Not anymore.
I kind of hated that Dexter was turning out to be the smart brother. Not that I’d ever tell him that. A man had to have some secrets.
My father gripped the back of his neck and stared over my shoulder. “You never told me any of this. It took Dexter coming to me today to clue me into the fact that I was ruining your life.”
I would’ve laughed at the melodramatic turn of phrase if it hadn’t been so true. Well, partially. “Someone is ruining my life, but it’s not you. It’s me.” I ran my fingertip over a slash of red on my wrist, rising like a welt. Ryan must’ve marked me. Would it be too much to get a tattoo right there?
Huh, I could get a tattoo. I’d never done that before. She had a tattoo right in the same spot. A crescent moon and a scatter of stars. A good reminder to always look up.
I’d forgotten that for too long.
“This is starting to sound like a support group.” My father rose. “Do you want to step back?”
“I do. All the way back.” I took a deep breath. “I’m giving my notice. I’ll stay on for as long as needed to close out my cases, but I’m done. Officially.”
My father continued on as if I’d never spoken. “Dexter indicated he can take on more, and we can always bring in someone to help you after I retire. You can help with that selection. What about Bishop?”
“Did you hear me? I just said I’m leaving. I have to go.” I shoved my fingers through my hair. “But yeah, I can talk to Bishop. I need to anyway. I won’t leave you in the lurch.”
“You can’t leave. You handle everything here. Without you, this law firm will become a shadow of what it used to be. What about my legacy?”
“Your legacy is your own. It’s not my responsibility.” Saying that—and finally truly believing it—was like dropping a burden I’d carried for far too long. “You just said Dex can help more. I’ll call Bishop. He’s been having some growing pains of his own, so maybe he’ll want to throw his lot in here. Maybe not. If he doesn’t, I can put out some feelers.”
“You owe me,” my father said in a low voice, a muscle jumping visibly under his jaw. “After all I’ve sacrificed for you, that’s it? You’d just walk away and let this law firm crumble? And for what, Preston? If this is about your temp, hell, keep fucking her. See if I care.”
“So happy you’re offering your approval.” I dragged off the tie I’d only just put back on before coming in here, punishing the fabric between my hands to keep from strangling my father.
I never would’ve said I had a violent streak, but lately, the man was testing me.
“As of tomorrow, she won’t be working here anymore, and April will return.” He adjusted his cuff links. “Maybe then everything can go back to normal.”
“No, it can’t. I’m done. You know me well enough to know I don’t make idle threats. I never threatened to go before because I wasn’t ready.”
“Oh, and now you are?”
“So ready.” I pocketed my tie and moved to the door. “You can count on me to finish things out, as I said. I won’t leave until my clients are satisfied they are in good hands. But I will be leaving. And if you talk to Dex before I do, please pass along my thanks.” I flashed my dad a thin smile as I turned the knob. “As usual, he ran his mouth before I could, but in this case, I appreciate it.”
I stepped out into the hall and shut the door behind me. And I grinned, already palming my phone in my pocket.
I was free.
Finally, I was fucking free.
Oh, it wasn’t that simple. I’d likely be tying things up for months. But it didn’t matter. There was a light at the end of my metaphorical tunnel, and this time, it wasn’t a train bearing down on me. I could imagine making it through to the other side.
Even if I wasn’t entirely sure what my life would look like yet.
It wasn’t as if I was going to chuck my law degree to become a professional surfer or something. Never mind that a job like that was impossible in central New York. I wasn’t going to relocate either.
I rubbed the mark on my wrist. I had a very good reason to stay exactly where I was.
But I also loved my house. I loved my family, regardless of the fact that one of them was shortsighted, pigheaded, and a damn fool. I didn’t want to go somewhere else. More than enough existed for me right here.
It was past time I figured out how much more I could have.
Walking down the hall to my temporary office—oh, yeah, I was already moving out in my mind—I pressed the speed dial for my best friend. It had been far too long since we’d spoken, but it looked like I was suddenly going to have a lot more free time.
He took a few rings to answer. Once he did, I could barely hear him.