in my stomach. How did he manage to buy that? And how could he spend money on a luxury like Kingâs Shadow when heâs having trouble paying his bills?
I donât care about Dadâs money. Or what kind of car he drives. Or whether he has a fancy horse or buys me presents. I just want him back, just want us to be a family again.
But Dad lied to me! Heâs only moving back to Pennsylvania because he needs work. Not because he misses us.
Ashley presses her lips and cheeks against the truck window, making goofy faces, trying to get Dadâs attention. My stomach twists, and I want to run and scoop her up in my arms to protect her.
Suddenly I feel just the way I did in the dream, and the way I felt going over that jump with Comet. As if Iâm falling, fallingâ¦then hitting the cold, hard ground with a thud. As if all the breath has been knocked out of me.
I canât believe what a chicken my dad isâheâs too scared to tell me the truth.
Dad clicks off his cell phone and slips it back into his pocket. He still doesnât see me.
Iâd better not let him know what Iâve heard.
No! Maybe the old David would have done that. It would be easier, less painful to pretend I donât know anything.
But Iâm too mad to just let it go. As he reaches to open the driverâs side door, I step out from behind the truck. âDadâwait!â
Dad turns around, surprised, then gives me one of his charming smiles. âDavid! Hey, howâs the cat doing?â
It must be the look on my face that stops him cold. He tries again. âHey, that was pretty neat the way you guys saved that cat. Sorry I had to slip out. I needed to check my phone messages at the hotelââ
âCoward!â I blurt out.
Dadâs jaw drops.
Did I really just call my father a coward? I donât care. All this time Iâve been so afraid of looking like a coward in his eyes, because Iâm afraid of falling off a jumping horse. Now I realize thatâs nothing to be ashamed of compared to what heâs done.
âDavid,â he says, holding out his hands, palms up, like a criminal trying to look innocent, âwhat are you talking about?â
I step closer and stare straight up into his startled blue eyes. âYouâre afraid to admit why youâre really here!â
âWhat do you mean?â he asks.
I glance at Ashley inside the truck. The windows are rolled up and I try not to shout, so she wonât hear me. But itâs hard, because Iâm so mad Iâm shaking. âYou think you can just turn up after a year? Just pop back into our lives like nothingâs changed, bring a pretty horse, be the big shot again?â
âDavidââ
âAshley cried for months when you left!â I hurl at him. âWe all missed you, Dad. You stopped calling. You didnât even write.â I pause to fight down some angry tears. âMom knocks herself out to look after us and pay the bills, too. And Ashleyâshe wears that stupid purple sundress all the time like itâs some magic princess dress that will bring you back if she just wishes hard enough. Brian wonât talk about you at all. Donât you care how much you hurt us?â
Dad looks like a statue for a moment. Or a handsome mannequin posing as a dad in a department store window. Then he takes a step toward me, his hands outstretched. âI donât know what you heard, David, but I can explainââ
âDonât bother.â I start to run away.
Dadâs strong hand comes down on my shoulder to stop me. Ow! He doesnât even remember how sore I am from the fall. âDavid,â he says again, his voice husky. âWait.â
Donât, I tell myself. Just keep going. Keep going until youâre so far away, you canât hear any more of his lies.
But Dad doesnât let go. Slowly I turn around, daring him with my eyes to lie to me
1802-1870 Alexandre Dumas