I smile at her. I do love my parents, even if they’re frustrating. “Thank you. But?”
“But,” Dad says, “we don’t want to see you throw that career away over nothing.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Reynard,” Mom says. “I know you think he’s great—”
I cut her off. “I do think he’s great, and I have for a long time. Besides the other day and earlier this afternoon, when was the last time you actually spoke to Rey? You didn’t even know that he lived in Affliction Creek.” I point at my dad. “You thought he was in jail.”
“You don’t have to get so defensive,” my mom says. “We’re just trying to look out for you.”
I take a deep breath and blow it out through my nose. “Okay. Please, enlighten me, how you’re looking out for me?”
My dad stares at me, not unkindly. “You know he was a troublemaker. And he’s not like you. He didn’t go out and make a name for himself anywhere else. He stayed here. And that isn’t a good thing, Klara. Anyone who stays here is more than likely a bum and a failure and nothing more. I don’t want to see you give up what you have in Austin to move back and shack up with a loser.”
Steel enters my spine. “So just living in Affliction Creek makes you a loser and a failure? What does that say about you, Dad?” The words are harsh. I know they are, but I don’t regret them. “You found incredible success in this town. And when you get these houses fixed up, you’re going to do it again. You’ve been in this town for years, and no one in their right mind would tell you that you’re a bum. Or a failure.”
“I’m an old man,” he says. “I want you to have a better life than I did. So, get out of here and don’t stay. Don’t stay for him. Anything, literally anything, has to be better than that.”
I feel like my vision tints red. “Dad, I love you, and I’m happy that I was able to help out you and Mom with this project. But I’m also an adult. And what I do with my life, and who I choose to live it with? It’s none of your business.
“Rey and I haven’t even talked about that. We’ve been having fun along with fixing your property. And I already told you that none of this would have gotten done without him. You both have some nerve judging someone you haven’t spoken to in years. Rey has made a name for himself. He’s one of the best carpenters in the region and the reason that we got the crew working on this house was because of him.”
All of those words come out in one long rush, and I’m out of breath afterwards. “I love you both, and I’m going to finish this project, but unless you have something else to say to me, I’m going to need some time before we ‘just talk’ again.”
Turning on my heel, I don’t wait to see their reaction. I don’t need to. They’re so fucking out of line it’s not even funny. But Rey isn’t in the house, I find him sitting on the sidewalk out front. “Let’s go,” I say, walking past him.
“They’re right,” he says quietly.
“What?”
Rey shakes his head. “I listened to some of the conversation. I know I shouldn’t have, and I’m sorry.”
“They don’t know shit about you, and they’re wrong.”
“Not about that,” he says. “I know they’re wrong about that. But about you living here with me. As much as I might want that, they’re right. Your career—your life—will be so much better if you’re not in this town. And I don’t want you to leave a good life for me, Klara. Not if you’re better off there.”
I stop in front of him. “I’ve had about enough today of people trying to tell me what’s best for me without actually fucking asking,” I say, my voice ringing out across the cul-de-sac. “I was going to talk to you about this, preferably after you fucked me into oblivion, but I guess we’re talking about it now.”
“Klara—”
“Nope,” I say, cutting him off. “My turn. The last eleven days, ever since you caught me with that fucking cat, have been amazing, and I literally can’t remember the last time I was this happy.”
Rey’s mouth parts like he’s about to speak, but he stops himself.
“And maybe my life in Austin is good, but it’s also lonely. And maybe I’ve been thinking about the next steps in my life more lately. I’m at the beginning of my career. I can go anywhere. I’m not tied down like I might be if I were more established, and I—” My voice breaks. “I don’t want this to end. Even if we have to make it work long distance. So don’t you dare tell me what’s best for me because I already know what’s best for me, and that’s you. And me. Here. Together.”