. Pulling the office door open, I have one last question before I head and prepare for the end of Visiting Day. “Wait, who else has been hooking up?”
She runs her fingers across her lips, zipping them shut. “You’ve lost your gossip privileges. Should have kept your panties on.”
As much as she’s right, I’m glad I didn’t.
Chapter Thirty-Two
RUSS
We’ve been sitting on this picnic bench for five minutes and neither of us has spoken yet.
He looks better than last time I saw him, but not being in a hospital bed covered in wires will do that to a person. I knew it was too good to be true. I knew the silence wouldn’t last long, but I must admit, I never expected him to turn up here.
“I don’t know where to start, Russ,” he says.
I can’t remember the last time we sat in a normal setting together. I wish I knew how many minutes it is until he leaves so I can count them down.
“Why don’t you start by telling me why you’re here,” I say harshly.
I’m not someone who often gets angry, but there’s something about being around my dad that makes me emotional. It’s like I have to become a different person to be able to cope being around him.