Blindsided By The Enforcer (Riverside U #3)

Prologue

PROLOGUE

A nnie

“Hello, anybody home?” I called out after walking through the door of my family’s home. My chocolate Lab, Rocky, greeted me at the door. Wagging his tail, he walked between my legs and licked my fingers. “Hey, boy, I missed you too. Where is everyone?”

As an only child, life could get lonely around here. My family home was large and located on a plot of farmland. The land belonged to Mom’s dad, who had been a dairy farmer. Grandpa worked hard, and the farm did well, but when it came time to pass the business on, Mom wasn’t interested. Grandpa was desperate but she was not into farming. Daddy was his employee. Grandpa had forbidden all his employees from taking an interest in his daughter, but Daddy was never good at following the rules. He took interest in her anyway. She ended up pregnant with me. Grandpa insisted they marry and it ended up being Daddy who took over the family business. A business I was planning on running one day, as the only child of my parents. I loved the farm with all my heart. The animals kept me company during what would’ve been a very lonely childhood. Rocky also served as my trusted friend but he was getting older now. I dropped my bags at the front door and set out to look for my parents. The house was big. I came home for Thanksgiving since I hadn’t seen them in a couple of months, and they knew to expect me this afternoon. It didn’t make sense they were nowhere in sight.

I walked toward Daddy’s office, knowing he liked to hide out in there when he was feeling overwhelmed. When I got to his door, I was ready to knock but he was standing by his desk. He must have sensed me because he turned around, a smile forming on his lips, but it fell flat as his lips turned down. “Annie.” He said my name on a sigh, like he was filled with relief and grief all at once and my stomach dipped, knowing something was very wrong.

“Hey, Daddy,” I walked deeper into his office to see Mom and . . . my stomach dropped as I stared at my high school boyfriend, Ford. The guy who cheated on me for years and made me feel like I wasn’t enough, who didn’t speak to me politely. The guy who acted like a complete jerk over and over again. The guy who always came groveling for me to take him back and I did. Every damn time because I believed he would change. That he didn’t mean what he said. He drank too much and made mistakes, and he was sorry. I put up with so much it made my stomach sour.

“Look at you, Annie, beautiful as ever.” Ford walked toward me with his rich boy charm, dazzling blue eyes, and dimples that made most girls melt.

“What are you doing here?” I looked from him to Daddy to Mom. Everyone was frowning. “What’s going on?”

Something wasn’t right.

“Honey, you should have a seat,” Mom suggested from her perch on the love seat. She looked tired and defeated. It was a look she carried well, day in and day out. She worked as a nurse in the hospital about an hour away from here. As much as she loved the farm, she also enjoyed having her own job and life away from this place. I don’t think she ever planned on staying on the farm, but a surprise pregnancy changed the course of her life. She would never admit it out loud, but she didn’t have to. She was miserable with Daddy.

“Will someone tell me what’s going on?” My anxiety was rising. I couldn’t sit. I wanted to know why my ex was in my father’s office, and why the hell they all looked like someone died.

“The Attorney General is suing the farm for violating state water quality laws, causing a public nuisance,” Daddy explained, his head bowed in defeat.

“To put it simply, your idiot father received many warnings that he wasn’t practicing proper waste management. What do you think he did with those warnings?” Mom chimed, eyebrows raised with that he’s an idiot look.

“Joyce, you aren’t helping,” Daddy cut in, his voice even and quiet.

“I knew he couldn’t handle this farm. He was just a worker. I don’t know what my father was thinking.” Mom shook her head knowingly, like she always did when Daddy screwed up. He had a knack of forgetting to pay the bills on time, or not following regulations. We had hired people to help over the years but, somehow, something would still go wrong.

“He was thinking you were pregnant, and I was responsible for putting food on the table,” Daddy snapped back at her.

It was my childhood in a nutshell. Only this time my two-timing ex was here to witness the mess of my life.

Ford’s head was bowed. His hands in the pockets of his chinos. “Your father called me. The charges are serious. He’ll probably have to do a major overhaul of his waste management to meet environmental standards. I’m in school but I’ve spoken with my father, and he’s willing to take on the case and give your father a special rate,” my ex explained.

“Why would your father do that for us?” I asked because Ford and his family weren’t the type to do things for free.

“Are you trying to help here, Annie, or cause us more trouble?” Daddy hissed. I was, in fact, trying to help. I didn’t trust Ford. He’d given me good reason not to.

Rocky walked up to the door of the office and began to bark at Ford.

“It’s okay, buddy. Stop barking,” I urged but it wasn’t my fault my dog had better senses than my parents where Ford was concerned. Rocky walked up to me and rubbed his body against my thigh. It was like he could sense how alone I felt. How utterly defeated I was in this moment. I was an agricultural science student at Riverside U. The plan was for me to take over the farm and make some changes. I knew Daddy wasn’t running things the way he should, but I also didn’t think things were this bad. I stayed away most of the time because coming home was never pleasant, given that my parents’ marriage was akin to the Cold War, but at least I tried to make it home for the holidays.

Ford sighed. “Look, Annie, I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye, but I love your family. I hope we can get along.”

My mouth dried and my jaw slackened. Mom gave me a pointed glare that without speaking said assess your next words . A quick gaze at my dad silently shouted what the hell are you thinking ? Dad returned my gaze with a pointed look, which told me all I needed to know. He wanted me on board with Ford too.

“I’m sure we can get along just fine,” I answered, the words tasting like I’d just bitten into a sour apple.

“Good, because I sent you a text last week, inquiring if you could help me find housing on campus at Riverside U. I didn’t hear back from you.” Ford raised his eyebrows expectantly.

Pompous ass.

Sweat beaded my forehead. “That was you? It came through as an unknown. I didn’t save your contacts in my phone.”

I watched Mom wince at my comment.

“Why would you leave Harvard?” I asked.

“It’s easier for me to be at Riverside and commute to work part time at Daddy’s firm,” he explained. His father had a well-respected firm in the city.

The thought of having Ford at school with me made me nauseous. He must be in his first year of law school. I planned on going back to Riverside to complete a master’s degree after I graduated this year. Getting the most knowledge in agricultural science would help me fix my family’s problems on the farm. Even though I didn’t want to take over the dairy farm. I preferred to be with the animals. Being a veterinarian was more up my alley but I wasn’t going to disappoint my father after all he’d sacrificed to raise me in a loveless marriage.

“Isn’t it lovely you two will be attending school together again?” Mom chirped, not hiding the conspiratorial look in her eyes very well. She wanted me back together with Ford. I think she took our breakup harder than I did.

“Yes,” Ford agreed. His eyes found mine and he gave me a bashful smile. Ford was always a handsome guy. He had that charming James Marsden look with dark-blue eyes and scruffy brown hair, a slick jawline and cut cheekbones. But his looks didn’t matter, because on the inside he was a lying, cheating egotistical prick. I wouldn’t be falling for his charms again. At least I hoped I wouldn’t.

Daddy cleared his throat. He was seated behind his solid mahogany desk that belonged to my great-grandfather. “Now that we’ve had introductions, can we please talk business? We need to save this farm.”

“You should have thought about that before you shot it to hell,” Mom bit back.

At this rate, we weren’t going to get anywhere. I could just imagine what kind of Thanksgiving this was going to turn out to be.

Ford piped up, explaining the process of paperwork an attorney at his dad’s firm would need to file.

“Well, I better be going. You shouldn’t worry too much and enjoy your Thanksgiving,” he said. “I look forward to seeing you around, Annie.” He was always a charmer.

I forced a smile but it was saccharine. “See you, Ford.”

Ford left the office. “I’ll walk you out,” Mom offered.

“Is he going to be a problem for you, Annie girl?” Daddy asked, watching me with concern.

Yes.

“No, Daddy, I can handle Ford.”

“Good.”