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I stayed close to Weston, leaning against his body for support, and he kept one arm around my waist. My dad shakily pushed himself up from the chair, placing the oxygen container beside him.
“Do not touch her again. She is my daughter. It is my responsibility to protect her, not someone like you.” He coldly stared at Weston, who clenched his jaw beside me.
I gasped, blinking rapidly between my dad and Weston.
“Daddy…” I cautioned. “He is the reason I’m alive.”
“He’s also the reason you nearly died. I thought I made this clear when I told you—”
“He’s never hurt anyone!” I cried out, attempting to stand, but collapsed back to the ground. I couldn't believe that my father was still hanging onto the rumor.
Sorrow slashed across my father’s face before he took a deep breath. “Tenley. You already know my feelings, now I am asking you to respect them.” My father’s eyes shot towards Weston. “I thought I could get past the fact you’ve hit a woman before, so Tenley could be with Cassidy. But I can’t. It’s absolutely disgusting to watch you…” He paused, stepped closer, and his voice cracked as he spoke, “youmonsterput your hands on my daughter.”
Weston remained emotionless beside me.
“How dare you!” Nancy cried out, upset at my father, but Weston simply shook his head once, asking her to stop.
“Well, at least you have enough honor to admit what you’ve done,” my father said sharply as Weston sighed.
“I’ve never even thought about hitting a woman, sir. I would never hurt your daughter either,” Weston calmly stated beside me, still holding me with one arm.
My father stepped coldly forward. “Back away or I will call the police if you touch her again. I am still capable of taking care of my own daughter.” I stared at my dad in utter shock.
He glared sharply at Weston, his face pulled tight, battling something internally as he fought with the man beside me externally.
This wasn’t coming from him; it couldn’t be coming from him. Everything was exploding around me as I stared at the frail figure before me that stood as tall as he could now.
“But he’s never hurt me. The police won’t be able to do anything,” I stammered.
“Yet, who will they believe? That monster and his family that hid him away, or a man dying of cancer trying to take care of his daughter. Better than anyone else can.” My father wasn’t budging, his cold and calm demeanor crushing my soul, and I felt my heart shatter inside me. This wasn’t like him at all. This wasn’t like the man who had raised me.
Weston slowly slipped his arm away from me, his intense eyes clouding over as he shoved the walls back up around him. Walls that I’d managed to once break through.
“Weston?” I quietly cried out, and he turned towards me, sorrow filling those blue eyes. Yet, he didn’t say anything as he pushed himself off of the floor. He shook from exhaustion but lifted his chin, holding it proudly high as he looked at my father.
“That’s right. Run away again like the coward you are,” my father calmly said, his eyes full of frustration.
“I’m not running, sir. I am doing as I’ve always done—protecting your daughter,” Weston simply stated, and then he grabbed his coat that was draped over the railing and disappeared into the outdoors with his boots in hand.
An emptiness swirled within my heart, in a place that I hadn’t realized had once been so full. He’d made the choice for me so I didn’t have to. My father had literally said it was either him or Weston, and Weston had taken that burden from me without hesitation.
And I wasn’t sure what hurt more.
I stared at the door long after Weston had faded from view. My father was being looked over by my mom as he had collapsed back against the chair. Nancy ran upstairs and then returned with Cassidy on her tail. But he merely gave me a sympathetic glance and then headed towards the door to go after Weston. It should’ve been me who went after him, but I feared what would happen if I did.
I feared the guilt that was already consuming me, torn between Weston and my dad.
My father wasn’t wrong. The police had to know about the rumors too, and they would most certainly side with a dying man over Weston, even though it was a lie. Even if I tried to fight it or Weston’s family tried, the police would just say that we were blinded by our care for him. Because I did care for him.
More than as a friend, and I had been too stubborn to realize it until I’d lost him. Until he’d walked out to make sure that I didn’t lose my father. But I wasn’t sure if that was any better. Why couldn’t I have both? Why did it have to be one or the other?
A small morsel of guilt bubbled up in my throat as my mom helped me to my feet so we could leave. Guilt that a part of me knew if I had to, I would’ve chosen Weston.
∞∞∞
I stared out the window at the passing trees. We were on our way to Billings for Trixie’s engagement party. There was only one week until Christmas now, and yet I still felt nothing but the same emptiness that had stolen my soul on Thanksgiving. Doc had taken over dealing with things at the Duke Ranch, knowing something was amiss. For whatever reason though, he would give me small updates every once in a while. Which I was silently grateful for.
Two more piles of locoweed had been found, luckily the cattle hadn’t made it to them yet, since Weston was on top of things. One had been in Eugene’s pasture, and the other had been in with a small group of second year mothers who were pregnant. I told Doc I had a suspicion they were targeting the cattle that were going to provide the next generation, to which he agreed. But there were still no leads on who was doing it or why they were doing it.
