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It was still early in the morning. Who could be calling? “Hello?” she said, as she picked it up on the fourth ring.
“Hi, Lucy, it’s Dad.”
“Dad?” Lucy screeched. “How did you get this number?”
“What, no hello, how are you?”
She gritted her teeth and forced herself to stay calm. “We dropped the courtesies when you told me to go to hell the last time we talked, remember?”
“I raised you and your sister, and this is the thanks I get?”
She didn’t have time for this argument. It was the same one they’d had a million times before, and she wasn’t doing it anymore. Enough was enough. “I don’t have time for this. What do you want?”
“I need money,” he groused. “The bill collectors are threatening to repossess my car. Hell, the electric company cut me off once already this month.”
“What did you do with your paycheck?” she asked, even though she already knew the answer. Booze—it always came before all else.
“I needed to unwind a little,” he shouted. “My boss has been on my ass like a tick on a hound.”
Oh Lord, she knew where this would lead. Where it always led when it came to her father—to Lucy caving and giving him money. He’d use it to buy more alcohol and still be in a bind. The depressing game would never end until she finally put her foot down.
“No,” she said, her voice unsteady. Her father’s mean, selfish ways wouldn’t keep her from loving him, but she didn’t have to continue to be an enabler either, not anymore.
When her dad began blasting profanities at her, Lucy was about to hang up, but she didn’t get the chance as the phone was suddenly yanked out of her hand.
“This is Reilly Jennings, Lucy’s boyfriend,” Reilly said, his voice so cold the temperature in the room seemed to drop twenty degrees. “If you can’t talk to her in a civil tone, then lose her number.”
Lucy couldn’t tell what her dad had said, but, judging by the muscle jumping in Reilly’s cheek, it must not have been good. “You’ve been warned,” he said in a tone that brooked no argument, then pressed the End button.
Reilly set the phone down carefully and took her into his arms. “You’re trembling,” he stated gently.
She hadn’t realized. “God, why do I let him get to me like that?”
“Family always knows the right buttons to push.” Reilly smoothed a hand over her back. “He’s not worth the stress, sweetheart.”
She sighed. “I know,” she mumbled as she cuddled closer to Reilly.
He kissed her forehead. “You’ll tell me if he tries to contact you again?”
Lucy nodded. She had no reason not to tell him. “I don’t usually say no to him, so he might very well call again.” She spied the clock next to the bed and yelped. “My boss is going to strangle me, darn it!”
She pushed out of Reilly’s arms and flew around the room, chaotically finishing her morning ritual. “I’ll see you tonight,” Lucy tossed out, then sprinted for the front door.
“What time?” he asked, following close behind.
“Seven. If the traffic isn’t horrible, I should be home by six thirty.”
“Lucy.”
The tenderness in Reilly’s tone stopped her the way nothing else could. She turned around and saw him standing with his arms crossed, legs braced wide. God, he was handsome. So damn handsome it took her breath sometimes. “Yeah?”
His serious expression filled with concern. “Be careful.”
She was sure he was going to say something else. Maybe she was just seeing things. Wishful things. Damn pregnancy hormones. “You too,” she replied as she left the room. By the time she’d reached her car, she’d effectively put thoughts of her dad out of her head and turned her attention to the day ahead.
Reilly stared at the door for a long time after Lucy left. His instinct
was to pull her back inside the safety of her apartment and lock the door. He didn’t like the prickly feeling he was getting after talking to Lucy’s father. Everything in him screamed that the man was going to be a problem. Lucy had told him that her father was a drinker, and not a happy drunk either.
