Chapter Nineteen #2
I looked down at her—she barely reached my collarbone—and let a smile play at the corners of my mouth. “That’s okay. I’m part of the family.”
She arched one perfect eyebrow. “Since when does Floyd consider you family?”
I didn’t blink. “Since he became my business.”
Floyd made a noise, low and desperate, but I didn’t let him speak. I stepped around Viv, planted both palms on the edge of the desk, and leaned in.
“You okay?” I said, just for him.
He nodded, slow. “Fine. Better now.”
The tension in the room ratcheted up, like someone had twisted the thermostat from “awkward” to “nuclear.”
Viv tried again, her voice going icy. “You need to leave, Mr. McKenzie.”
“Not going to happen,” I said.
She glared. “This is a private matter.”
I straightened and looked her dead in the eye. “There’s nothing private in this county. Especially not when you bring your problems to the Sheriff’s office.” I glanced over at Levi, who still hadn’t looked up from his phone. “Nice to meet you, by the way. Heard a lot about you.”
He didn’t respond, just kept tapping the screen with a little more force.
Viv looked like she wanted to scratch my eyes out. “Floyd, are you going to allow this? You’re the Sheriff.”
He opened his mouth, then closed it. He glanced at me, and I could see the fear behind his eyes, but also the spark of something new—determination, maybe, or just the exhaustion of being bullied for too long.
“I asked Ransom to come,” Floyd said, voice quiet but unshakeable.
Viv recoiled like she’d been slapped. “You… what?”
He stood up, slow, and moved to my side of the desk. It was the smallest thing, but it felt huge. “You can say what you need to say in front of him,” Floyd said.
Viv’s mouth opened, but nothing came out. For a second, I thought she might implode. “Fine,” she said at last. “If you want to embarrass yourself in front of your… your boyfriend, be my guest.”
Floyd flinched at the word, but didn’t deny it. He just nodded, like he was tired of fighting gravity.
Viv went for the kill. “Levi is in trouble, Floyd. He’s failing two classes, he’s been suspended twice, and last week I found drugs in his backpack. I need you to step up as a father and help me fix this. Not play house with your criminal boyfriend.”
I felt the blood rush to my ears. “You ever think maybe the kid wouldn’t need drugs if you didn’t treat him like a prop in your soap opera?”
She rounded on me, eyes glittering. “Excuse me?”
I shrugged. “Sorry. I thought we were being honest.”
She stalked closer, heels clicking like gunfire. “You are not part of this family, Mr. McKenzie. I don’t care what games you and Floyd are playing, but you will not interfere with my child.”
That’s when Levi looked up, finally. His eyes were pale, almost translucent in the shit light of the office. He said, “I’m not your child. And he’s not my dad.”
The silence after that could have bottled and sold as a chemical weapon. Viv’s mouth worked, but she couldn’t find the words. Floyd just stared at Levi, like he was seeing him for the first time.
“Levi,” Viv hissed. “That is enough.”
Levi leaned back, smirked. “Whatever. You dragged me here for this? I’m going outside.”
He stood, every movement a statement. As he brushed past me, he paused just long enough to say, “You’re the only normal one here, dude.”
I almost laughed, but kept it inside.
Viv watched Levi go, then spun back to Floyd. “You see what you’ve done?” she said. “You’ve destroyed this family. You’ve humiliated me in front of my own son. And for what? For him?” She pointed at me like I was a turd on her Louboutins.
Floyd took a deep breath, let it out slow. “Vivian, I haven’t been part of your family for a long time. You ended that when you divorced me. I’m sorry for Levi, but you can’t blame me for your own choices.”
She sneered. “Oh, please. Like you’re any better. You think it doesn’t get around, the way you throw yourself at—” she jabbed her finger at me again “—this degenerate? It’s all over town, Floyd. You’re a joke. A sad, broken joke.”
I smiled, wide and mean. “Better a joke than a punchline.”
Viv’s face went white, then red, then some color I’d never seen before. She looked at Floyd, searching for an ally, but he’d already made his choice.
He stepped closer to me, and for the first time, took my hand. Not secretly, not under the table. Out in the open, in front of God, the county, and the devil in a pantsuit.
Viv stared at our hands like she could burn them off with her gaze alone.
“I’m done pretending, Viv,” Floyd said. “I’m done hiding.”
For a second, I saw the old Floyd—the one who’d arrest a guy for spitting on the sidewalk, the one who thought reputation was everything. But the way he held on to me said something else: that maybe, for once, he was ready to live in his own skin, no matter how it looked to anyone else.
Viv tried one last time, softer now. “Please, Floyd. For Levi’s sake. For your own. Don’t do this.”
He shook his head, gentle. “It’s already done.”
She backed away, her armor cracking with every step. “You’ll regret this,” she said, voice trembling.
He shrugged. “I’ve regretted a lot of things. This isn’t one of them.”
She left then, slamming the door hard enough to rattle the windows. The only thing left behind was her perfume and the sense that the whole town would know by sunset.
The door barely finished vibrating before the office went quiet. Real quiet this time, the kind that fills the space between thunderclaps. The blinds were still swinging on their chains, letting in flashes of gray daylight that striped the floor and left half the room in shadow.
Floyd let out a breath, slow and controlled. His hand never let go of mine, and I could feel the way his pulse raced, almost in sync with mine.
“That,” he said, voice raspy but amused, “went about as well as I expected.”
I grinned, but the adrenaline still had my jaw clenched. “I’d give it a solid seven out of ten. You barely threatened to shoot anyone.”
He snorted. “Don’t tempt me. The day’s not over yet.”
We stood there a moment, just breathing. I could see the lines in his face start to fade, the color come back to his skin. It wasn’t victory, not yet, but it was the closest we’d gotten.
“You good?” I said, voice low.
He nodded, then shook his head. “I am now. Thanks for the cavalry.”
“Didn’t do it for you,” I said. “Did it because Viv was going to kill us all with the power of her personality.”
He laughed. Real, this time. The sound made my chest loosen, like he’d just given me permission to relax for the first time in a month.
From the hallway, I could see Levi. He stood by the vending machine, staring at the selection like he was willing a Snickers bar to solve his life.
Through the lobby glass, I caught Knox and Newt outside, loitering in the snowdrift by the front steps, arms folded and looking like a pair of bouncers at a bar that only served heartbreak.
I didn’t care who was watching.
I let go of Floyd’s hand only to wrap my arm around his waist, pulling him close enough that he had to lean in or fall over. He was solid against me, heavier than I remembered, like the last few days had packed on five pounds of stubbornness and spite.
“Never thought you’d do it,” I said. “Come out. Make it public.”
He shrugged. “I figured if I was going to lose everything, I might as well do it for something that matters.”
I kissed him, right then, right there, slow and careful but hard enough to make sure the message was received. When I pulled back, he was grinning, eyes bright.
“Scandalous,” he whispered.
I looked out at the lobby. Levi was staring at us through the glass, jaw slack, phone at half-mast like he couldn’t decide whether to take a photo or set it on fire. The secretary pretended to type, but she was leaning over her monitor, soaking up every second.
“Let them talk,” I said. “We’ll give them something to really write home about.”
He nodded, settling into the circle of my arm like he belonged there. “What now?” he asked.
I thought about it. The shop was wrecked, our reputations shot, and half the county was probably betting on how long we’d last. I smiled, all teeth. “We start over. Burn it all down and build something better.”
He reached up, tugged my beard with two fingers. “That’s a terrible plan.”
“Best I got,” I said, and meant it.
He looked at me, then, really looked, and I saw the man I’d always wanted him to be: unafraid, a little broken, but finally fucking honest.
I pressed my forehead to his, shutting out everything else. “The McKenzies protect their own,” I said.
He laughed again, and the sound was better than church bells. “Always?” he asked.
I held him tighter, making sure the whole world could see. “Always.”
And that was the only promise I ever needed to keep.