Lynda Sandoval – You, And No Other (страница 2)

“I mean, instead, you’ll go with someone else. Someone I approve of.”

Too easy. Had to be a trap. She bit one corner of her lip and took a moment to consider what exactly he was up to, but couldn’t figure it out. “Then, if that’s my choice, I’ll go with Jonas.”

A slash of a smile split his stern face. Not a real smile, of course. She didn’t remember him ever truly smiling. “Great. Go off with your little hoodlum.” A long, thick pause ensued. “But you’ll see no money from me for your college education if you do. Not a dime.”

Her stomach churned violently. “Chief—!”

“Those are the terms.” He let them sink in. “Because I’m a nice guy, I’ll give you one more chance to make a different choice, and that college education you dream of can be yours.”

To her horror, the churning rose to her throat, and she thought she might be sick right then and there. How could she choose between those awful options? Jonas or college? Bottom line, she needed the Chief’s financial backing to get to college, and she desperately needed college for her freedom and sanity. It was too late to apply for financial assistance. Even loans, at least for the first semester, and her dad made too much money for her to qualify for any grants. But she couldn’t bear another six months at home. She had to start classes on time.

And yet, she needed Jonas for her sanity. Prom without Jonas? Her heart rattled.

Sure, he lived in a trailer on the far side of Troublesome Gulch with a single mom who spent too much time in the bars—the ultimate hard-luck cliché—but so what? Should he be punished for that?

Jonas was the best person she knew. Thoughtful, observant, supportive, unassuming. He rose above his circumstances with dreams and goals and the resiliency to make them come true.

He wanted to write and had already composed raw, poignant, honest poetry she kept hidden in a box at the back of her closet. Aside from Mrs. DeLuca, the art teacher at school (and also her friend Erin’s mom), Jonas was the only person in the world who believed Cagney could succeed as an artist and could use her talent to help others.

He inspired her.

He loved her.

Jonas knew more about her and her farce of a home life than even her best friends. She glossed over most of that with the girls out of sheer embarrassment, but she told Jonas everything. They’d been forced to sneak around for years now, thanks to Chief’s discrimination against anyone he deemed unworthy. As far as he knew, she hadn’t been hanging with Jonas since before sophomore year, while in fact, she and Jonas had been in love since then.

They’d simply become experts at hiding.

Her rebellion was alive and well, but unequivocally passive.

She and Jonas had decided the prom would be their one out-in-the-open hurrah in Troublesome Gulch, a night just for the two of them and to hell with her father. They had the whole thing planned. They’d present a united front to Chief, lay out their case with cool logic, refuse to take no for an answer, and he’d eventually relent. What else could he do? Cagney was almost eighteen. It was supposed to be a magical night. Cagney and Jonas, just like fate intended.

Oh, how she’d underestimated her father. He’d rather deny her an education than see her happy with someone who didn’t meet his approval.

“Well?” Chief growled.

She worried her bottom lip between her teeth.

Jonas was a long-term, big-picture type of thinker, though. Who cared about one night, one dance, in the grand scheme of things, when they had their whole future? She could explain the situation; he knew what Chief was about. Knowing Jonas, he’d probably encourage her to jump through her father’s stupid hoops. The most important thing was getting to the university where they’d both been accepted, where they could spend every day together.

Jonas would get it. She just had to talk to him.

Her tension eased. “Fine. I’ll call Jonas and—”

“Absolutely not.”

Her eyes widened. “What?”

“I forbade you from talking to that hoodlum years ago, and although you disobeyed my orders without any regard, the rules still apply.”

Her breathing shallowed. “I can’t just stand him up. That’s completely rude.”

Her father leaned closer until she could smell the bitter precinct coffee on his breath. “You don’t get it, do you? I don’t care about that kid or his feelings, if he has any. You’ll go to the prom with someone else, and you won’t call your friends or Eberhardt before then. If you defy these terms, no college. Simple. Don’t think I’m kidding.”

“Chief!” She pounded her fists on the mattress at her sides. “That’s not fair.”

He grabbed her wrist and squeezed. “Life isn’t fair, and here’s a prime chance for you to learn that.”

As if she didn’t already know. A flash of anger emboldened her. “What happened that turned you so unbelievably cruel?” she asked in a hard whisper.

An avalanche of emotion moved over his face in a split second before his expression went stony and his tone lowered to a dangerous growl. “Yes or no, Cagney. Now. I have better things to do than play games with you.”

Her chin quivered from rage despite her best efforts to keep her emotions in the deep freeze. She stiffened her spine. It would be last-minute, but she could talk to Jonas at school tomorrow, hash everything out.

“Oh, and you won’t be going to school tomorrow,” Chief said, as though reading her mind. “I’ve called the office already.”

Her heart sank, and her vision swirled.

“What? You thought I wouldn’t consider every angle?”

How could she? Her father was the most calculating, manipulative person she’d ever known. But this really topped all. What was the point in it? To purposefully hurt Jonas? And her? She knew Chief was a control freak, but she hadn’t realized until that moment how truly mean-spirited he was.

“So?” His eyes glittered victoriously. He knew he had her. “What will it be? Prom with a boy who will never be worthy of you, or a college education? Your choice.”

Everything inside her went cold. She couldn’t feel. Couldn’t react appropriately. She should be weeping, screaming at him like Terri would’ve been. Instead, she just felt numb. Trapped. Tortured. “College, Chief. Of course college. What do you think I am, some kind of an idiot?”

He released her wrist, disgust in his expression. “Considering your choice of associates, sometimes I wonder.” He swaggered over to her purse, opened it, removed her cell phone, then walked to the wall and unplugged her home extension. “These go with me. Now that I know I can’t trust you. Don’t even try to use the computer, either. The modem is also with me.”

Icy fury bubbled in her throat.

Fight it back. Fight it back.

“There is no getting around this, so don’t bother trying. I’ll be staying home tomorrow to monitor you until your date picks you up for prom.”

“I’m not your prisoner, you know.” Though sometimes she wondered.

“No, you’re my daughter, who lives in my house and abides by my rules. Who will be your date?”

No answer.

“Fine.” He started toward the door. “Don’t go at all. I’d prefer that anyway.”

“No, wait.” She blew out a steadying breath. She couldn’t bear the thought of sitting in this oppressive house while her best friends in the world were at prom, especially knowing it would be her father’s preference. Her heart ached for Jonas, but she was backed into a corner. She supposed she could call him from the dance and have him meet her there. That was something. “I’ll go stag. With my friends.”

“Forget it. Only losers and sluts go stag.”

“That’s not true!”

He shrugged. “Name an escort or stay home.”

She blew out her frustration. “Tad Rivers, I guess?” she muttered. “He asked me, and I don’t think he has another date. He’d planned on going stag.” She glared up through her lashes. “So, is he a loser because of that or does he pass your inspection? His dad’s the city attorney.”

“I’ll call Will Rivers right now.”

“I want to go in a group. With my friends. Mick and Erin and Lexy are all going together with their dates.” Maybe she could get word to Jonas that he’d have to meet her there if she had the chance to rearrange plans with them. “If I can just call Lexy—”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“Gee, thanks. Do you even know what to say to her?”

He held up a finger. “Cut the snotty attitude. I’m doing you a favor. You should be thanking me.”

Cagney clenched her fists so hard that her fingernails drew blood in her palms, but she welcomed the sting. If she couldn’t go with Jonas, she was going to smuggle in the alcohol and get stinking drunk. Her father deserved that slap in the face, at least.

“Your mother said dinner is in twenty minutes.”

“I’m not hungry,” she muttered.

He whipped back, frowning. “I don’t give a damn if you ate three lunches and you’re stuffed full. Your mother cooked a meal, which is more than that worthless drunk Ava Eberhardt did tonight, I’m sure, and you’ll be at the table in twenty minutes. Do I make myself clear?”

A long pause ensued, during which she contemplated defending Jonas’s mother, toyed with telling Chief exactly where to go. Then she remembered her college escape plan, his invisible financial choke collar on her. He hadn’t even allowed her to work a part-time job during high school, so she had no money of her own. Zippo. Not a dime. Just another way for him to keep her under his thumb.