CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Annie smoothed the iron across the fabric of a sleep sack. This one was covered in hearts and would be up on her website in time for Valentine’s Day. Even though it was only the end of November, she had already started sewing with Valentine’s Day fabrics.
When she’d started out in her online business, she hadn’t thought that people would buy baby things for all the holidays, not just the major ones like Christmas and Easter. But they did, so now she tracked down material for all the cute and baby friendly holidays.
She was still making Christmas items, but only until the fifteenth of December, so orders would have time to arrive for Christmas.
Nyla let out a soft chuff, drawing Annie’s attention. Her ears were perked forward as she gazed at the big window facing out over the forest around her cabin.
The chuff turned to a low growl, but it wasn’t her threatening growl. More like an uncertain one. Like she didn’t know if she should be upset or not.
Annie switched off the iron, then moved around the end of her worktable to get closer to the window. When she heard the whomp-whomp in the distance, she felt a bit like Nyla, not sure if she should be upset or not.
Her dad was due home for Thanksgiving, but usually he arrived early on Thursday. It was only Tuesday. Too early for him to be arriving from New York City.
Moving away from the window, Annie sank down on her work chair. She supposed it was too much to hope that the details of her trip to LA would have stayed off his radar.
He’d known they were going, of course. But he hadn’t known she was attending the gala. No one but Cole had had that information until the last minute.
She had a feeling that her dad’s early arrival meant that he’d heard about it.
Annie felt a bit angry that the idea of her dad confronting her over the gala had the power to make her feel like a disobedient teenager. She was an adult, and she could make decisions about her own life.
She just wished her dad could see that.
The helicopter’s engine grew louder, then several minutes later, she heard it fade away again. How long would it be before she was summoned before her dad? How long until they locked horns for the first time?
They may have butted heads before, but this time, she had a feeling the confrontation was going to be worse.
What made it so hard was that she knew that her dad acted as he did because he loved her. But she needed him to loosen his hold just a little so that maybe she could have a future that consisted of more than just fabric and books.
Nyla let out a whine as she bumped Annie’s leg, clearly picking up on Annie’s apprehension about what was likely to come with her dad’s arrival home.
“It’s okay, girl.” Annie stroked Nyla’s head, fingers sinking into the silky fur. “We’ll be fine.”
Her phone buzzed on the worktable.
Dad: Meet me at the main house for dinner. 6 pm.
No hello. No explanation for his early arrival. Just a summons, as she’d expected.
Annie glanced at the clock. Four-thirty. Enough time to finish the sleep sack and mentally prepare herself. She returned to her project, movements more mechanical now, her earlier creative flow disrupted by the dread of what awaited her.
As she worked, Annie rehearsed potential conversations in her head. Maybe this time she could make him understand that her life was her own to live. Maybe this time he would listen instead of dictating.
By five-thirty, Annie had changed into a simple blue sweater dress and brushed her hair into a neat ponytail. Professional but casual—an armor of sorts.
Wrapped in a long wool coat, with Nyla by her side, the walk to the main house took about ten minutes, a path she could follow blindfolded through the woods. The evening air was crisp, carrying the scent of pine and approaching snow. In the distance, the main house gleamed with warm light, a beautiful prison in its own way.
Annie paused on the edge of the walkway leading up to the back door. “Lord, help me find the words. Help him to hear me.”
It was something she’d been praying each day since her time in LA, aware that this moment had been coming whether she wanted it or not.
Squaring her shoulders, she continued forward, each step bringing her closer to the confrontation she’d been dreading since the moment she agreed to attend the gala with Cole.
What would her father say about him?
The thought made her stomach tighten. Cole was genuine, warm, and understanding. He saw her. For the first time in years, Annie had felt herself opening up, considering possibilities beyond her carefully constructed sanctuary.
Her father wouldn’t understand that. He’d see only potential danger, another threat to protect her from.
Annie reached the front door, hesitated, then turned the handle.
The house embraced her with familiar warmth as Annie stepped inside. The rear entrance led to a large mud room where she removed her coat and swapped her boots for a pair of shoes she always left there. Nyla’s nails clicked against the polished wood floor as they moved deeper into the house.
“Dad?” Annie called, her voice echoing slightly in the cavernous space.
“In the dining room.” His voice carried that distinctive tone—controlled but with an undercurrent of tension that Annie had learned to recognize over the years.
She took an extra moment to steady her breathing before heading toward the dining room. Nyla stayed close, her warm presence a comfort against Annie’s leg.
The dining room was set for two, fine China and crystal glinting under the chandelier. Her father stood at the head of the table, still in his business attire despite being at home—a charcoal suit that probably cost a pretty penny.
It appeared that Benji and Elizabeth had decided to take their dinner somewhere else. Annie couldn’t blame them. She would have done that too if she’d had the option.
“Annalisa.” He nodded, his expression giving away nothing. “You’re looking well.”
“Thanks. I wasn’t expecting you until Thursday.”
He gestured to the chair to his right. “Sit. We need to talk.”
Annie complied, settling into the chair while Nyla found her spot near the wall, vigilant as always. A server appeared silently, placing salads before them before disappearing again.
“How was Los Angeles?” Her father pierced a cherry tomato with surgical precision.
Annie picked up her fork. “It was fine. Different than I expected.”
“I imagine attending a high-profile gala would be quite different from your usual routine.”
There it was. Annie set her fork down. “How did you find out?”
“Does it matter?” His eyes—the same blue-green as hers—fixed on her face. “What matters is that you deliberately exposed yourself to unnecessary risk.”
“It wasn’t a risk. I was careful.”
“You were photographed, Annalisa. With Cole Halverson.” He pulled out his phone, swiped a few times, then placed it between them. The image showed her and Cole, his hand at the small of her back as they entered the venue. “Fortunately, you weren’t named in the caption, but it’s only a matter of time before they start looking into who the woman with Cole is.”
Annie stared at the photo. They looked good together. Happy. “I’m not hiding anymore, Dad.”
“This isn’t about hiding. It’s about safety.” He put his phone away. “Do you have any idea what could happen if people connect you to our family? If they dig up the past? The danger you’d be in?”
“I’m an adult now. I can’t live in fear forever.”
“This isn’t fear. It’s caution.” He sighed, his expression softening slightly. “After what happened to you and Angelica—”
“Don’t.” Annie’s voice was sharper than she intended. “Please don’t use Angelica to justify controlling my life. We were defenseless as toddlers. I’m not defenseless now. You’ve equipped me with the ability to take care of myself. You’ve put people around me to protect me. I’m not as vulnerable as I was as a child. Plus, you went to the trouble of changing my last name so I’m not even a Burke anymore.”
Her father’s jaw tightened. “No amount of preparation can account for every threat. You, of all people, should understand that.”
The weight of his words settled between them, heavy and yet familiar. Annie had heard variations of this argument her entire life, but this was the first time she’d bucked his restrictions so strongly, so she had no idea what sort of reaction it might elicit from him.
“Cole doesn’t know who I am,” she said quietly. “Not really. He thinks I’m just Annie Turner, a woman who makes baby things and lives in the woods.”
“And do you plan to never introduce him to me?”
Annie hadn’t thought that far ahead. Until the weekend, she hadn’t been one hundred percent sure how Cole was viewing things between them.
However, that kiss had put her uncertainty to rest. Her first kiss. Even now, her heart warmed at the memory of that moment with Cole.
Her father leaned forward. “Cole Halverson isn’t just some random man, Annalisa. He’s a public figure. Dating him puts you squarely in the spotlight. And at some point, you’ll need to tell him about me, about who I am, because I’m your father, and I won’t be banished from your life.”
She didn’t know what to tell him. He was right. She couldn’t deny him because, despite this one issue, she loved and adored him. And she knew he loved her as well.
Her father’s expression softened slightly. “I don’t doubt Cole’s a good man. His background check was impressive.”
“You ran a check on him?” Annie shouldn’t have been surprised, but the intrusion still stung. “Of course you did.”
“It’s my job to protect you.”
“It’s your job to be my father,” Annie countered. “Not my jailer.”
The server returned with their main course—salmon for her father, chicken for her. Annie stared at her plate, appetite gone.
“I understand you want independence,” her father said after a moment of tense silence. “But there are safer ways to achieve that than by associating with a basketball star whose every move is tracked by the media.”
Annie took a deep breath. “What happened to Angelica and me was horrible. I live with that knowledge every day. But I can’t let it define my entire existence.”
“It’s not just about the kidnapping,” he said, his voice dropping. “It’s about who we are. What we represent. The wealth, the power—it makes us targets.”
“Then why did you create all of this?” Annie gestured around them. “Why build an empire that puts us at risk?”
Her father set down his fork. “That’s not fair, Annalisa. I built this to secure our future—your future.”
“A future I can’t even live,” she whispered.
The silence stretched between them, broken only by Nyla’s occasional shifting on the floor.
“Tell me about him,” her father finally said.
Annie looked up, surprised. “About Cole?”
He nodded. “If he’s important enough for you to risk exposure, I want to understand why.”
She hesitated, uncertain if this was a genuine olive branch or another tactical move. But something in her father’s eyes—a weariness, perhaps, or resignation—made her decide to take the chance.
“He’s... kind,” Annie started, choosing her words carefully. “Not just surface kindness that people show when they want something. He’s genuinely considerate.”
Her father listened, his expression neutral as he cut into his salmon.
“He has this way of making me feel seen,” she continued, warming to the subject despite her nervousness. “Not as someone fragile or someone to be protected, but as a person with thoughts and feelings that matter.”
“Many predators are charming, Annalisa.”
Annie shook her head. “It’s not like that. Cole doesn’t even know about our wealth or your position. He thinks I’m just a small business owner.”
“And what have you told him about your family?”
“He knows Benji, and I’ve told him that you’re a businessman. So I haven’t lied.”
“But you also haven’t been completely honest with him.”
Guilt pricked at her. Her dad wasn’t wrong. She’d been trying to honor his request to keep them disconnected, which was why she hadn’t given Cole the full disclosure on who her dad was. But now, she was feeling convicted for not having been more forthcoming.
If he’d asked her more specifically, would she have been honest about it?
It felt wrong not to tell him, but she also understood her dad’s over-protectiveness. He’d lost one daughter. He didn’t want to lose another.
Surely Cole would understand when she finally told him. Wouldn’t he?
The idea of Cole being upset with her over not telling him made her feel sick.
She’d known that not being honest would be a stumbling block to close friendships and relationships. She couldn’t even invite friends like Lexi over for coffee. How would she be able to explain away that she lived on an estate?
Even with Cole, she and Benji had both been vague about where they lived, just like they usually were with people. By the time she realized and accepted that her feelings of attraction were truly reciprocated, she’d already told Cole some half-truths.
Her father set down his knife and fork, giving her his full attention. “The moment Cole brings you further into his world, questions will arise. People will dig.”
She knew that her dad was less concerned about Cole as a person knowing about her than he was the eyes that would turn her way because of her relationship with Cole. Even if Cole would keep her secret, he couldn’t protect her from the scrutiny that would come as a result of their relationship.
He couldn’t hide her the way her father did. And Annie didn’t want to be hidden. She wanted to stand at his side.
“I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it,” Annie said, meeting his gaze. “But I deserve the chance to have a relationship. At least you know he’s not with me because of who you are or the money you have.”
Her father sighed, the sound heavy with a mixture of frustration and concern. “I’ve only ever wanted to keep you safe.”
“I know that,” Annie said. “But being safe without being able to live freely isn’t really living at all.”
Something shifted in her father’s expression—a flicker of recognition, perhaps even regret. He reached for his water glass, taking a slow sip before speaking again.
“Tell me more about this gala. Was it as pretentious as I imagine?”
The unexpected change in the direction of their conversation caught Annie off guard. She blinked, then found herself smiling slightly. “Parts of it were. The food was pretty good, though.”
For the next several minutes, Annie recounted the evening—the music, the ridiculous outfit some celebrity wore, how Cole had guided her through conversations with strangers. She carefully omitted the kiss and their deeper conversations, keeping those precious moments to herself, tucked away in her heart.
Her father listened, occasionally asking questions, his demeanor gradually relaxing. By dessert time—a delicate crème br?lée that Annie barely touched—the atmosphere had shifted from confrontational to something approaching normal.
She knew the situation wasn’t resolved. Her dad wouldn’t give in so easily. But it felt like he’d really heard her, so she hoped that the next discussion about her choices in life wouldn’t be a repetition of this one.
At some point, Benji and Elizabeth appeared, and the four of them gathered around the table, chatting. Her dad had removed his suit coat, laying it over an empty chair.
People might not believe that her father could be as relaxed as he was in that moment with them. But within the walls of their home—as austere as it might appear—he wasn’t all business.
He could be, if necessary, and he often worked when the rest of them were doing other things. But when they needed his attention, he always gave it freely when he was home.
By the time Annie made her way back to her cabin with Nyla, she still didn’t know what she should do about revealing her family to Cole.
She was scared that because they hadn’t been together long, Cole might find it easy to end the relationship if he decided that dealing with her family was a challenge he didn’t want.
Not being completely honest with Cole didn’t sit well with her, but fear kept her from picking up the phone to call and tell him without hesitation.
She may not have told Cole that she loved him, but she knew that she did. But how did he feel about her?
She assumed there was attraction there on his part—the kisses they’d shared seemed to support that idea—but was there something more?
Annie unlocked and walked into her home, grateful to be away from everyone as she sorted out how she was feeling about everything. She and her dad hadn’t come to a consensus, but he hadn’t forbade her from seeing Cole again.
He had, however, given her plenty to think about, drawing to the forefront of her thoughts the stuff that she’d been ignoring. But now she felt like she needed to confront it all before moving forward with Cole.
After checking that Nyla’s bowls were filled, Annie locked down the house, then went upstairs. Cole would probably call her at some point that evening, though for the first time since they’d started talking, she almost wished he wouldn’t.
The confrontation with her dad had left her drained and more than a little confused about how she wanted things to unfold with Cole. She wished that they could just move forward like a normal couple.
Dates. More kisses. Sharing about their love for each other. Planning a future.
It was possible to get to that point, but there was also the potential for things to fall apart completely before they got there.
“We’ll get it figured out,” Annie murmured as Nyla came up the stairs and came over to where she sat. “Right, girl? Would you like to meet Cole?”
Except for that to happen, she’d have to bring him to the house, which would require an explanation.
As the thought crossed her mind, she remembered that Cole had planned to come to Serenity for a couple of days, and they were going to go out on a date. What if he wanted to pick her up from her house?
Annie rubbed her temples. She was going to need to figure out how to approach Cole with the truth about herself and her family.