My Fake Fling

“Stop,” I scolded. “It’s a good idea and it will solve not only my problem, but his. You don’t have to clean out your spare room.”

“Let me guess, Reese is going to move Dad into one of his many rooms,” he said.

“Actually, he’s going to move me into his room,” I said defiantly.

“What?” Rich whipped his head around, jerking the steering wheel at the same time.

“Listen,” I said. “Stop being ridiculous. This is a good plan. We’ll move Dad into my townhouse. I’ll stay with Reese for now. I can’t find anywhere to move just now, but they are not letting up on the dogs. They left a friendly reminder I had to get rid of the dogs.”

“Reese is not going to let you move into his house with dogs,” Rich said.

“Yes, I am,” Reese said.

“Dad will move into my place. My mortgage is low enough he can afford it. I get out of my house and Dad has a place to stay. He doesn’t have dogs and there is nothing that asshole neighbor can do to Dad. If they try to mess with Dad, he’ll fight back.”

He tapped his finger on the steering wheel. “I guess it’s something to satisfy the problem for now.”

I squeezed Reese’s shoulder. It was a good plan. Reese was the one making the sacrifice. I knew his opinion of the dogs, but that wasn’t holding him back. He was a good man.

I was happy I didn’t have to stay in my house with the asshole neighbor and the risk of the criminals finding me. It was safe at Reese’s place and his yard was huge. The dogs were going to be happy.

When we got to my father’s house, there were butterflies in my stomach. I was excited to get my dad out but a little sad to say goodbye to my childhood home.

“Ready for this?” Rich asked. “Shit might get ugly.”

“I hope it does,” I said. “I’ve been waiting to get ugly for too long.”

“Don’t do anything that will land you in jail,” Rich warned.

“I’ll keep her on a short leash,” Reese teased.

We marched up to the front door. Rich knocked and waited. Stacey answered the door and looked absolutely stunned to see us. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Move,” Rich said and pushed her out of the way. “Dad! Dad, we’re here!”

“In here,” Dad called out from the kitchen.

He was carrying a cup of coffee and smiling. He looked happier than he had in a long time.

“Good morning, everyone,” he said with a bright smile.

“What’s going on?” Stacey asked. “Clay, what are they doing here?”

“They’re my children, Stacey,” he replied coolly. “I thought you understood that.”

“But why are they here?” she asked again.

She had the audacity to look me up and down. I smiled back at her. “We’re here to pick him up. And his things.”

“Excuse me?” she said with her usual bitchiness.

“You heard them, Stacey,” Dad answered. “Rich, Reese, those are my boxes in the corner. If you can start loading them up, I would appreciate it.”

“Loading them up?” Stacey gasped. “What are you talking about?”

“You’re free to go to Calgary, or straight to hell,” I said. “He’ll be coming with us.”

“What the hell are you talking about?!” Stacey shrieked and stomped one of her leopard-print heels. “We’re leaving in a couple of hours.”