Twelve
Shit.
The closer I get to Daddy, the deeper the panic sets in. He’s coming toward me and Kase as quickly as we’re approaching. He’s got murder in his eyes, and his arms are swinging wildly at his sides.
“Daddy,” I say in my calmest tone when we meet in the middle of the field. “What are you doing here?”
He shoves his finger at Kase, who slows behind me. “You better not have laid a finger on her.”
My mouth falls agape slightly. I’ve rarely had cause to lie to my father, but this seems like a good time to start if it eases the tension rippling off him.
“Daddy, what are you talking about?”
He slides his angry gaze to me. “I went into town for some shopping, and do you know what I hear? I hear that Kase McCasker’s got some girl half naked in his truck down by the Conway Ledge trails. Is that true?”
I swallow hard. Shit. Shit. Shit. When I can’t form a reply, the color in his cheeks rises to a fierce red. He looks back to Kase, whose face is an unreadable mask.
“That’s what this was about? You thought you’d take advantage of my daughter, as what, a perk of the deal? Or were you planning to send her back after you had your way with her and foil the deal? Is Edwin behind this?”
Kase slides his hand into mine. “June came here of her own free will.”
“And you’re making a whore out of her! June, you’re coming home with me. Pack your things. Now.”
My father’s words hit me like a slap to the face. Tears burn behind my eyes. Kase squeezes my hand, and the small show of support eases the pain a fraction.
“If she goes, there’s no deal,” Kase says quietly.
My father regards him with more malice than I’ve ever seen. “Surely there’s something you want more than her company for another week.”
Kase’s jaw is firm, the muscles there bulging as he clenches.
“Five percent,” my father says. “I’ll bump the price up by five percent. I’ll chalk it up to inflation with the investors.”
My jaw falls. “Daddy!”
Kase’s stance and expression haven’t changed.
“If she goes,” he says with control, “there’s no deal, Mr. Bell. You could offer me double, and that wouldn’t change. My terms were clear. I’m not renegotiating.”
“Bastard!” Daddy’s face is beet red. Sweat crowns his forehead. He’s in his requisite blazer, but he looks ragged, like he could turn violent at any time. He comes closer, until he’s only a few inches from Kase. “One day everyone in Falls Edge will know who you are.”
He turns away from us both and marches toward the house. I follow after him, leaving Kase behind.
“Daddy, wait. Please.”
After several paces, he finally slows. I circle in front of him, but he doesn’t meet my gaze. He rubs the sweat off with a handkerchief from his breast pocket. “How could you let this happen, June?”
I wince. Of all the ways I agonized over the potential pitfalls of this arrangement with Kase, I never expected this.
I laugh roughly. “What did you expect was going to happen? You sent me off without a second thought. All you cared about was getting the deal in motion again.”
“Don’t put this on me.” He points his finger and his weary gaze at me.
Tears pool at the corners of my eyes, but I don’t want to break down right now. Because Kase is right. I chose to come here. And I’m not ready to leave yet.
His expression softens. “June.” He sighs.
“Just come back to the hotel. The land… I’ll make Edwin see reason.
They want to sell. I’m sure of it. Everything he’s said this week points in that direction.
They’re feeling the financial pressure more than ever.
Even with Kase back, they may be too far behind to catch up.
Hell, I can probably get it for less than the original bargain. ”
I can’t believe what he’s saying. “I’m not leaving.”
He frowns, seemingly unaware of the tears streaming down my cheeks now. “You want to stay here?”
I swallow hard. “I care about him.”
He shakes his head. “June, no. This dalliance—whatever is going on between you two—can’t continue. I’m not losing you to a McCasker.”
“You’re not losing me.” I stifle a sob, but they’re getting harder to hold back.
His anger is back, flaring behind his eyes and stiffening his posture. “Do I have to go in there and pack your things myself? Just come back home, and we can talk this all out. You think you know that boy, but believe me, you don’t.”
“I’m a grown woman. I agreed to stay here with Kase, and that’s what I’m going to do. I’ll come home when I’m ready.”
“Goddamnit.” He paces a few steps away and turns toward Kase, who’s standing stoic in the field, watching us.
“What did they ever do to you to make you hate them so much?”
Daddy’s jacket moves as he inhales. “They took something precious from me. And I’m not going to stand idly by and watch them do it again.
” He turns back to me, his expression grim.
“You want to stay here, June? Fine. But mark my words. As soon as this land is mine, you’re not going anywhere near Kase McCasker. There’s nothing negotiable about that.”
As he walks away, I can feel something inside me breaking.
Not my heart. Something deeper, more foundational.
I’ve never been at odds like this with my father.
But no matter how much I want to please him, I can’t bring myself to follow him back to the hotel.
At least for now, I’m rooted here. With Kase.
I watch my father peel down the road, leaving nothing but dust and his anger lingering.
Kase comes behind me, gently placing his hands on my arms. “You okay?”
A sob rips out of me. I turn and bury my face in his shirt. We hold each other tight, and while I relish the comfort of the embrace, my father’s words echo through me over and over again, tearing a painful path every time.
You’re making a whore out of her.
I pull from Kase’s arms and wipe my face. “I need to be alone right now.”
He frowns. “Let me stay with you. I can take the afternoon off. Chad can cover for me for the rest of the day.”
I shake my head and sniffle. “No. I’m fine. You can go back. I’ll see you tonight.”
I take strides toward the house, grateful when he doesn’t follow me. I don’t know why, but I long for the comfort of Kase’s bed and the quiet house. No prying eyes. No chatter. No responsibilities tugging at me.
Even though I feel ripped apart, I’m glad it’s happened here, in a place that’s beginning to feel more like home than my room at the hotel.
Far away from my father’s judgments and blind ambition.
He’s never felt more like a stranger to me, and for a moment, I wonder if being here has changed me so much, or if he’s only now showing how ugly his hatred for the McCaskers truly is.
I climb the stairs and slip under Kase’s quilt, letting the tears run down the sides of my face. I pull his pillow into my arms and breathe in his scent. I miss him. As much as I wish he were here comforting me, I don’t want him to see me this way.
With every breath, I try to let go of my father’s words. I sink into calm, comforted by the smell of the man I’m falling hard and fast for and the quiet house that’s letting me simply be. Then I let sleep take its hold.
I wake several hours later to the sounds of dishes clanging in the kitchen.
I rise and try to tame my bed head in the mirror that rests atop Kase’s dresser.
My eyes are puffy, but the uncontrollable urge to cry until I have nothing left is over.
The sun has set, and the sky is a darkening violet.
Time has passed, and for now, my father’s words have lost enough of their potency that I can face Kase again.
He’s in the kitchen chopping vegetables and sprinkling them over a large bowl of salad. He looks up when I enter the room.
“Hey,” he says softly. He looks relaxed, but his eyes are filled with worry.
I join him at the counter and peek into the large pot filled with his favorite boxed macaroni and cheese. I can’t help but smile at the orange concoction.
“You really need to expand your repertoire.”
He smirks. “It works in a pinch. And I branched out. I made a side salad.”
“Looks good,” I say, popping a slice of celery into my mouth. “Do you need help with anything?”
“I think everything is ready. Are you hungry?”
I nod. “Starving. I haven’t eaten all day.”
His brows wrinkle, but he moves quickly, makes us plates, and brings them to the dining room. We sit and begin to eat in silence. I’m famished, but as Kase’s dinner satisfies my hunger, all the things we aren’t saying—things my father said that I can’t stop thinking about—begin to weigh on me.
I want to be here with Kase, but only for the right reasons.
I set my fork down on my empty plate and contemplate what to say. “Kase, I think we should talk.”
He leans back in his chair. “Yeah.”
I sigh because I don’t know where to start. “My father…”
He works his jaw and traces the edge of the table. “If I hear him talk to you like that again, June, I’m not sure I’m going to be able to control myself. Is that how he is with you?”
“No. He’s angry sometimes, but I’ve never seen him like that. I think all of this—us—is sending him over the edge. I’m his only child.”
“You’re not a whore, and if anyone dares call you that again, they’re going to get introduced to my fist.”
I swallow over the emotion thick in my throat. “Why did he warn me about you? It’s like he hates you as much as he hates your father.”
The silence that stretches between us only adds to my unease. Kase doesn’t make eye contact. Only now do I realize he hasn’t touched me since I came downstairs. The physical and emotional space between us feeds all my doubts about being here.
I stand to leave, when he catches my hand.
“Don’t go.”
His gaze travels from our joined hands to the old, worn table and back to me. I ease back down into my chair.
“I’ve never told anyone this,” he says softly.
My heart starts to hammer a little faster. I hold my breath and wait for him to speak.
“Your mom died when you were a baby, June. No one had to tell you when it happened. It’s how it always was.”
Confused, I nod.
“I know that doesn’t make not having your mother any easier,” he says. “But you never had to deal with the shock and try to work it out in your head.”
“What are you saying, Kase?”
“Edwin,” he says, his gaze floating up to the lilies spilling out of the vase on the table. “He’s not my father.”