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“No, Lola,” he cut her off. “She’s coming home where she’s safe. At least until the verdict is back.”
I stepped to the side and willed Ford to look at me. And when he finally glanced at me, I knew he wasn’t happy with the way Dad was acting either. Mom and Dad started to whisper-argue, acting as if we all couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I continued to drift closer to Ford, feeling his intense stare down to my very soul.
He tilted his head, a silent promise to back me up, so I spun around. “No.” I looked at Mom and then Dad, driving my point home. “I’m not going home. I’m going back to college.”
Dad moved toward me. “No, you’re not—”
“Yes, I am.” I paused and stared at him, letting him see the
me who I was now and not the little girl he thought he had to protect from everything. “You can’t tell me what to do or where to go. I’m safe where I am. I’ve been safe since Ford turned up.”
“You’re not safe!” Dad roared. “Jesus Christ, Belle. I’m trying to look out for you, and you’re not letting me.”
“No. You’re trying to command me like you do with people at work, but you should know better.” I glanced around the room, catching each of their gazes in turn. Mom looked furious with Dad, Cade looked torn, Aria was shying away in the corner, and Asher looked plain mad.
“Why the fuck do you think you can do this?” Asher asked, causing everyone to look at him. “You can’t control everything, Dad. Fuck’s sake. Do you seriously think we’re all gonna stand by while you order Belle?”
“I’m protecting her!” Dad shouted, and I stepped back, a lump forming in my throat. I’d never heard him shout like that. Never in my entire life.
“She’ll be safe with Ford, Brody,” Mom whispered, placing her hand on his arm. He stared down at her, his shoulders dropping at her touch. “She’ll be safe.”
“But what if he comes for her?” Dad asked. “I won’t allow her to get hurt. I took the chance with you all those years ago. I took my eye off the ball, and look what happened.” I had no idea what he was talking about, but the atmosphere in the room became suddenly chilly.
“This isn’t that, Dad,” Cade said. “Belle isn’t Lola. She has Ford there every minute of the day. Nothing will happen.”
I had no idea what they were talking about, and even though part of me craved to know all the details, the other part of me didn’t need to know because the emotions in the room were enough to tell me it wasn’t anything good. Mom had talked to me about her past before, but I had a feeling she’d left things out that she didn’t want me to know about.
“I’m taking her back to college,” Ford finally said, and his deep voice had my back straightening.
Dad turned to face him, his gaze meeting Ford’s and then mine. They stood there, not a word said between them for several minutes. They were battling silently, and I wasn’t sure who was going to win. I didn’t know what I expected to happen, but it wasn’t Dad saying, “Okay.” He moved toward me and then wrapped me up in a hug. “I just don’t want you to get hurt, Belle.”
I clutched on to him, trying to physically show him I was okay. “I’ll be fine, Dad. And if I’m not, I’ll come home. Okay?”
He squeezed me one last time and then pulled back, his brown eyes staring into my blue ones. “Promise that you’ll come home and not try to brave it out?”
“I promise,” I whispered, and I meant it. I’d been scared when someone had tried to break in, but the fact of the matter was, I was safe with Ford around, and the moment I didn’t feel that, or Ford said we weren’t, I’d listen to him without a second thought.
Dad nodded and then let me go, and the atmosphere in the room changed. Gone was all the tenseness, and in its place something fragile we all were scared we’d break.
Mom flung her arms around me and squeezed me to death, whispering in my ear, “He’s just being a caveman, sweetie.”
“I know,” I told her. Dad wanted to protect us all, but sometimes he went too far. And this was one of those times.
Asher walked past me with my suitcase with Lottie on his tail as Cade and Aria said their goodbyes. “Come on,” Cade said, throwing his arm around my shoulders. “I’ll walk you out to the car.” I wrapped my arm around his waist as he led me out onto the balcony, and down toward the lake, then around to the front of the house. The peacefulness in the air had an edge to it, but it was probably because of what had happened in the house with Dad.
Dad stood next to Ford’s car, whispering something to him as Asher closed the trunk. Cade gave me one last hug, and then Asher came forward. I didn’t wait for him to hug me because I flung myself at him. “I’ll try to get back for the tournament.”
“Okay,” he said, but his voice broke. “Look after yourself, okay?”
“I will.” I pulled back and placed each of my hands on his face. “Try to stop growing while I’m gone, yeah? I’m sick and tired of all you men being giants.”
He grinned, the kind of grin I had no doubt sent the girls in his school crazy. “Can’t promise that one, sis.”
I rolled my eyes, but the smile on my face couldn’t be replaced. I missed all of my family, and sometimes I wondered if I made the right decision going to college five hours away, but I wasn’t one at looking back. All I cared about was what was right in front of me and the future ahead. And as I glanced over Asher’s shoulder, my gaze caught Ford’s, and I knew what would be in my immediate future.
Ford pulled the passenger door open, and with one last wave to everyone, I stepped toward him and into the car. We were seconds away from being alone, and I could hardly wait. Lottie’s head was smashed against the back window as Ford got in and turned the engine on. He didn’t look at me as he started to drive away from the lake house, and I waved out the window.
It wasn’t until we were thirty minutes away that he pulled over and finally looked at me. “I’ve been wanting to do this since I walked out of your bedroom days ago.” His hand cupped the side of my neck, and I met him halfway as he pushed closer to me, and finally, his lips were pressed against mine.
