Page 75 of Parker
“Yes, sir.”
“The Quinn stuff? I always thought you hated him, but if you don’t, you don’t. Not my circus, not my monkeys. For my part, I always liked him. Cheeky kid. Funny man. Skip’s one of my closest friends.” He’d shrugged. “I know you youngsters can get caught up in the moment. Hormones and all that. Neckin’ on your own time isn’t a crime in my book.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“But you weren’t on your own time, were you?”
“No, sir.”
“No, miss. You were onourtime.Businesstime. And I don’t know about you, but walking around in a wet bra at a convention? Slugging people for cutting you in line?” His blue eyes were piercing as he slapped his palms on the table for emphasis, making the coffee mugs splash and rattle. “The jury’s still out, but you may have put all of our livelihoods in jeopardy. According to Reeve, that video has been viewed forty-thousand times. FORTY THOUSAND TIMES, Parker Katharine. How many of those people were potential customers? My god, I’m so worried, so angry at you, I can’t…I just can’t…”
He’d dropped his gaze then, shaking his head back and forth as he stared down at the table, clearly at a loss for words.
“I’m so sorry,” I’d whimpered, feeling like total shit. “Dad…everyone…all of you…I’m so, so sorry.”
My father had taken a deep breath and nodded, but he didn’t look up at me, like maybe he couldn’t bear to look me in the eye for now.And man, that hurt. That hurt bad.
Blinking my burning eyes but forcing them not to fall, I’d shifted my eyes to Tanner.
“Tan?”
“I echo the sentiments about Quinn. If you were in any way coerced, I’d kill him, but Harp and Sawyer say you were into him, so it’s none of my business, though—between you and me and everyone else here?—I’m confused as hell because you always said you hated him.”
“I don’t hate him, but it doesn’t matter,” I’d told my older brother. “It’s over now.”
“Be that as it may,” he’d continued, “the stuff Dad just said about losing bookings ismybiggest worry, too. I’ve got a wife. I’ve got a…a…” He’d shaken his head, his brows furrowed, and lips pursed. “Park, I can’t afford to lose my income.”
“I know,” I’d murmured. “I’m so sorry.”
“I guess we’ll just have to see what happens,” he’d said. Then suddenly, his face had brightened. “I also want to say that I disagree with Harp. If Rick Jones got fresh with you, I’m thrilled you slugged him. I heard you gave him a sweet shiner. Way to go, Park.”
Through a blur of tears, I’d chuckled softly as Tanner nodded at me in solidarity.
“Thanks, Tan.” Then, I’d turned to Reeve, who sat on the other side of Sawyer. “Reeve? You’re up.”
Her arms were crossed over her chest, and she stared at her coffee mug, refusing to look at me. “I don’t care about the business stuff. Social media is dumb, and by the time peoplestart booking their tours and excursions in April and May, no one will even remember that video.”
“Thanks, Reeve.”
Shifting her gaze, her blue eyes had flashed with anger and hurt when she finally looked up at me. “But I don’t get the Quinn stuff. He’s a jerk. He’s always been a jerk. He made middle school miserable for you. I’ve heard the stories, and I always had your back So, no. I don’t understand that part. Were you lying about hating him? Did you like him all this time? Did you change your mind over a span of five or six days? It doesn’t make any sense to me!”
“I don’t know how to explain it to you, babycakes—”
“Don’t call me that. I’m not a baby.”
Her words were like a slap. They’d hurt badly.
“Reeve,” I’d started again. “I don’t know how to explain it except that there’s a very thin line between love and hate. My feelings for Quinn were always strong, you know?”
“Yeah. Strong like…hate. Theoppositeof love.”
“Love isn’t the opposite of hate,” Harper had piped up. “The opposite of hateorlove is the same—it’s indifference. And Park was never, ever indifferent to Quinn. You’re young, Reeve, so maybe you haven’t learned this yet…but, you can think that you’ll hate someone forever, and some folks do, I guess. But if you stop hating someone, you don’t shift automatically from hate to indifference. It doesn’t always work like that. Sometimes a strong, intense feeling like hate morphs very quickly into love.”
“So she’s in love with Quinn?” Reeve had demanded, her eyes narrowed with anger. “Isthatwhat you’re saying?”
“Quinn’s in love with her,” Sawyer had offered. “I talked to him yesterday, and I believe him. He told me that over the years, having Parker’s attention—even if it was because he was teasing or pestering her—was better than no attention at all. But when they got out of Skagway…got to Vegas…he could show hera different side of himself. He could show her the side that loved her, that’s loved her for a long time.”
“Horseshit!” Reeve had yelled.