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Our main purpose in returning was to get some of her things because she would spend the rest of the trip at the cabin. But we also needed to convince her parents to let her go. She was too old for them to tell her what to do, but I wouldn't put it past them to do something outrageous in order to keep their control over her. Like calling the police and telling them I’d kidnapped Juniper. Not that it would do them much good. The cops in these towns were pussies and too afraid to venture into Screaming Woods. But it would be annoying as fuck to deal with it when I left my little town.
I grabbed my gloves from the dash and pulled them on, then got out of the car and went around to open Juniper’s door. Usually, I would lace our fingers together, but with the gloves on, it wasn’t possible. Instead, I slipped my arm around her waist and cursed the layers of fabric between us. I couldn’t wait to get back home and hold my girl with our naked skin pressed together.
Juniper led the way to one of the villas just beyond the pool, with the expansive golf course behind it. She swiped her key card, and the click of the lock disengaging sounded ominous in my ears. Like a warning shit was about to go down.
The moment we stepped inside, a woman screeched so loud it hurt my ears.
“Juniper! Where have you been?” the woman I assumed was her mother demanded while pacing in the open living space. An older, portly man stood off to the left, glaring at my girl in a way that had me on edge.
Well, at least they cared enough to—
“You disappeared andruinedthings with James!”
Scratch that.
“And you lied to us about spending the night with him.” Her mother suddenly noticed me hovering behind her daughter. “Is this who you were with?” She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. “Please tell me you didn’t throw away your chance at a relationship with James and put your father’s deal in jeopardy so you could have a fling with…with…”
She opened her eyes and looked at me with disgust, then threw out her hand in my direction as she finished. “With this lumberjack?”
I muffled a snort of laughter. She said that like it was an insult, but the last time Juniper had watched me chop wood, she’d called me a sexy lumberjack right before she dropped to her knees and took me in her mouth.
Juniper was clearly remembering the same thing because her cheeks turned bright red and she shifted restlessly. “Um, first of all. I never even agreed to a date with James, much less a relationship. And did it ever occur to you that foisting a stranger on me might be a little freaking terrifying?”
“You knew who he was, Juniper,” her father said, finally joining the conversation. “You hadn’t met him yet, but once he introduced himself, you had no reason not to keep your date with him.”
Juniper clenched her fist at her side and gritted out, “I didn’t have a date with him. You two conspired and sent the poor man to a lunch he wasn’t invited to, with a girl who didn’t know he was coming, with no regard to how either of us would feel about it.”
Her mother sniffed haughtily. “James was more than happy to go along with the plan.”
“Good for him,” Juniper snapped. “Now, I just came back to get a few things because I’m going to spend the rest of my vacation with Silas.”
“Absolutely not,” her father boomed. He pointed at Juniper and growled, “You will call James to apologize and pray he forgives you. He’s an excellent catch, Juniper, and I’d hate to see you waste an opportunity to have the life you deserve.”
“The life I deserve?” Juniper echoed, her brows drawing together.
“Yes, dear,” her mother answered, adopting a caring tone that was complete bullshit. “James will keep you in the lifestyle you are accustomed to. You two could be just like your father and me.” I was shocked she’d been able to say that with a straight face. From what Juniper had told me, their marriage was shallow and distant. Her father—and for all she knew, her mother—had been unfaithful multiple times. Honestly, it was a miracle that Juniper wasn’t jaded.
Juniper laughed without humor. “That is the last thing I want.”
“What is that supposed to mean, young lady?” her dad grunted, his expression livid.
“Are you two truly this oblivious, or are you just really good at ignoring reality?” I asked, finally stepping in to make sure they understood that I was there for my girl and they’d better tread carefully.
“Excuse me?” her mother gasped.
Before it went any further, Juniper sighed. “Let me be clear. I am not, nor will I ever be, interested in James.”
“Even if it means ruining your father’s business?”
“Dad never stops working, so I’m sure he’ll be just fine without this one deal. And why would you want to do business with someone who would basically sell their kid to seal the deal?”
“Irony,” I muttered.
Juniper’s mother glared at me as she gasped again. She should have been on Broadway with her level of overacting. “How dare you! We would never sell Juniper! We simply want her to know her place. We’d like her to respect everything we do for her and return the favor so that her actions don’t reflect poorly on us.”
“And what about what makes Juniper happy?” I queried.
“She’s very happy,” her dad stated. “And she doesn’t need the likes of you taking that away from her. Now, you need to leave. And Juniper, I expect you to call James as soon as—”
