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A short, balding man has her by the elbow, dragging her toward another room. My spine stiffens at his treatment of her. Schooling my features, I take in her beauty. Ashton’s reverent tone tells me that he agrees.
“Dude, she’s hot. Ask your dad if we can still get in on that wife idea.”
My head snaps in his direction, staring at his back as he approaches the others. It’s as if he read my mind. Following him into the room, I try to forget about the girl for now.
CHAPTERELEVEN
Sitting on the bench in the courthouse hallway, the calling of my name interrupts my people-watching.
“Kennedy!”
Turning toward the sound, I see John shooting daggers at me. Instead of trying to figure out how I have angered him this time, my feet take me in his direction warily. Once I am within arm’s reach, he grabs my upper arm, dragging me into the room and slamming the door closed.
“Kennedy, why the fuck are you here?”
My father’s angry voice has me spinning around, John forgotten. Wrenching my arm free from his grasp, I face my father, confused as his anger.
“I…I wanted to see you and be here to support you. Where else would I be?”
Despite our differences, he is still my father.
“How about in class?” he says snidely.
Shooting a look over my shoulder at John, he gives me a subtle shake of his head. Fan-fucking-tastic, he held true to his word about keeping my school situation from my father. John has been a royal prick, and now my arm will have more bruises. Calmly, I provide my father with the details.
“Three Rives asked me not to come back to class.”
“Hastings, this really isn’t the time or place for this,” John interjects, shooting me more glares.
Father shoots him a scathing look, halting the next words out of his mouth. Once John is silent, Father turns his icy glare in my direction.
Holding up my hand in a stopping motion, I cut Father off before he gets into one of his tangents.
“The school felt having me on campus would be too much of a distraction with all of this,” I say, waving my hand around to indicate our current whereabouts, hinting about the upcoming trial. “After applying to and getting turned down from schools in the area, I changed tactics.”
Father raises an eyebrow at me as if he didn’t think I was capable of such an idea. Had there been any warm feelings toward my father, they might have been hurt at the insinuation, as it is my give-a-damn is busted.
“Using mom’s maiden name, I started applying to schools farther away. Groveton College in Texas accepted me. Currently, my classes are all online, leaving me here.”
Even though his hands are restrained with handcuffs and located on the table, Father has them folded on the tabletop, back ramrod straight. His knuckles have turned white, belying his cool facade. After several long minutes of silence, he speaks again, his tone a bit more reserved from the anger just moments ago.
“This Groveton College, is it a good school?”
His question is aimed at John, even though he never breaks eye contact with me. Father always has any organization he is involved with fully vetted before entering into business. John clears his throat before speaking, suddenly seeming a bit nervous.
“Yes, sir, Groveton College is very prestigious, just a step below Ivy League. Several wealthy families in Texas have attended for generations.”
“It’s better than nothing.”
Before anyone else can speak, a previously unnoticed door behind Father opens. A uniformed officer steps in, moving to where my father sits. He speaks as he removes the chain connecting Father’s handcuffs to the table.
“They are ready for you.”
John and Father whisper to each other briefly before we move in opposite directions. Again, he grips my arm harder than before, dragging me from the room toward the courtroom.
Approaching the front of the courtroom, John hisses in my ear as he forces me into the front row, just behind the partition separating the lawyers from the onlookers.
“Just sit there and look pretty, maybe shed a tear or two. Keep your mouth shut no matter what you hear.”
