“There was nowhere for me to go, so I ran toward my towel, but I tripped. My cousins ran to the rescue and threw themselves over me to cover my naked ass.”
I shivered, fighting a wave of nausea. “I’d had it with the bullying. With her hatred toward me. Lost my shit. I fought my cousins and tried to get up. I didn’t care if I was naked. I was going to kick her scrawny little ass. I got one punch in, but then she stabbed me in the head with her scissors, screaming at me like I was the crazy one. What you see in that video is me fighting, trying to get free of my cousins, while they’re holding me down. Victoria cut the video, made it look kinky. Shared it with everyone in school.”
My breaths came strained. Violent tremors shook my hands.
Martin rose from the floor, bloodier than before.
Cole stood over me. A statue. Unreadable.
Footfalls came our way. A soft voice blurted, “Martin, I came as soon as—” Victoria skidded to a halt, eyes wide, bouncing from Martin to Cole to me, then back to Cole, who stared right through my aching skull.
“Cole, sweetie, what happened?” She stepped behind her lover, placed a hand on his arm.
Martin growled and disappeared.
“What’s going on?” Though her tone was measured, her glare was feral, and I had no doubt, were there not witnesses, she would stab me again, a fatal blow.
Cole snapped a hand to the back of Victoria’s neck, said, “That’s a good question, Vic. Why don’t you tell me what the fuck is going on,” while he ushered her away from my bed and disappeared.
Dad had the best arms. Solid and strong. Readily available for hugs. Perfect for hauling his drunk daughter home from his best friend’s bar.
Damn alcohol. Stupid pain meds.
“All right, where’s your key?” he grumbled, holding me snug against his side and shuffling through my handbag. “There we are.” He unlocked my door, scooted me forward.
I flopped onto my couch, the room tilting, my stomach churning, my sorrows thoroughly drowned.
Lip quivering, I avoided his glare, staring instead at his brown loafers. “I’m sorry, Dad.”
“You’re lucky Hank was on shift tonight.” He made his way to the kitchen, filled a glass of water, then stood at my side. “What’s going on with you?”
I snagged the glass and guzzled, then wiped my lips with the back of my arm. “I just wanted to stop by Harry’s. Say hello to everyone.”
“Bullshit.” With a huff, Dad shrugged off his jacket. “You never go to a bar alone. Not even to Harry’s.” He dropped next to me, making the cushions bounce. “What the hell were you thinking?”
I blew a raspberry through numb lips. “I don’t have Lacey anymore.”
“Of course, you do.”
“No, Dad. You don’t understand.” I grabbed his arm to make sure he paid attention. “I can’t see Lacey anymore.”
“That’s ridiculous. Of course—”
“She’s married now,” I sobbed, releasing my pain, my heart too soft and bruised to carry all the sadness.
He unsuccessfully fought a smile. “That doesn’t change anything.”
“You don’t get it.” Hands to the sky, I schooled my father. “She has Ellis. And where Lacey goes, Ellis goes. Where Ellis goes, Cole goes.”
Dad nodded. Rubbed his chin. “Who’s Cole?”
I licked salty moisture off my lip. “The man I’m in love with.” God, that word. Love. Four simple letters. One ridiculous wallop.
I tested it’s weight on my tongue. “Looooove. L.O.V. E.”
Dad’s chest bounced with what was sure to be restrained laughter. “You’re in love with a man, and I haven’t met him?”
“I’m so ashamed.” Again with the tears.
“Talk to me.”
Face buried in my hands, I confessed. “I don’t know how or when it happened for sure. He’s Ellis’s best friend. He looks at me like I’m his reason for existing. And he’s everywhere. Just everywhere. I’ve tried to avoid him. But somehow, he’s always there.”
“Okay.” My father shifted, his reliable arm weighting my shoulder. “So what’s the problem?”
“He’s engaged.”
“Well, that’s not good.”
“To Victoria Ford.” I fell against him then, burying my face in his chest.
His body stiffened, arm tightened. “That’s the most fucked-up twist of fate I’ve ever heard.”
“See?” I looked up, searching for comfort in his weathered face. “See why I needed a drink?” Or three.
“Natalie.” He curled both arms around me and rested his chin on my head. “I’m sorry that you’re hurting, but you’re smarter than this. You know better than to get drunk over a guy. You’ve put years of hard work into getting over the shit Victoria put you through.”
“I know, Dad.”
He gave me a shake. “And the girl I raised would never pine over a married man.”
I raised a pointed finger. “With the exception of Kit Harrington.”
Dad chuckled. “Okay. Yeah, I’ll give you that one.”
I snuggled closer to my dad, my rock, savoring the healing comfort of his heartbeat. “I’ve tried to get him out of my head. I know it’s wrong. Why is this so hard?”
With a long sigh, my father slumped. “Maybe this is fate telling you to take that job in Whisper Springs.”
Dad’s words cut deep. Had to kill him to speak that single, heavy sentence, because I was his only child, and family was everything to my dad. But he’d always had my back, and he’d always known best.
I must’ve passed out in my father’s embrace. I woke sometime later, covered in a wool blanket with a pillow under my head. Dad sat in the kitchen, eating a sandwich. A soccer game played on mute on my flat screen.
“How ya’ feeling, kiddo?” he asked, not taking his eyes off the television.
“Okay.”
“I flushed your pain pills.”
“Oh.” I rubbed the haze from my eyes.
“You don’t need that shit. Acetaminophen and ibuprofen from here on out.”
“Sure.” I tried to sit up, but the effort made my head throb.
Bathed in flickering light from the television, Dad’s shadow bounced against the far wall like a guardian angel watching over my home. I dug my phone out of my back pocket
