“I trust you,” Ford sighed for what felt like the fiftieth time, and Sawyer hated how worried he still looked. “It’s Larry I don’t,” he added.
Sawyer nodded. “I know, but today is family time. We can decide what to do later.”
“You’re right.” Ford blew out a breath. “We can deal with this later after we’ve had some time to settle down.”
They left the kitchen when they heard Gavin and Savanna coming down the stairs, meeting them in the foyer. Ford handed Callum over to Savie and walked over to the closet grabbing his coat.
“Ready?” Sawyer asked.
Everyone nodded, and they all turned to leave the house.
“Wait, who has Callum’s bag?” Ford asked.
“Damn,” Savie cursed, and Sawyer’s eyes darted over to her, brow raised. “I mean crap?”
Both he and Ford laughed. “Better.”
“I left it packed in his room,” Savanna groaned. “I’ll go get it.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll grab it. I want to change into more comfortable shoes anyway, so it’s not a big deal.”
“Okay, meet you outside,” Sawyer said and led the kids out.
Sawyer had just finished getting everyone into Ford’s car when he heard a noise behind him. When he looked up, it was to see Ford bounding down the front steps, jogging over to the passenger side, and then getting in.
“Everyone all set?” Sawyer asked, closing his door and starting the car.
There was a resounding chorus of “Yes,” and they were ready to go.
Having a family day had turned out to be an excellent plan. As Sawyer drove home, he heard Gavin talking nonstop to his sister about the zip-lining and rock wall at Up In The Air. Sawyer shared a smile with Ford as he turned into their driveway and stopped the car close to the stairs.
As soon as Sawyer put the vehicle in park, Ford opened the door and got out. From that moment, everything seemed to happen in slow motion as someone jumped on Ford from behind after leaping from the bushes and wrestled him to the ground.
Sawyer jumped out from the driver’s side and shut the door, closing Gavin in after slamming his door too. “Savanna, close that door now,” Sawyer called out as he ran around to Ford’s side. “Lock the car and call the police.”
Savie seemed frozen, so he yelled, “Now, Savanna.”
Sawyer was at Ford’s side trying to pull the man off. Even though he gave an elbow to the gut, that didn’t stop the assailant.
“Get off of him!” Sawyer yelled as he grabbed at the coat of the man, which caused the hood to fall from the attacker’s head and reveal that it was, indeed, Larry. But Larry was a hefty man with a linebacker’s build, and Sawyer wasn’t able to lift him from Ford.
Larry screamed, “You embarrassed me in front of the whole town, brought police to my door, and had me hauled down to the station as a suspect. You’re not going to get away with this.”
“You were made a suspect when you decided to come to our home.” Ford’s breathing was labored.
Sawyer pulled Larry off Ford using all the strength he could muster, but the man kept kicking, and one must have connected because Ford yelled out in pain. Sawyer grabbed his arm harder, twisting, and Larry cried out.
Sawyer then pushed Larry up against the car, trapping him between it and his body.
Where the fuck were the cops? It seemed like forever when it was just a couple of minutes.
“You ruined my life.” Larry wrestled in his arms, but the man appeared drunk, making his movements clumsy.
“We didn’t ruin your life. It was a business decision and had nothing to do with you personally. If you’d followed the contract and agreed to quotes instead of trying to gouge us it wouldn’t have happened in the first place. There would have been other jobs besides our resort.” He pulled Larry’s hand tighter, and the man cried out.
That was when he heard the sirens. Larry struggled to get free, but Sawyer wasn’t letting him go. The man was lucky he hadn’t thrown him to the ground and beaten his face to a pulp.
A door closed and he turned to find Officer Palmer approaching them, and another officer followed close behind. Sawyer didn’t step away until they had handcuffed Larry.
“You’re under arrest for aggravated assault,” the second officer said and began reading Larry his Miranda Rights.
Officer Palmer faced them. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, but I need to check on my boyfriend.” Sawyer rushed over to Ford, who was leaning against the car. “Are you okay?” Sawyer asked.
Ford nodded. “I think so.”
Sawyer turned to Officer Palmer—he refused to think of him as Rick—barely holding in his anger. “Now… is he going to be locked up?”
“Just as soon as you give your statement,” Officer Palmer said. “He’ll stay in jail until his court date unless he can post bail.”
Sawyer exhaled in relief. Maybe it was finally over and they could all rest easier.
It was a few hours later, and the kids refused to leave them. Sawyer wrapped his arm around Gavin and Savanna since they were sitting on either side of him on the sofa, and they both leaned in against him while Callum sat on Ford’s lap. He looked across the coffee table to where Ford was sitting on the love seat, and then turned to the two older children. “I know it’s disappointing that the rest of our family day was ruined,” Sawyer started. “We’ll make it up to you. I promise.”
“I don’t care,” Savie whispered.
“I was so scared.” Gavin burrowed into his side when he looked up at Sawyer, his eyes still glistening with tears. “I thought maybe something bad would happen to you and Ford.”
Sawyer looked over at Ford. Other than the bruise on his cheek, Ford was mostly fine, and that was pure luck. Sawyer knew it could have been much worse. Ford’s head could have… He shook his head, refusing to think about that.
“Nothing
