“And I did. I kept it even when I probably should have sold it to repay Bruno after the accident. I kept it even when I was scared to drive it. But like you said the other day, I’m not fourteen anymore. I can’t live my life by what he would have wanted for me. He wouldn’t have wanted any of this.” I did a broad, sweeping gesture encompassing myself.

“He didn’t know what he was missing.” Jasper gave me a soft kiss on the cheek, but I turned in to him so that our mouths met, more comfort than sizzle, but so very necessary right then.

“Thank you.” I hugged him against me. “I mean that. Thank you. And you do see me. You see all the parts he didn’t. And I’m done trying to hide the real me. The truth is that he wasn’t a very good dad—”

Jasper was quick to cut me off. “He wasn’t terr—”

“Yeah, he kinda was.” I appreciated him trying to be tactful, but I was done with dancing around the facts. “It’s okay. We can say it now. He was narrow-minded and mean. And yeah we built that car together and not all my memories are bad, but that’s okay. I’ll keep the good times. Now I’m going to use what he left me to have the life I want—need, even if it’s not one he would have agreed with.”

“Okay.” Jasper nodded like he’d finished a page of equations and was happy with the solution, even if it wasn’t the one he’d wanted. “So you’ll sell it then?”

“Yup.” As I said it aloud, a weight rolled off me, like leaving all my winter gear behind to enjoy spring and summer. I was free.

“You were so sure that I’d object that you couldn’t tell me the plan back at the store?” There was no mistaking the hurt in Jasper’s voice, and I didn’t blame him. Walking away had been a dick move on my part.

“That and I thought I wanted to be alone to do this. Solve everything on my own, and then come to you with it all fixed. Be more worthy of you. But then my leg started to ache on the walk here—”

“Oh crap.” Jasper flipped from justifiably annoyed at me to worried. “Do you need—”

“It’s fine.” I waved off his concern. “And then this car passed me, full of rowdy teenagers. A soda can landed right near my feet.”

“I should have—”