AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Beau stirs in his sleep next to me and I smile before placing a soft kiss on his temple, then I lift from the bed to get in the shower for work. Today, I vowed to Beau that I would walk through the office with lunch in my hand and my head held high. He asked me to promise him that if Penny tried to worm her way into my thoughts that I’d kick her out, or even go as far as firing her.
I’m not sure I’d ever fire Penny, she’s been a huge asset to my team, but I’m not going to let her control my eating habits like she has been. This is my life, my body, and I’m going to live it however I want. If that means eating anything I can get my hands on, then so be it.
There’s a hard knock on my front door when I get out of the shower and Beau jumps awake, his eyes darting toward the window overlooking the front field. I walk over to it with my towel wrapped around me and peek out, my eyes widening when I see my dad’s truck. Beau must sense my panic because he hurries to put his clothes on, then rushes downstairs.
My dad knocks again, a little louder this time, just as I’m walking downstairs in another pantsuit. He huffs in annoyance when I open the door, then marches through without a word. His gaze darts all over the house before landing in the kitchen, where Beau is standing with a glass of tea.
Why the hell did he come back inside?
He gives my dad a nervous smile and lifts the glass in the air. “That sun beating down on you really makes you thirsty.” The smile leaves his face when my dad gets closer though and he quickly sets the glass on the counter.
Before I can figure out what’s going on, my dad throws his fist right into Beau’s jaw, causing him to stumble back. I gasp, then hurry across the room and into the kitchen. “Dad, what the hell was that for?” He steps up to me, bringing his hands to my cheek, and blocks my path when I try to step around him. “He’s your friend.”
He sneers at Beau leaning against the counter with a hand wiping the blood from the corner of his lip. “He’s no friend of mine.”
I pull him through the house, giving Beau an apologetic frown over my shoulder, then push us through the closest door. As soon as it shuts behind us, I put my hands on my hips and glare at my dad. “What the hell are you doing?”
He shakes his head and points out towards where Beau would be standing. “How long has he been doing this to you?” His words are choked as he tries to get them out, making my heart crack. “It’s been happening right under my nose and I couldn’t see it, why didn’t you come to me?”
“Dad, I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
His gaze hardens and he looks like he’s about to burst again. “That asshole is making you cover for him?” I place my hands on his chest and push him back, keeping him from going out the door, and he glances down at the touch. “Honey, what are you doing? Why are you holding me back?”
“This is my home, what are you doing?” I ask, getting more and more frustrated by his outburst. “I have to be at work soon, so tell me what the hell is going on, now.”
“There was something in the papers this morning,” he says, then it all sinks in. The hit, how angry he is, everything he keeps saying. My father thinks that Beau has been taking advantage of me since I was a little girl.
“Dad, whatever you’re thinking. Stop. Beau would never do that.”
He narrows his eyes and shakes his head. “Of course, you’d say that, he’s groomed you.” Then he tries to shove past me, but I stay in his way. He’s not leaving this room until he calms down, or until Beau gets the hell out of here because I’m not sure he’s safe any longer. Not yet anyway.
“Groomed? Dad, do you hear yourself?”
“I hear myself just fine. He’s preying on young women,” he spits out, his face red with nothing but anger.
I shake my head and blow out a rough breath. “You need to leave.” I’m not going to be able to have a rational conversation with him about this when he’s barely even thinking straight right now. How could he possibly think that Beau would hurt me?
“Me?” He asks as if it’s the most ludicrous request I could be asking right now. “I’m just trying to look out for you, honey. You might not see that, but you will, I promise.”
“Dad, I said you need to leave. I’m not going to ask again.”
His eyes are glistening, and I hate how upset he is over this. I can’t imagine how betrayed Beau feels right now though, to know that his best friend thinks the worst of him? It’s horrible. If my dad knew Beau as well as he claims, he’d know that Beau would never lay a hand on me as a child.
What he’s failing to realize is that I’m not a child anymore, and Beau is seeing that for himself now. He’s getting to know the woman I am now and he’s actually starting to like me, maybe even fall for me, and I’m hoping I can make my dad see that after he’s had time to cool down.
If there’s images of us floating around in the newspaper, I’m sure Penny will be waiting for me when I get into the office. Just another reason for me to hurry my ass up and get into work. That way we can do damage control if necessary. There’s a few extra moments of silence before my dad sighs, defeated, and nods his head slowly before walking out of the room.
When I glance into the kitchen, there’s no sign of Beau, and his glass still sits on the counter where it was before. I walk my dad to the front door, not bothering to glance around to search for Beau as I’ll do that once my dad is gone.
My dad turns around and says, “Call me if you need me, okay?” Then he gives me a kiss on the forehead before walking down the steps slowly one at a time. As soon as he pulls away from the house, my phone rings from inside the house and I rush over to it.
I roll my eyes but pick up the line anyway. “What do you need, Penny?”
She scoffs. “Don’t act like you don’t know, Piper. What the hell were you thinking?”
“About?”
“The picture of you. It’s bad.”
