Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

Lorcan

"Enough!" I bark out in annoyance at Suzie.

"No, Lorcan! Not enough. You're being an idiot," she responds, smacking her hands down on the kitchen counter between us. Her face is red with anger, and her blond curls bounce around her head as she visibly shakes with rage. If I wasn't so pissed at her, I'd find it amusing that our usually calm, sweet daughter was literally spitting mad.

"I'll remind you who you're talking to, Suzanne," I warn with a low growl before pushing up from my careful perch against the kitchen counter. "I'm still your dad, and for the time being, you still find yourself under my roof. We don't ask for a lot, so the least you can do is show me some damn respect."

Her brows narrow as she scowls at me. "Respect? I'll respect you when you're not being an idiot!"

"Suzanne!" Montgomery bellows out as he walks into the kitchen .

She turns her glower on him, and I'm glad to share her ire with someone else.

"No. I've been quiet and let you do things your way this whole time, but I've had enough and won't keep quiet anymore." She stomps her foot on the floor before narrowing her gaze on me again. "It's time you hear me out," she says to us, resting her hands on her hips, squaring up to face us as if we're her opponents.

And I suppose, to some extent, we are.

"You've given Annie these months on her own. I don't know, either because you're really dum-dums, or maybe because she needed some time on her own for a while. For whatever fucked-up reason, but I'm telling you, it needs to end, okay? She needs to know you care because she thinks you don't!"

A sharp lance pierces my heart at Suzie's words.

How could Annie think that? We might not have said the words, but I honestly thought that our feelings for her were clear.

"Suzanne, we love you, but this is not your place. Your dad and I have spoken about this, and we're both on the same page," Monte says before I can bring up my worries about Annie's feelings, but from the look on his face, Suzie's words affected him too.

Our daughter's face pulls down in a sulky frown and she stomps her foot again before storming out of the kitchen. However, before she makes it all the way out, she stops, turns around and looks back at us.

"Not that either of you care, but she has her first gallery showing this weekend. It's at the place she's been working." Unshed tears fill her eyes, and from the pinch of her mouth, it's clear they're from anger, not sadness. She storms from the kitchen and instead of heading to her room like I'd have expected; she goes out the front door, and it slams shut behind her.

"Fuck," I bite out. "She can't drive in that state."

Both Monte and I head for the front door, rushing to catch up with her. We get out the door just as she jumps into one of the Range Rovers and before we can stop her, she's down the driveway and out of the gate.

"We have to trust that she'll be careful," Monte says, his voice wavering slightly.

We stand there, looking at the taillights disappear before I pick up the phone to call her. I'm not worried about her using her phone in the car because all of them have been equipped with decent Bluetooth systems. I do, however, suspect that she's not likely to answer the call. When it goes to voicemail, I'm not very surprised.

"Suzie, you know you're not allowed to drive angry. Check in and let us know you're okay."

I cut the call and turn back into the house, Monte following close on my heels. When I sit down at the kitchen counter and rest my head in my hands, Monte moves up behind me, putting his hands on my shoulders and giving them a rub.

"Are we making a mistake?" I ask, my voice hoarse. I lean back against his chest and he wraps his arm around me, holding me tight. I grab hold of his arm and squeeze it. I love being able to get my strength from him.

"No. She needs this. Every moment with her was wonderful, but it was also pretty clear she wasn't ready to be all-in yet. Her heart needs to heal, and she needs to grow first."

He sounds confident. And I agree with him, I really do.

But couldn't she grow with us? Couldn't she find herself while she was surrounded by the love we wanted to share with her?

"Lo, baby, I can feel you overthinking it. My heart is just as broken as yours. I want to be there for her, I want to smother her in love and help her build a new life, but I don't think Annie believes she's strong enough to do it alone, so she needs to prove it to herself, more than us."

"Ugh!" I cry out before pulling my hands through my hair. "Can we at least go to her exhibition? Show our support?"

Monte is quiet while he thinks, too long in my opinion, before he answers. "I have a secret to share with you," he says carefully.

Turning in my stool, I dislodge his arm from my chest, forcing him to move back a step so I can look him in the eye. "Yeah?"

His face is drawn into a grimace and his eyes are focused on the counter instead of me. "She's been posting her stuff online. A new profile created for her work. Suzie sent it to us in one of her more passive-aggressive moments."

I remember her sending links. I'd not followed them because I couldn't stomach the thought of seeing her but not having access to her. But she also sent it to both of us, so that's no reason for Monte to look as guilty as he does.

"And?"

He shrugs in response, and I lean over, tipping his chin so he's forced to look up at me.

"I've bought them all." His cheeks turn red as he admits it to me, and the tension building up inside me dissipates.

"All of them? What about her showing? "

He shrugs again, and I reach up to grab his face, bringing it down for a kiss.

"I love you, Monte," I whisper against his lips. "But now you have to let her do the rest on her own, okay?"

Especially as the whole point of letting her go was so she could prove to herself she could do it. And he is the most vocal about pushing her to find herself.

"I know, obviously I do," he says, defending himself. "But I was worried that she doesn't have enough money, and she's not looking after herself properly, so I wanted to just do one little thing to ensure she's got everything she needs."

I hold on to him, keeping my head against his chest, and his arms wrap around my shoulders, and we stay together like that for a while, just staying in the moment until my phone chimes with a message from Suzie.

Suzie

I'm at Coles. I'll be here until you get your head out of your ass. I love you.

I show the text to Monte and he bursts out in laughter.

"We'll let her have this showing. And if she doesn't come home after, we'll go fetch our Annie, okay?"

I respond with a smile as I bring his face closer for another kiss.