Chapter three
Caine
The house felt too damn quiet. After Tara stormed out, I stood in the great room staring at the front door for several seconds. Part of me wanted to go after her, but the other part didn’t have the energy.
The entire day had been one headache after another… first Devyn, then Tara. And now I was standing alone in a house big enough to fit twenty families. I rubbed my forehead because the headache I had complained about earlier hadn’t gone anywhere.
If anything, it had gotten worse.
My eyes drifted towards the staircase. Devyn still hadn’t come back into the house. She hadn’t texted, called me or nothing.
The realization immediately irritated me. Not because I was angry, but because I already knew exactly where she was. I was willing to bet my entire fortune that she was in the stables with Dylan.
That thought only made my head pound harder. That was where she always went and that was the main reason she was leaving next week.
I exhaled heavily then headed towards the back door. The evening air was cool as I crossed the property. Every step felt heavier than the last. Maybe because I already knew what I was walking into.
Or maybe because I wasn’t looking forward to seeing the disappointment in my daughter’s eyes again. The last thing I wanted was a confrontation, but I had to do what I had to do to protect my child.
I knew one thing… my mood didn’t improve. As the stables came into view, I slowed down. The large doors were partially open, and light spilled out onto the ground. And then I heard the sound of my daughter crying.
My chest tightened immediately and for a split second, I considered turning around to give her space. Pretending I never came looking for her, but I couldn’t do that.
Instead, I pushed forward. The closer I got, the clearer the voices became.
Then I stepped inside and froze. Devyn sat on a hay bale with her face buried against Dylan’s shoulder.
His arms were wrapped around her, holding her tightly and protectively.
Like he could somehow keep the world from hurting her.
The sight hit me harder than I expected. Not because I was angry… I honestly wasn’t. I liked Dylan… always had since the first day.
The kid was smart, loyal, hardworking and more mature than most boys his age. If life had dealt him different cards, who knows where he’d be. But standing there watching them together, watching my daughter cry in his arms, something became painfully clear.
This was exactly why she had to go to Switzerland. The bond was already too deep and way too damn strong.
She was only thirteen and Dylan was fifteen. At their age they should be enjoying activities, sleepovers and whatnot. Instead, they were falling in love and they shouldn’t have such strong affections for each other. And yet they looked at each other like the rest of the world barely existed.
What would happen in another year, two years or five? What if they had sex and she got pregnant? That would ruin everything.
That was the shit that scared me the most because Dylan wasn’t a bad kid. If he was, this would be so much easier. The conflict was that he was a good kid but from a world I didn’t want for my daughter’s future.
A world I had spent my entire life trying to escape.
I looked at Devyn, at the tears staining her cheeks and the way Dylan kept rubbing her back trying to comfort her. And despite how much it hurt to see her crying, my decision felt more necessary than ever.
I cleared my throat and immediately, both of their heads snapped in my direction. Devyn jumped away from Dylan so fast she nearly lost her balance. Dylan stood up just as quickly. The stables suddenly became awkwardly quiet.
Neither one of them spoke and they looked uncomfortable as hell. I studied them for a moment then focused on my daughter.
“You okay?”
The question sounded ridiculous the second it left my mouth. Of course, I knew she wasn’t okay.
Her eyes narrowed as she gawked at me. “No. Does it even matter?”
Fair enough. I nodded slowly.
“I figured as much.”
The silence was heavy and uncomfortable. Then Devyn folded her arms across her chest. A habit she had picked up whenever she was upset with me.
“What do you want?” Devyn asked.
The question stung more than I cared to admit, but I ignored it. “For you to come back inside the house.”
“No.”
“Devyn.”
“I’m not,” she said with an attitude.
This was new because my child never spoke to me like this before. I sighed because she got her stubbornness from me. That meant this wasn’t going to be easy.
“I’m not discussing this here,” I said.
“Good, because I don’t have anything I wanna talk about at all.”
She wiped her face angrily.
The anger I expected. The hurt… that was harder to deal with because every time she looked at me, I felt like the villain. And maybe right now I was.
Eventually my attention shifted towards Dylan. He hadn’t said a word yet. He hadn’t moved or even looked away. He just stood there watching and waiting in a protective stance. And that bothered me more than if he had been yelling.
I recognized the look in his eyes. It was the same look I had seen on grown men before. The same look that told me this wasn’t just a basic friendship anymore.
“Dylan.”
His jaw tightened. “Sir.”
“We need to talk.”
And immediately I watched his expression change. I had a feeling he already knew exactly what that conversation was going to be about.