Page 34 of Can't Take Moore
“You can begin to make it up to me by restoring the power of attorney,” she suggested.
I refused to give up the ground that I’d gained toward my independence. “That’s not going to happen.”
“Think very carefully about what you do next, Vienna.” Her chin lifted as she looked down her nose at me. “I’d hate to have to force you to hand them over to me in a more permanent manner.”
Crossing my arms against my chest, I shook my head in disbelief. “And how would you do that? Like I already said, I’m not a minor anymore. You can’t just hijack my bank account.”
“I can if a judge says so.” Her eyes narrowed as she hissed, “And with everything my investigator dug up when I asked him to locate you, I think I could make an excellent case for you not being of sound mind at the moment. Between losing your father and the strain of the Olympics, you’ve lost sight of what’s important. And that man you’re seeing hasn’t helped. I could probably even make a case against him for unduly influencing you to purchase this house so he could earn a fat commission from the seller.”
Threatening me was bad enough. Going after Dean when he’d been nothing but good to me was a whole other thing, and I wouldn’t stand for it. Using her own words against her, I sneered, “You should think very carefully about what you say and do next, Mom. I’m sure a judge would have something to say about how you’ve lived off your daughter for years. And using my money to stalk me won’t look good either.”
“You can’t threaten Mom like that,” Nadia cried, stomping her foot like the spoiled brat that she was.
“That’s where you’re wrong. I have more than enough money in the bank to fight whatever you two want to throw my way. Can you say the same?” I asked as I stormed toward the front of my house with them hot on my heels, bitching and moaning about how unfair I was being. If that wasn’t the height of hypocrisy, I didn’t know what was.
Reaching the door, I flung it open and pointed at my front porch. “Get out.” When it looked as though they were both getting ready to argue more, I snapped, “Now.”
My mom looked furious as she strode past me, and Nadia aimed a nasty look my way. As soon as they were on the porch, I slammed the door shut behind them and slumped against the hard surface. I stayed there with tears streaming down my cheeks until I heard their car start and pull out of the driveway. Then I raced over to the couch to grab my cell. Jabbing my finger against the screen, I called Dean.
“Hey, princess. Are you on the way to the rink?”
“No.” I sniffled, trying to hold back my tears so I could talk. I hadn’t been thinking about anything other than my need to hear his voice. “I don’t think I’m going to make it there today.”
“What’s wrong? Did something happen? Are you okay?”
The obvious concern in his voice had more tears welling in my eyes. “My mom and sister were here. They just left.”
“You didn’t mention they were coming for a visit.”
“I wasn’t expecting to see them.” I traced my finger over the seam of the nearest throw pillow as I crushed it against my chest. “We argued. It was bad. Awful, actually.”
“It’ll be okay, princess. I’m coming over.”
Lifting my feet onto the couch, I pressed my cheek against my knees, curling into a ball while I asked, “What about your meeting?”
“Fuck my meeting,” he growled. “I’ll reschedule.”
“But you said earlier that it was something you couldn’t miss.”
“That was before you were crying. No way in hell am I going to be able to get any work done knowing you’re this upset. I’ll be there soon.”
After the confrontation I’d just had with my mom and sister, it was the perfect answer and went a long way to soothe my hurt feelings.
14
Dean
Ihated that Vienna’s mom and sister had come down here to cause trouble for her. Not just because I never wanted to see her hurt. But also since I’d been taught growing up that family was everything—by word and deed.
I knew that my parents would do whatever it took to make sure my brothers and I were happy. The same was true for my aunts and uncles, with the exception of Baxter’s parents. Although I’d seen how awful they could be at times, I’d never doubted that my aunt and uncle loved him. Their priorities were just messed up. But at least their fuckups had never left my cousin a mess like this. And their stunts mostly seemed to come from a good—albeit misguided—place. Not from greed over what their son could do for them.
When I arrived at Vienna’s house to check on her, I found her curled up in a ball on the couch. She was shivering, so I wrapped one of the throw blankets around her. Knowing how much she liked it, I asked, “Want me to make you some tea?”
“No, thanks.” Her voice quivered as she squeezed her eyes shut, a tear streaming down her cheek. “Could you maybe just hold me for a little bit?”
“I’d be happy to hold you for as long as you’d like,” I murmured, nudging her to the side so I could climb onto the couch behind her. When I lifted her onto my lap, she let out a deep sigh and pressed her cheek to my shoulder, her arms going around my neck.
I toyed with the ends of her hair, my other hand stroking up and down her back. We stayed like that for a good fifteen minutes before she said anything else. “I knew they weren’t going to be happy about the changes I’m making to my life because they impact theirs, but I wasn’t expecting to get so ugly. I’m not sure how we would ever be able to have a relationship again if my mom follows through with her threat.”
