She slammed her hand down on her counter, and Paddy stilled, his eyes going wide and then narrowing.

“I’m done paying for everyone else’s transgressions! She left. Why, I don’t know. But I do know I sure as heck wanted to leave plenty of times. Maybe he drove her away. She’s selfish and a terrible mother regardless, but she’s not me. I’m me, and I’m done with this conversation. I hope he is truly clean once and for all, but I want no part of any of this. I am not his rock bottom, I am not his keeper. I am not his rock or his reason to be clean. He has to make his own damned life choices. Good night, Grandmother, and have a good Thanksgiving.”

“You want that money.”

It shouldn’t have hurt, her grandmother had done much the same to her father. But it did. It also took that flame of anger and simmered it, allowing her to withdraw from the conversation without any more damage.

“It came to me, legally, on my twenty-first birthday. If you didn’t want me to have it, you should have challenged it instead of pushing me to take it. I won’t let you manipulate me like this. I need to go. I do love you, and I hope you and Bob have a nice Thanksgiving.”

She hung up and turned the ringer off.

* * *

PADDY LOOKED AT HER. “I don’t know whether to give you a hug or a high five. I take it that was your grandmother?”

“Yes. Inviting me for Thanksgiving. I’m sort of embarrassed you heard that. I’m not usually like that with her.”

“Sounds to me like she said a lot of stuff to provoke a response like that.”

“She does it on purpose to poke at me and back me into a corner. I’m stupid to have let her do it.”

He stepped close and pulled her into a hug. “You’re lots of things, but you’re not stupid. And I don’t even know your family, but holy shit, I don’t like them one bit. No one gets to upset you like this.”

She smiled, snuggling into him. “I think I shocked her. I’ve never actually told her off like that. Jeez, all she did was call to ask me to Thanksgiving dinner. I’m going to hell.”

He leaned her back so he could look her in the face. “Baby, hush. I heard part of that. I know you. It is not a child’s fault that a parent leaves, and your dad and your grandmother both seem to use that to hurt you. That’s not right. And you’re not going anywhere near Thanksgiving dinner with them. Unless you really really want to, in which case I’ll be coming along.”

“Wow, you must really like me to volunteer for what would most assuredly be a pretty nightmarish day for you. But I said no and it wasn’t hard. I don’t go there for holiday dinners and I haven’t in some time. I do see my grandmother a few times a year, usually at really stilted lunches where she drinks too much and tells me things I’m not supposed to know. But I don’t need her to be my family. The fact is, when I needed her to be, she wasn’t. I can forgive that, like I can forgive my father. But I can’t forget, and I won’t let them ever get close enough to hurt me like that again.”

“I want to punch someone on your behalf.”

“To be fair, you’ve been with your brothers all day, so you’d want to punch someone, anyway.”

“Ezra made me and Vaughan sit on opposite sides of the studio today.”

“You’re really cute when you pout about not being able to fight with your brother.”

“I tried to remember what you said about how he wanted me to respect him and be proud of him. You’re probably right. Even if he is a lazy f**k.”

She rolled her eyes.

“I’m hungry. I have Mary leftovers in my fridge, so I think you should pack a bag and come to my place. Spend the next few days with me.”

“I have to work tomorrow for half the day.”

“So? I’ll drive you in. After I make you breakfast, even. Then I’ll pick you up, and we can spend the night together. I’m going to have to make you come a lot so you’re plenty relaxed for turkey day with the Hurleys.”

“You’d really just use anything you could to have more sex, wouldn’t you?”

He grinned. “Take a look in a mirror, gorgeous, and you tell me how anyone can resist all those curves.”

“Oh, wait, what are you doing Friday?”

“I didn’t have anything planned. Please don’t tell me you want to get up at four and wait in some long-ass line to get socks on sale.”

She cringed. “It’s like you don’t know me at all.”

He laughed. “Hey, I should get credit for even entertaining the thought of doing such a thing for you.”

“You were going to try to get me to do it with your mom or Mary or something, anyway.”

He ducked his chin, blushing. “Okay, so I know it’s not that. What are we doing on Friday, then?”

“1022 has a day after Thanksgiving day. We eat leftovers and lay around and have a movie marathon of some sort. I don’t know what it is this year, but it should be fun. I told Zoe and Jenny about you tonight, and they wanted me to come and bring you, too, so they can meet you. I know Delia will be there. I forgot to ask about Rosie.”

“Yeah, I’d love that. I’ve been wanting to meet your friends for a while. And relaxing all day watching movies sounds like the perfect activity.”

“And you’ll be surrounded by women.”

“Clearly, I’ve been a good boy this year, and Santa is hooking me up. Lucky for me, I’ll have the prettiest one in my bed already.”