“It’s better to be safe than sorry, Dad,” she said gently.
“Working for the FBI has made you cynical. You were always a serious child.”
And that was a surprise to him? It wasn’t as though her childhood had been rainbows and kittens. She bit back the urge to snap at him.
“No wonder you can’t find a man. I mean, what sort of life do you live where you think everyone is going to use you?”
A real life. Where you had to be careful, where you had to guard yourself constantly.
“About my job at the FBI,” she began, licking her lips. “I quit.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Why?”
“I had some issues with a colleague.” Hopefully, he didn’t ask anything else. She couldn’t tell him the full story.
“Oh, well, Brandi will be disappointed.”
And that’s what really mattered. She felt her hands clench into fists. Calm. Calm.
“But maybe it’s a blessing in disguise.”
Really?
“Perhaps now you can build a life for yourself and keep a man. What was the name of that last boyfriend of yours? The one with the decent job. He had a good head on his shoulders, not like those idiot cousins of yours.”
“Lyle. And my cousins are your nephews,” she pointed out.
He sent her a withering look. “I know that. My brother never did discipline those kids. They ran wild. Your mother didn’t like them to be around Brax, she thought they’d lead him astray.”
She bit back a sharp retort and looked away, knowing she could barely keep her feelings from showing.
It always came back to Brax.
“Working for the FBI kept you from giving Lyle the attention he needed. He had a high-powered job, he needed you to be there for him. Take care of the things he didn’t have time to do.”
Dear Lord, have we fallen back into the 1930s?
“He was an accountant.” Who couldn’t keep his dick in his pants.
If anyone had needed support, it was her. She’d worked damn long hours at the FBI, in a job that was highly stressful. Over time, it had slowly eaten away at her, leaving her with nightmares and doubts it was the career path for her.
But she’d stuck with it. Determined to make herself a success. To prove she was strong, tough, and smart.
And look at where it had gotten her.
“Like Brandi supports me. She takes care of her man. She’s always there for me after a stressful day with a drink and a smile. You could learn a lot from her.”
“You’re retired, Dad,” she pointed out. How stressful could his day possibly be?
“Doesn’t mean I don’t have stresses, Lacey. You don’t understand men.”
No, she certainly didn’t. On that, they could agree.
“Your cousins have spoiled you. They’ve made you think you don’t need anyone else when you have them. But you can’t always rely on them. There will come a time when those five idiots will build lives of their own and then where will you be? No, you need to build your own life.”
She couldn’t believe they were having this conversation. That he was lecturing her. Was this the same man who’d turned to alcohol because he couldn’t cope with his son’s death? Whose wife had run off to build a new life, leaving her alcoholic husband and child behind without even saying goodbye?
“Darling? Where are you?” A soft voice called through the house.