Once Shannon Vance and Howard Rhodes were out of sight, Shirley Lockwood finally looked away. She turned to Archie Lockwood and huffed, "What are you looking at? They're long gone, and you're still staring!"
"Getting bolder by the day, aren't you? Weren't you tired? Let's go…" Archie Lockwood's formal expression, previously meant for outsiders, vanished. With a look of helpless fondness, he reached out and ruffled Rory's hair.
"Dad, I'm warning you—you're not allowed to get me a stepmom!" Even though Miss Shannon seemed nice enough, she just didn't want a stepmother.
"That depends on your behavior," Archie Lockwood said, a roguish smirk playing on his lips. With that cool remark, he turned and walked away.
Watching her dad's smug retreat, Shirley Lockwood angrily shook her fist at his back. 'He's just bullying me because I don't have a real mom to back me up, isn't he!!!!!! Does he really think I've given up on finding her?'
