Her father looked thoughtfully from one to the other of them before asking, “Yes, but for how long? You’ve always been good at shining for short periods, Penelope. It’s only after a certain amount of time that you lose sight of what’s important. Only then do you lose interest and seek out a new adventure.”
She pressed her lips together. “I’m not the same girl I was back then, Dad. Sure, for a time I changed my major every other month because I didn’t know what I wanted and therefore tried out everything I could. But I don’t look foradventuresanymore.”
Her father smiled indulgently…which made her blood boil. She didn’t need indulgence! She needed respect.
“I’m good at the job, Dad,” she stated harshly. “Gareth is good at the job. We both are. So, stop playing this stupid game and do it the way Gareth and Ialwayswanted to do it.”
“So, you can let him do the hard work, take the money, and then run off?” her mother asked, piqued. “I don’t think so. We’re your family, Penelope. We know you.”
She laughed soundlessly. “Honestly, Mom, right now, I feel like the Hawks are a better family than we are. They’re wonderful together. Totally different but still a team. They accept each other for the way they are. They’re there for each other, aren’t judgmental, and don’t try to change each other.”
Her mother sighed. “I don’t want to change you, Penelope. I’m simply stating the facts. You’re known for fleeing the country.”
Penny’s mouth went dry, and her heart twitched painfully in her chest. “Unbelievable,” she murmured and shook her head. A bitter taste flooded her mouth, burning her tongue. “Are you seriously accusing me of leaving back then even though it wasyouwho told me to leave?”
“What?” Gareth asked sharply, his gaze shifting between Penny and their mother.
“Penny, please don’t raise your voice,” her father said calmly. “And could we close the door? We have an audience.”
Confused, Penny turned and saw Dax in the doorway along with…Jack. Of course. Now that.
“What do you mean you left because of her?” Gareth asked angrily. “Mom? Is that true?”
“I was merely giving her a nudge in the right direction, darling,” her mother said with a sigh. “You know what she was like. What sheislike. I wanted to give her a break.”
Penny laughed dryly. “You wanted to give yourself a break. From all the headlines about yourcrazydaughter!”
“Well, Penelope,” she said, pursing her lips, “you beheaded a rooster on a stage! And naturally, it made the papers, and obviously, everyone was talking about it and wondering what we did wrong in raising you and…I thought a little break from your life would do you good.”
“It was a vacation fromyouthat did me good!” she replied angrily. “I would have been happier with myself ifyouhadn’t been so terribly unhappy with me! Do you think I don’t realize that it was reckless and dramatic of me to put on a…a bloody show? Of course I do! It was scandalous, but I wanted to make a difference, and I had asked you to at least give a speech…” She let out a gush of frustration. “But even that was too embarrassing for you, wasn’t it? Too uncomfortable. You could have defended me. You could have said that the rooster was too extreme, but the message was right. That it was hypocritical to collect donations for animal welfare and global warming and then serve five hundred chickens at a gala dinner! There wasn’t a single meatless dish on the menu! But no, you told everyone that I had been going through a difficult time. That I…” She pressed her lips together. “Went to therapy for my problems! And it’s okay togo to therapy. I recommend it to everyone — but shit, it wasn’t the truth!” For Penny, the incident wasn’t about the rooster, but the moment when she’d overheard her parents portraying their daughter as crazy, stating she had a mental illness instead of standing up for her. “So?” she cried bitterly, her voice getting louder with each word. “Why should I have stayed when my own family was so ashamed of me that they felt like they had to cover for my misdeeds to the whole world and make excuses for me over and over again?”
“Penelope, please,” her father said, raising his hands in reassurance.
“Oh, it’s hopeless, Darron,” her mother replied with a sigh. “She’s not taking it seriously. Her temper has always gotten her into trouble. I told you to just give the team to Gareth and call it a day. Penny is incredibly smart, but also a bit reckless, hot-headed, and impulsive, she…”
“Hey!” a male voice suddenly interrupted loudly, making Penny and her mother flinch.
It was Jack. He was no longer standing in the doorway but in the middle of the room, his expression so dark that Penny recoiled in shock.
“Stop speaking about her like that, damn it. She doesn’t deserve that!” he said roughly, pointing his finger at her mother.
Sybil Clark looked like she had just seen a unicorn — and it was surprisingly ugly. “Excuse me?” she asked, shocked.
“Oh, fuck, Jack,” Dax muttered, pulling his brother back by the shoulder. “It’s time to go.”
“No!” he replied gruffly.
Penny swallowed and stepped forward quickly. “Mr. West,” she caught herself. “It’s okay, really…”
“It’s not okay!” he cried in disbelief, pulling away. “Do you have any idea how smart your daughter is and how hard she works? And how much effort she’s making to finally meet yourstandards?” He turned to Penny. “You’ve been busting your ass for months, you know every statistic, and here she is accusing you of not taking it seriously? What the hell?”
“That’s what I was about to ask,” her father replied coolly. “Be careful what you say in front of us, Mr. West.”
Jack laughed hoarsely. “Oh yeah? And what if…”
“Okay, we’re going,” Penny said quickly, pressing her hand over Jack’s mouth. “He’s sorry. He’s simply passionate about his team, and Gareth and I are part of it now, so…” The next moment, she pushed Jack violently into the hallway, only succeeding because Dax assisted. Breathing heavily, she closed the door behind them and glanced up at Jack, shaking her head.
“Calm down!” she whispered sharply, giving Dax a grateful look before pulling Jack by the hand further down the hall.
