Chapter 221
Shepard stood outside the door, listening as every word of Effie’s conversation with her grandmother drifted through the thin, battered wood. His weathered face was so dark with anger, it looked as if a storm might break across it at any moment.
He was still standing out here did they think he was invisible? Dead?
Taking a deep breath, Shepard forced himself to knock again, voice straining for composure. “Mom, it’s me. I came to see you… Mom?”
At the sound of his shout, the smile instantly vanished from the old woman’s face. Effie yanked open the door, glaring at him. “Shepard, what is wrong with you? Who said you could stand out here yelling like that?”
The moment he saw her, Shepard’s gaze turned cold, a flash of irritation darkening his eyes. His voice was icy. “Effie, who taught you to be so rude?” She arched an eyebrow, her look making it perfectly clear-wasn’t it you? “Sorry, I was born with a father, but never raised by one. That’s just how it is.” Shepard bit down hard in frustration. This damn girl-every time they met, she managed to drive him up the wall.
He drew in another breath, fighting to swallow his anger. He hadn’t come here to get into another shouting match with Effie.
He tried again. “Effie, I told you before you could have stayed with the Bagnold family, but you refused. You insisted on leaving with your grandmother. That’s not my fault.”
Effie knew all too well how much Shepard and Vera had resented her back then. Even if she had stayed with the Bagnolds, life wouldn’t have been any better. She’d rather live a modest life with her grandmother than be worked to death like some Cinderella-slaving away for her stepmother and stepsister while being bullied in her own father’s house.
“Living with the two of you? I’m worried the air in that house is so toxic, I might get sick just breathing it.”
“You-enough!” Shepard’s face was thunderous, darker than soot.
“Oh, I’m not finished. Do us both a favor and stop coming here. Don’t call, don’t look for me—I’m allergic to deadbeat dads.”
“Effie, I am your father!” Shepard ground out the words through clenched teeth.
“I don’t have a father. Mine died the day he decided to cheat.” Effie’s voice was ice.
Shepard was so furious, his jaw creaked as he clenched it. “You’ve gotten sharper since last time, haven’t you?”
He reminded himself sternly-last time, he’d lost his temper and made things worse. That would not happen today.
Effie, too, found Shepard’s persistence odd. He’d stood here and listened to her tirade without slamming the door or storming off. If it weren’t for the fact that no Al could ever pull off this level of shamelessness, she’d have sworn he was an imposter.
Shepard took another steadying breath. “I didn’t come here to fight. I know you’re seeing Mr. Etheridge now. But you don’t understand what kind of family the Etheridges are—I do. If you want things to last with him, you’ll need support. Otherwise, with your background, why would a family like that ever accept you? Come home. If you rejoin the Bagnold family as my daughter, you’ll have a real standing with them. They’ll respect you.”
“You’re smart enough to know—if you want to be part of a family like theirs, you need a powerful ally. Come home, and I’ll be the strongest support you could ever have.”
Effie stared at him and let out a cold laugh. If she hadn’t heard it herself, she’d never have believed a person could be this shameless.
She said, “So this is what it looks like to beg for a favor with zero self-respect.”
Shepard’s brow tightened. He’d tried every kind word he could think of, but Effie still didn’t get it. Did she really think he didn’t have a temper?