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I flushed and couldn’t help but glance at Beck. He was blushing just as red as it felt like I must be.
“Jesus Christ,” my dad muttered before running a hand through his hair and pinning a glare on Beck. He sank back unsteadily into his chair. “Son, don’t tell me you had sex with some girl in front of my daughter.”
Beck shrank under the penetrating stare before he admitted, “I didn’t know she was there.”
“I got stuck in a bathroom,” I was quick to explain. “And when I tried to leave, he was in the room, and they were…you know.”
Booth barked out a laugh and clutched his stomach. “Oh my God, this is classic. My sister’s a peeping tom. I bet he’s happy you were a freaking voyeur now, though, huh?”
I glared at him. “It’s not funny. Do you know how embarrassing it was to be stuck in there, listening and seeing all that, and how much worse it was when I had to go to the freaking police to have to explain it them?”
“Why didn’t you tell me you were mixed up in tall this?” my dad demanded, looking hurt, disappointed, upset, and mad all rolled up into one.
My shoulders fell.
“You should’ve told me,” he lectured. “And you definitely should’ve told me before you brought this kid home with you, before I invited him into my house to sleep in my son’s bed, before he sat down at my dinner table.”
“I can go,” Beckett said quietly, already rising to his feet.
But I jumped to my feet as well, lifting my arm to stop him. “No.” When he stopped and pierced with a hard look, I turned to my dad. “He had nowhere else to go. His family turned him o
ut. His friends, even the university. They all turned their backs on him. He has nothing, literally nothing but a truck and a handful of clothes. I didn’t tell you before we got here because if you hadn’t let him come with me then I wouldn’t have come either. And I just…” When my voice broke, I shook my head, cleared my throat and started over. “I wanted to see you for Thanksgiving.” I cleared my throat again and straightened my shoulders. “But if you want him gone, then I’m going too. We can go right now.”
I glanced at Beck, pretty much silently telling him we were leaving, but my dad boomed, “No one is leaving. Certainly not my only daughter. Now sit down.” He cast Beck a nasty glare. “Both of you, sit.”
Beck and I dropped immediately into our seats because my dad could be pretty freaking intimidating when he wanted to be.
“Now, dammit, I’m not sure why you were so worried I wouldn’t believe you. You’re my daughter, for Christ’s sake; I was the first person to change your shitty diaper. I think I would know if you’re a liar or not, and you’re not. If you say he’s innocent because you saw what happened, then I believe you.”
My shoulders released all the tension they’d been holding. I’m not sure why I’d been so worried about my dad’s faith in me. I should’ve known he’d come through. Maybe after seeing the way Beckett’s mom had treated him had left me unsure. No idea, but I’m glad I was wrong. I’m glad my daddy believed me.
I kind of wanted to hug him now, even though we weren’t the huggy type.
“But I still have questions,” Dad said, scowling at both Beck and me.
“Of course.” Beck answered immediately with a nod.
“This friendship between you two…” My father waggled his finger between the two of us. “Were the police aware you two knew each other and were friends? Why didn’t that hamper the credibility of your story?”
“Oh.” I wasn’t expecting that kind of question. Glancing at Beck, I answered, “Well, we weren’t friends at the time. I mean, I didn’t even know him when it happened. He would’ve been a complete stranger to me except I bumped into him in the hall literally two minutes between everything happened.”
“Then how did you become friends?” Booth was the one to ask.
Beckett and I shared another look. Silently, we decided to let him take this one. “When they released me, I sought Bailey out to thank her for helping me. She was the only person who believed me, the only person to save me. I didn’t…” He shook his head, and this haunted expression entered his eyes. “She gave me a place to stay, and—”
“She what?” Dad lifted his hand to stop us before he swung his incredulous gaze my way. “Do the police know you’ve been letting him stay on your couch?”
I cringed, hoping he never learned it wasn’t exactly my couch Beck had been sleeping on. “No,” I answered in a small voice. “But what does it matter? They dropped all the charges, and he was completely free before I ever talked to him again.”
“Hell, Bailey.” My dad shook his head, clearly frustrated. “Honesty in the eyes of the law is a pretty damn important thing. If they have any reason at all to think you might’ve committed perjury and lied for him, your reputation could be destroyed.”
“Dad.” I clenched my teeth. “You’re being ridiculous. There is nothing—”
“Bailey,” Beckett said quietly, making me stop talking immediately. He lifted a calming hand and gave me a respectful nod before saying, “He’s not being ridiculous. And he’s right when he says a destroyed reputation would be one of the worst things that could happen to you.” With a small laugh, he nodded, “I can definitely attest to that. But, Mr. Prescott…” He turned back to my dad. “You can trust me when I say no one in going to go after her for perjury. Her word wasn’t the only thing that got me free. There was other evidence…” He glanced at me, and I knew we were both thinking about the video. “…that helped free me. So she’s okay there. But you’re also right that it isn’t safe for her to continue harboring me. If any student or someone from my fraternity learned she took me in, they could begin a rumor that we knew each other beforehand, and everyone else might believe she lied. Her reputation could be destroyed in that way, so I know I can’t keep staying there.”
“Except he has nowhere else to go, Dad,” I implored. “He’s out of money, and every place he goes looking for work refuses to hire him. If I stopped harboring him, he’d literally have to live out of his truck, and he’d probably starve by the end of the week.”
My dad scowled at both of us before he scrubbed both hands over his face, hissed a curse, and then dropped his arms to slap them heavily against the tabletop. “Well, I guess that settles it then. There’s only one thing we can do about this situation.” I glanced Beck’s way, wondering what my dad thought he hand planned. When Beck glanced back, he shared our worry with a single stare, as my father announced, “When you go back to school tomorrow, Bailey, Beckett will just have to stay here and work for me.”
