He grinned. “Not even in her room? Under the mattress maybe?” He got up and made a move toward the hall, but Libby moved faster and blocked his path.
“I don’t think so.”
A sneer covered his face. “Let me teach you a few things about life, Elizabeth.”
Her breath stuck in her chest. He knew her. He knew her and yet he was still being an ass.
He laughed as if reading her thoughts. “Yeah, I knew you were Gabby’s brat.”
“I’m yours too,” she pushed out, barely audible.
He released a short bark. “By no choice of my own. I gave her the money to get an abortion, but she used it to go to Mexico for a week.”
“What?”
He towered over her. “I bet Gabby never told you that, did she?”
“No.”
“I’m not surprised. I bet there’s a lot of things she never told you.”
He was close enough for her to smell his odor of stale cigarettes and sweat. His eyes were slightly unfocused. He was high. He must have come looking for drug money.
Libby took several steps backward into the hall. “I think you should leave now.”
He laughed as he advanced on her. “Why? We’re just getting reacquainted. I bet you’ve had dreams of this day. Am I right? All kids want their parents to love them. You thought I’d show up and bring you a pony or something, huh? Just let me get the money and I’ll take you out for an ice cream cone.”
She was an idiot. Every dream she’d ever had of their reunion shriveled up and died. She narrowed her eyes and said with as much force as she could muster, “You need to leave.”
“What are you going to do, little girl? I’m not leaving until I get the money Gabby owes me.”
“Then come back when she’s here.”
An evil gleam filled his eyes. “You said she’d be back in a few minutes.”
She squared her shoulders. “You need to go.”
He paused, then laughed. “You’re just like her.”
She knew who her was and his words hurt more than if he’d slapped her in the face. She never wanted to be like her mother. He laughed when he saw he’d gotten to her. “You know, since I am your father, I suppose I owe you a legacy. Am I right?” He grinned wide, showing her a mouth full of broken and rotting teeth. “I’m fresh out of ponies, but I’ve got something better.”
Whatever he had, she didn’t want. Not anymore. “Leave.”
“You don’t want my gift?”
“If you don’t go, I’ll call 911.”
“You won’t because you want to know what I have to say. Well, here’s my legacy to you: words of wisdom. Isn’t that a father’s job? To prepare his kid for life?”
No. A father’s job was to make his daughter feel protected. To dry her tears and hug her when she was hurt. His job was to love her no matter what and always, always be there for her, but that was a mother’s job too, and Gabriella had never done any of those things for Libby. So why had she expected any different from her low-life father?
“I don’t care what you have to say!” she shouted through her tears. “Go!”
He laughed, a harsh bitter sound that sent a shiver down her spine. “Men will only be interested in one thing, Elizabeth. Your body.” He touched her cheek and slid it down her neck.
She slapped his hand away with enough force to push it off her.
He released a peal of laughter. “Ah, you got some fight in you, girl. That comes from me. That’ll serve you well. But you got things from both of us.”
“Get the hell out of my house!”
He ignored her, leaning so close she could smell his rotten breath. “Your mother and I, we’re both fucking messes, and guess what, girlie? You got our genes. So let me give you a heads-up no one ever gave Gabby: No man will ever really love you. They’ll want your body and your looks and they’ll lie through their teeth to get you. But when they’ve used you up, they’ll move on. That’s what I did with your mother and every woman ever since. And your mother, she’s the same.”
Libby shook her head. “No.”
“She ain’t been with one man longer than a few months, am I right?”
She gripped the beer bottle so tight it was slippery in her hand.
“And don’t be thinking you can escape it. You’re just like her, from your face to your fiery temper. The sooner you accept that you’ll never keep a man, the less heartache you’ll have.” He stood up straight. “So there you go, Elizabeth. My legacy for you. Get used to a lonely fucking life.” He backed up into the living room and kicked a chair, making it fall over backward. “Get used to being alone, because no one fucking wants you. Not me. Not your mother who planned to abort you. No one.”
Without a second thought, Libby swung the bottle into the side of his head, beer and glass spraying everywhere. “You’re lying! Someone will love me! Someone who deserves me, and that sure as hell isn’t you. Now get out of my house, you fucking loser!”
He stumbled backward, looking dazed. She pushed his chest as hard as she could and he lurched toward the door, blood streaming down the side of his face.
She opened the front door and shoved him onto the front porch. “If you ever come back here, I’ll kill you.”
She slammed the door shut and locked it, pressing her back against the wood and fighting the sob lodged in her throat. When she heard his car start and pull away, she slid to the floor, her tears bursting loose. After she’d cried herself hoarse, she decided she had a choice. She could let the asshole who’d contributed half her DNA steal her dreams, or she could give him a big fuck-you and believe in them more.