Gilmore Girls: Breaking Free

Chapter 7: Christopher

Rory was sitting in the study putting the finishing touches to her latest chapter, when she heard the deep rumbling of her father's motor bike entering the driveway.  She was pleased that Bella had dropped by with some freshly baked cookies, so she had something to offer her dad for afternoon tea.

Christopher Hayden was almost fifty, but as he stood there in his riding leathers, Rory thought he could pass as one of her friends! She had not always appreciated how cool her dad was and right now she smiled as she greeted him, trying to picture her cool dad as a grandfather!

Rory showed him to his room and en-suite so he could freshen up before they headed out. Christopher was stunned by the house Rory was staying in and at first he hadn't made any connections but over dinner at The York River Landing, something made him ask directly.

"So which of your friends is the lucky owner of the waterfront mansion?" Christopher asked.

Rory felt uncomfortable lying so threw caution to the wind and explained it was Logan Huntzburger's, hoping that would be the end of that conversation but she was wrong.

"So I thought that your ties with Logan ended years ago!" Christopher said thinking back to how upset his daughter had been when Logan walked out of her life.

"Yes they did but we met up a couple of years ago and things took off again...." Rory explained, not wanting to go any further with the story.

"But you guys couldn't be together now because I read Logan was marrying a French heiress.....or is there something I'm missing here?"

Rory swallowed hard, knowing that she didn't want to share too much now so just answered briefly, "Yes he is getting married in a few weeks time....we ended our relationship if you could call it that but he was happy for me to write in his house. It's as simple as that! Now I wonder if they are bringing the dessert menu?"

Christopher decided not to ask any more questions concerning Logan for the rest of the evening as he sensed it was a sensitive point for his daughter. Rory really enjoyed the relaxed conversation with her father. They hadn't caught up properly for ages and it felt so good to have someone to laugh with. It surprised her that they found so many things to talk about.

When Rory expressed how much she was liking Maine, Christopher was quick to make her an offer. "So I need to give away a substantial chunk of money before the end of the financial year and I wondered if you would help me out by taking a couple of million —maybe you could invest in a property?"

Rory nearly choked on her tiramisu! "Did you say million?"

"Yes, probably two million if that's okay," Christopher responded quickly, studying his daughter's face. "I'll be giving the same amount to Gigi......although I will need to guide her .....she's pretty irresponsible when it comes to money!"

"Well it couldn't come at a better time for me Dad..." Rory said trying not to cry. "I was just going to start looking at some cheap rental properties but if I can buy, it will be a huge help!"

"I'm so pleased to be able to help Rory," Christopher said as he reached out to hold her hand. "I know that you and your mom like to be independent but part of the responsibility of being born into a society family seems to be dealing with large amounts of money! I'm sure you will make wise investments and buying up here sounds good. It really seems like a nice place to live....as long as you can find people around your age..."

Looking around the restaurant, Rory could see that they were the youngest by far, except for a couple of guys in the corner booth. Christopher noticed that as Rory's eyes scanned the room, she suddenly went red. He smiled as he supposed one of the guys in the booth had perhaps given her the eye!