31. Jackson
31
JACKSON
“ W hy did my daughter call me crying, telling me that she quit her job? Why has she locked herself in there, like she’s afraid to tell me why?” Bennett is seething mad, the red in his face spreading as he barely keeps his voice level. “Why are the three of you here?”
I hold my hands up. “We had an incident at work. It’s been taken care of, and we’ve called Sheriff Bentley to report it.”
He bristles, and I regret how I decided to approach this. “Why did you have to call the sheriff ?”
I clear my throat, clenching my jaw. “One of our new hires…was a bad choice.”
“You’d better explain and fast.” His hands turn into fists, and I realize that I might get decked for this.
“One of the men took her innocent flirting the wrong way and assumed he had the right to manhandle her. Which he did not. He certainly knows that now.”
“Innocent flirting. What are you saying about my daughter?” His step closer promises violence.
“Bennett, listen to me—that’s what I’m trying to say. We wanted her to feel comfortable on the job and be herself. The flirting is adorable, obviously put on to have fun, and we had no issues up until now. Everyone knew the boundaries.”
“Until today.”
I sigh. “Yes. Until today. He’s been fired. We filed a police report. And he will be blacklisted.”
“Oh, you bet your ass he will be. If I don’t feed him to the pigs myself.”
I open my mouth to talk him down, but the front door opens, and we all turn to Ginger.
She’s in an oversized sweatshirt—mine, in fact—and pajama pants. Her hair is wet around her shoulders, and her skin ispink from the shower. Her eyes are swollen, and her nose is red from crying.
Everything inside of me aches to go and wrap her up against me. To ensure she’s safe.
Bennett is the one to do that, stalking over to her like a bear and pulling her against his chest. She looks so small next to him. Usually, her big personality takes up so much more space.
He bends to kiss the top of her hair and whispers something for only her to hear.
A shudder runs through her, but she nods.
She finally looks at the three of us. “Come inside.”
Bennett ushers her in, and we follow, slowly, cautiously. As long as we’ve been waiting for her to let us in, it feels like we’re intruding. Once her father has her on the couch, he sits on the coffee table across from her, holding her hands. “Tell me what happened.”
She sucks in a quivering breath and shakes her head.
“Whatever it is. You are not to blame.”
“They already told you. I could hear from the other side of the door.” Ginger sunk in on herself a little more. She looked so young, and I have to remind myself that she really is.
Ashley wipes a hand down his face and covers his mouth as he takes in the scene. Sawyer makes himself useful, going to the kitchen, refilling her kettle, and heating it up on the stove.
Ginger squeezes her dad’s hands. “It’s too jumbled up in my head. And I don’t want to talk about it.”
She glances up at me, shock and sadness muting the bright blue of her eyes. I step closer, finding the arm of the couch and lowering myself onto it.
“You heard us, so that means you’ve also heard us say that Kaleb has been fired. He’s been reported. And he’ll never work in the industry again. At least not in this state.” Fuck, I want to reach for her hand, to send a reassuring touch down her arm.
Her eyes are focused on the far end of the room. “Yes.”
“Everyone at work respects you. Not one of the men there thinks the same way as that fuckwit. Okay?” I bend to catch her gaze again. It’s difficult, but I do.
She blinks at me a few times and nods.
“I’m serious. Not one of them thinks that way. Not one of them would ever disrespect you.”
Another wavering breath but no answer.
“You hear me? They all respect you.”
“I’m not coming back.” The bland blankness of her voice is a knife to my heart. And it’s punctuated by the kettle’s whistle.
Bennett frowns at me, and we both lean back when Sawyer brings her a mug of tea. She takes it slowly, bringing it higher to breathe in the steam. The softest light shines in her again as she looks at him.
“Thank you.”
“Of course.” Sawyer shifts. “Thank you.”
Ginger sips from her mug. “For what?”
“For stopping me.”
“Stopping you from what?” Bennett asked, his gruff voice popping the little bubble of peace she found. He softens again immediately, putting his big paw on her knee.
She meets his gaze and takes another sip. “From killing him.”
The look he shoots at Sawyer is half rage and half gratitude. But his posture shifts, and his eyes narrow as he looks between the four of us. I swear his quick, calculating mind is putting our big secret together.
It’s not something she needs to deal with on top of everything else.
Ashley sits on the other end of the couch, and we all wait.
My phone rings in my pocket, and she startles. It’s Bentley. I hold up a finger and look back toward the entryway.
“Yeah?”
“Jackson, have you gotten in to talk to Ginger yet?”
I sigh. “Yes.”
“Does she want to give any more details?”
“No. But charges can be pressed with what we have. The company will press regardless.” I run a hand through my hair and keep my back to the room. I want her to know that she doesn’t have to do anything to ensure he reaps the consequences of his ill actions. None of us will stand for anything less.
“I hear you, Jackson. I’m going to need Sawyer to come give me a full statement.”
“I’ll let him know.” I turn to catch his silent gaze. He nods, even though I’m sure he can’t hear the sheriff.
“Is Bennett there with her?”
“Yeah.”
“Hand me over to him, yeah?”
“Sure.” I step back and offer Bennett the phone. “Sheriff Bentley.”
He stands and takes my phone, bending to kiss Ginger on the top of the head before he goes out the front door. Bennett isn’t a quiet man.
Once the door closes, I take his place on the coffee table, pressing my hand to her knee. “I know this is a stupid question, but are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine.” The blank stare is gone. His look communicates chagrin and anger. Whenever a woman tells me she’s fine, it means she isn’t, but she doesn’t want to talk about it.
“Don’t make any big decisions right now, but know that we’re taking care of it. We will always take care of you.” It’s true. I will give her whatever she wants. She only has to ask for it.
“Stop it. I don’t need you to take care of me.” She pushes my hands off her knees and stands, bringing her mug to the kitchen. When she turns around to face us, I swallow all of the pleasant words I want to use to persuade her to just give it time.
Her hands find her hips, and she’s regained a bit of her fire.
“I am not coming back. I will find something else.” Ginger turns again to pour herself a glass of water. Or maybe she can’t face us.
Ashley looks like a kicked puppy, and Sawyer has shut down.
She just needs time. And now is not the time to press her.
We just have to be patient. Not push her too hard. Not disappear when it’s tough.
Bennet is a force of nature when he’s upset, and his eyes are glimmering with anger. With betrayal.
Shit.
He takes in the room, his daughter, and points at the three of us. It forces me to my feet. Sawyer and Ashley stand behind me.
“You three are dead to me.” The finality in his tone hits me harder in the gut than watching Ginger quit in tears.