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“Stop,” she pleaded, yelling as she held herself in front of Reese, hating to see the two men she cared about fighting. “He didn’t do anything I didn’t want, Dad. I’m not saying we are in love and will elope. I’m just asking you to try to accept this and my decision to live my life the way I want to, no matter what the consequences might be.” She stared into her father’s eyes, pleading. “Please.”
“I deserved everything you gave me, Calvin, but I won’t give up on Lake.”
Her father stared at her and gritted his teeth, clearly still angry and not responding. He looked at Reese. “You deserve a lot fucking more than what I gave you for doing this shit behind my back, Reese.” Her father moved back, and Ginny grabbed his arm, pulling him close to her.
“What is wrong with you?” she asked through her tears.
Her father didn’t respond, just stared at where Lake stood with Reese, his face a mask of anger. “I want you out of my house,” he said to Reese, turned, grabbed his keys off the foyer side table, and left. The silence stretched on, and Ginny rushed after Calvin.
“I’m sorry it came down to this,” Reese said and pulled her into a hug.
“I thought there would be problems, but never imagined anything like this.”
He rubbed her back, then kissed the crown of her head. “I’m not going to just walk away from you, not when I feel these emotions.” He pulled back and looked at her face. “I know it’s fast, and I know it’s confusing. I’m not saying I can give you the moon, Lake, but I sure as hell can give you my undivided time and the attention you deserve.”
She felt more tears well in her eyes. “It is fast, Reese.”
He smiled and brushed her tears away. “I know, Lake, but it feels right, doesn’t it?”
She nodded without hesitation.
“I know it’s hard to see right now, but things will work out.”
“I hope you’re right, Reese.”
14
“I’m just as pissed that things worked out this way, Ginny,” Reese said and stared at his sister from across the small diner table they were sitting at. He’d met up with her after she’d called days after the altercation with Calvin.
“I know, and I know you didn’t mean any harm by it, but Reese, see it from Calvin’s point of view.”
“Believe me, I can understand why he’s upset. I would be, too, if the roles were reversed.” He leaned back in his chair and sighed. “This ended up being all kinds of fucked-up. I didn’t plan to have feelings for Lake, and sure as hell not this quickly. But even during the separation, not long before the divorce went through, I could see Lake for who she was.”
“For who she was?” Ginny repeated.
He nodded. “She’s smart and beautiful and has a good head on her shoulders. She’s been through a lot in her life. What with her mom passing when she was younger, and I know she had trouble in school with kids giving her a hard time, but she was strong through it all.”
Ginny didn’t say anything, but she was listening, and that’s all he could ask for right now.
“I didn’t actively pursue anything with her until after the divorce, and I certainly didn’t think about being with her in that way until then.” He thought about the night with her, about how yes, he’d been drunk, but how he still knew what he’d been doing. “It’s just something that happened, but it feels like the right move, Ginny. I don’t want to stop seeing her, not because I’m recently divorced and coming from a loveless, emotionless marriage, and not because her father isn’t okay with this. I want Lake because she’s beautiful inside and out.”
His sister stared at him, then looked at the coffee cup in front of her. “Be careful with her, and I’m not saying that because she’s so much younger than you, but because Lake is one of the most genuine and sweet people I know.”
He nodded when she looked up at him. “I know, Ginny. I can see that in her, too, and that’s one of the reasons I want this.” He leaned back in his chair and exhaled. “This isn’t what I planned, believe me. I never saw her as anything more than a sweet girl who was your stepdaughter. But then as the years progressed and Brittany and my marriage crumbled into nothingness, I realized there are women out there that aren’t like what I am used to.”
Ginny smiled and reached out to cover his hand with hers. “I support you two, because I know you’re a good guy and will take care of her. You don’t jump into things without knowing what you want, and that’s how I know this is really what you want.”
