BooksBarbecue
Back As Seen on TV Save as PDF
Chapters (57)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Chapter One
  6. Chapter Two
  7. Chapter Three
  8. Chapter Four
  9. Chapter Five
  10. Chapter Six
  11. Chapter Seven
  12. Chapter Eight
  13. Chapter Nine
  14. Chapter Ten
  15. Chapter Eleven
  16. Chapter Twelve
  17. Chapter Thirteen
  18. Chapter Fourteen
  19. Chapter Fifteen
  20. Chapter Sixteen
  21. Chapter Seventeen
  22. Chapter Eighteen
  23. Chapter Nineteen
  24. Chapter Twenty
  25. Chapter Twenty-One
  26. Chapter Twenty-Two
  27. Chapter Twenty-Three
  28. Chapter Twenty-Four
  29. Chapter Twenty-Five
  30. Chapter Twenty-Six
  31. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  32. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  33. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  34. Chapter Thirty
  35. Chapter Thirty-One
  36. Chapter Thirty-Two
  37. Chapter Thirty-Three
  38. Chapter Thirty-Four
  39. Chapter Thirty-Five
  40. Chapter Thirty-Six
  41. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  42. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  43. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  44. Chapter Forty
  45. Chapter Forty-One
  46. Chapter Forty-Two
  47. Chapter Forty-Three
  48. Chapter Forty-Four
  49. Chapter Forty-Five
  50. Chapter Forty-Six
  51. Chapter Forty-Seven
  52. Chapter Forty-Eight
  53. Chapter Forty-Nine
  54. Chapter Fifty
  55. Acknowledgments
  56. Discover More
  57. About the Author

Finn stepped in front of me but said nothing.

“Is she your girlfriend?” He burst out laughing like it couldn’t possibly be true, then swayed back and forth.

I focused my gaze on Finn, willing him to answer his father truthfully. Or at least give me a secret look—an acknowledgment of our connection and my new place in his life—but he lowered his chin to his chest, my feelings seemingly the last thing on his mind.

Mr. Adams followed my line of vision, and his glazed eyes traveled between Finn and me. “You can do better than this pink-haired slut.” Spit bubbles formed on the corner of his mouth.

My nose tickled and my body shook with the need to be hugged. Don’t cry, Adi. It’s not personal. He doesn’t know what he’s saying. He’s drunk. I blinked away my tears and turned to Finn, who’d yet to stick up for me. Why? Yes, his dad was his main priority, but didn’t I mean anything? Couldn’t he utter a single word in my defense, if not for his dad’s benefit, then for mine?

“I should go,” I said.

Tell me to stay, Finn. His dad’s insults meant nothing. He was a sick man. I knew this. Let me help you, Finn. Just ask me to stay.

He let out a low sigh. “You should go.”

Tossing out a final olive branch, one more chance, I said, “To get food or coffee?”

His eyes locked on mine at last and he shook his head. “Just go.”

Mr. Adams waved obnoxiously. “Don’t call us. We’ll call you.”

Ignoring him, I searched Finn’s face for a hidden message. I didn’t even know what I wanted to see. Regret? Gratitude? Sadness?

He turned back to his dad before I could find what I was looking for, and so I did as told. I left.

Chapter Forty-Five

Chapter Forty-Five

Just go.

I woke up the next morning with my cheek stuck to the dried tears on my pillowcase. My temples throbbed like it was New Year’s Day, March 18, and the day after my twenty-first birthday party combined, even though I barely drank half a beer at Brothers. After being summarily dismissed from Finn’s office trailer the night before, I’d returned to the B&B, where I crawled into bed still wearing my fancy dress and wept with the stamina of a colicky infant.

It was all so sad. A drunk middle-aged man driven to such belligerence over tacos, although of course I knew it went deeper than a weird food craving. Finn tiptoeing around him like he was made of eggshells. It was tragic, and my heart hurt for both of them.