Stacey shot me a dirty look. “I am a part of this family, and the sooner you accept that, the easier your life will be.”
“Not happening, sweetheart,” I shot back.
“Thea, enough,” Dad said in a firm voice. “Apologize for your rudeness.”
“That’s not happening either,” I said with a smirk.
Stacey grabbed the one free chair and dragged it around the table to sit between Dad and Rich. Her hand landed on Dad’s forearm. The long, pointy red nails made me want to scream. I was certain that poofy black hair that looked like it had a full bottle of hairspray in it was hiding her horns. She was the devil. I was certain of it.
“Sweetie, we’re all family,” she cooed. “Your father and I love you and want you to understand I’m not trying to take the place of your mother.”
I jumped out of my chair so fast it tipped over backward. Rich got out of his chair as well. Stacey was smiling up at me. She was purposely trying to provoke me. She knew if I kicked her ass, Dad would be furious.
“Thank you for the sandwich, Dad,” Rich said. “We’ll talk soon.”
“I just don’t know how to deal with her, Clay,” Stacey pouted. “Do you see how she treats me? She won’t even apologize.”
“Thea, please,” Dad said. “You know better. That behavior is unacceptable.”
“I will not apologize,” I said defiantly. “Not to her. Not ever.”
“Let’s go,” Rich said and grabbed my arm.
He was pulling me away, but I couldn’t resist kicking the bags on the floor. “Try cleaning up your shit!” I shouted over my shoulder.
Rich practically dragged me out of the house. I would have loved to kick the woman’s ass. I wanted to rip those damn nails off her. Nails I knew my father paid for. “Get in the car,” Rich ordered.
I got into the passenger seat and slammed the door. Rich got in and looked at me. “Really?”
“She had it coming,” I said. “She has so much more coming to her. Did you see that house? Did you smell it? It’s disgusting. That woman is trash. She’s destroying him. Did you see all those bags? You know she’s using Dad’s money to buy all that shit. She is sucking him dry. If she gets him to Calgary, she’s going to bleed him dry. We can’t let her do it.”
I knew I was ranting. I couldn’t help it. I was furious.
“Fighting Stacey isn’t going to help matters,” he said. “We have to stay close to Dad.”
“I want to rip her hair out,” I seethed.
“Calm down, Rocky. We’ll find another way.”