His lips are still moving, but I don’t hear him over the sound of blood rushing through my ears. It’s not news to me that Andrew Young is trash. I doubt it’s news to anyone who’s spent more than ten minutes around him. And usually I can ignore it, but usually he’s not in my place of business insulting the two women who did everything for me.

He’s still ranting and raving, but now his feet are moving just as fast as his mouth.

“If you keep this shit up, you’ll end up with nothing!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Connor steps in front of Dad and places his hands on his chest. “Why don’t you take a breather, Andrew.”

“Yeah, Dad. Take a breather.” I step around Connor, appreciating the gesture, but not needing protecting, and definitely not needing it from my jerk of a father. “Just do it outside.”

I point in the direction of the front door. I’ve seen this show before and I don’t need to watch it again.

“I’m not leaving!” His whiny voice rises to a roar, and out of the corner of my eye, I see customers beginning to take notice of this pathetic little scene. “She was my fucking mom, not yours! This is mine, and when I get it, I’ll make sure you never see a dime from it again.”

“Real novel idea from you, Dad, making sure I don’t get any money from you. How much child support did you owe before Scarlett started writing the checks? And fun that you’re so worried about your mom now that she’s gone when she hadn’t heard a peep from you in months while she was still here.” Unlike my dad, I don’t need to raise my voice to get my point across. He’s damn near vibrating with rage, and I’m not sure he wouldn’t hit me if it weren’t for Connor watching. “Now, I’m going to tell you one more time, whatever you’re trying to do? Do it somewhere else and do it fast. Because if you don’t, I will call the police and get you removed.”

He stops straining against Connor and all the color he was so valiantly building up drains from his face.

Interesting.

“You wouldn’t call the police. I’m your goddamn father!”

The fucking audacity of this man!

I lean in this time, my unpolished nail getting so in his face I almost scratch his nose. “Then fucking act like it for once in your life.”

My voice doesn’t sound like my own. All the acid of a sad little girl turned into an angry woman drips from my words. The hurt and betrayal I’ve felt all these years is finally beginning to seep out, and to my total mortification, it catches my sinuses aflame.