Chapter 40
FORTY
Dane
Lying in bed with a heavy heart, the urge to at least text her is overwhelming, but I hesitate. What if she doesn’t want to hear from me? She's been on my mind all day, but what if I'm just making things worse? I finally decide to type and send it.
Dane:
I’m thinking about you. I don’t think there’s a time that I’m not thinking about you. I’m going to take care of all of this…I promise.
I can't tear my eyes away from the screen, hoping she'll at least read it. But what if it pushes her further away? Throwing the phone on the bed, I pull both my hands behind my head and stare at the ceiling, knowing sleep might elude me tonight.
Gram’s playing bingo today, so I couldn't meet up with her for dinner.
And Logan has date night with Theresa. It feels like I'm destined to navigate this alone, but I'm not sure I can. As darkness takes over the sky, thinking about her crying after what my dad did replays endlessly, leaving me unsure of what’s next.
The room is lit only by moonlight, and I've been in this spot for what seems like hours.
It takes all my strength to slide off the bed.
My feet feel like lead as they drag along the floor toward the hot tub.
Stripping off my clothes, I step into the hot water.
The heat loosens my tense muscles, but my mind remains a battlefield.
Leaning my head back, I gaze at the stars, torn about my promise to Kendall. Dad was wrong, dead wrong, for approaching her and saying those things. I shake my head, knowing he handed over a check to her with those awful threats.
My hand slaps the water. “Fuck him!” I yell.
She's been through so much these past few weeks. I've tried my best to protect her, but the one person who intruded on her life was my own father. She means everything to me; I will fix this. Whatever it takes.
The thought propels me out of the water, to dry off, and back to my bed. Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day, so I need to at least try to sleep. With one more look at my phone, I see she at least read my text message. That’s all I need…hope.
After tossing and turning all night, I roll out of bed. I glance at the time on my phone; it’s 5:44. Perfect, I’ll grab coffee for Kendall and Gram, make a delivery, and then head to Gram's. Thankfully, it’s not too early to show up at Gram’s, so I call her on my way to the coffeehouse.
“Hello, dear.”
“Good morning, Gram.”
“It’s early for you to be calling. Everything okay?”
“I’m going to come over for breakfast.”
“This sounds serious. I’ll start breakfast and see you when you get here.”
“Thanks, Gram.”
I hang up the phone, step into the coffeehouse, and order. When my name is called, I collect all the coffees and drive to Kendall’s.
After arguing with myself all the way to her house, I decide to leave her coffee and cinnamon rolls at her front door and text her.
Dane:
Left you something at your front door with a note.
You mean the world to me. I promise to treat you well, care for you, and protect you.
Don’t withdraw from me. I know you need time, and I respect that.
I will hold to it as best as I can, without losing my mind.
I don’t know what the future holds, but I hope it includes us living happily ever after as soulmates.
With everything that I am,
-Dane
I walk slowly back to my car, hoping to catch a glimpse of her, but there's no response, and the door stays shut.
I drive straight to Gram’s. When I walk through her door, the smell of bacon and coffee tickles my nose. My stomach grumbles. I follow the smell, but she still yells, “In the kitchen.”
My Gram’s house is like walking back in time. Wallpaper on the living room walls, the furniture that is in pristine condition, like no one ever sits on it. They don’t. She has a recliner with a special blanket on it, where she sits to watch her shows or read her books.
She finishes cooking, and we sit at the table. A big sigh comes flying out of my mouth. I don’t hold back. “Dad went to see Kendall.” I continue to tell her exactly what happened. Stabbing at my eggs like they offended me, my fork drops out of my hand, and it clanks on my plate.
“Kendall needs some time?” Gram asks, her voice carefully neutral.
“Yeah. I didn’t want to give it to her. But there was no way she was going to allow me to stay with her. She said she needed space to think and process everything. But Gram, it hurts like hell.”
“You care about her.” It comes out as a statement. Gram taps my hand that’s resting on the table.
My head is turned down as I move my eggs around, but I'm not actually eating them. “Gram…I’m in love with her. She found me—we found each other, and I never want to let her go. I see a future with her. A future of me spoiling and supporting her in every way possible.”
“I had a feeling you two would hit it off. But to hear you say you love her after a short period of time…”
“Gram, she fits with me. Her ambition matches mine; I’m consumed by her.
There’s never a time when I’m not thinking about her.
Yes, it hasn’t been that long. But like you said, Gram, when you know, you know.
And once I spent time with her, she was for me.
” My smile widens as I think about her again.
“Your dad has been burned by your mom. He’s probably trying to protect you from the hurt he endured with all the cheating, and she took advantage of him. But that’s no excuse for what he did. Dane, if you explain to him how you are feeling, maybe he’ll understand.”
“Ugh, I think he overheard me talking with Logan. It’s the only possibility that makes sense.
I was talking about her being the one. However, I also mentioned that she was upset with me about something related to her stalker and that she was disappointed about my having to go to work.
Otherwise, he’d never have found out about her, not yet anyway. ”
“It’s time to have a frank conversation with him.
Threatening her reputation, accusing her of things she didn’t do, and trying to pay her off.
He might need more help than I thought. Start with a conversation, but you might need to lay it on the line for him to see you’re serious.
If she really is the one…then you need her to feel comfortable with the family. ”
I lift myself up and hug her. “Talking to you helps me put things into perspective and be clear about what I have to do.”
My food is cold, but I’m no longer hungry.
This whole situation is turning my stomach.
I’ll call Logan on the way to the office.
He might have some advice for me. Dad let him marry Theresa.
I still don’t know how he did that, but, truth be told, I never asked.
All I know is he married her, and it was exactly what he wanted.
Now, I need his help getting what I want.
“Gram, I’m heading out. I need to call Logan on my way to the office.”
“Okay, dear, please fill me in when you can.”
I hug her tight and kiss the top of her head. “I will.”
I slide into the driver's seat and take a quick peek at my phone.
Kendall:
I appreciate you stopping by with my favs and a beautiful note…Thank you
My body vibrates. I have to read it a few times. She’s holding on, and I’m not letting her go. I speed down the road. Calling Logan, I hope he answers on the first ring. He does—fucking thank you.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Since last night was date night, I opted not to interrupt. I know how much you both look forward to it.”
“Man, get to the point.”
I tell him straight. “Dad went to Kendall’s salon and tried to intimidate her with threats and then pay her to stay away from me.”
“Holy shit, he’s lost it. Is Kendall okay?”
“Ya think? She said she needs time and space. He’s made her question everything.”
I update him on the situation that went down since yesterday’s trip to Kendall’s salon.
“The office won’t be private enough. I’m still at home. Come here, and we’ll figure this out. One thing is for sure: we need to confront him sooner rather than later before he tries to do any more damage.”
I make a U-turn and head to his house. “Thanks for your help. I was going to do this alone, but I need backup.”
Slamming on my brakes as I park behind Logan, I jump out of the car and jog to his front door. The door is unlocked, so I let myself in.
“I’m in my office,” Logan calls when he hears the door open.
“Hey, what’s the plan?” I ask, walking into his home office and settling into a chair across from his desk.
Logan starts by telling me what happened between him and Dad when he married Theresa. “I was prepared to walk away from the firm.”
“Fuck! She meant that much to you, of course, you’d walk away from everything.” His confession hit me right in the heart. “And that’s all it took?”
“Basically. I had to commit to the firm, staying to protect the family name and our family’s legacy.”
I shake my head. “I’m all in. Whatever it takes for him to respect my decision.”
“It will be more difficult than that. He didn’t just roll over when I went to him about leaving the firm.” He leans back in his leather chair.
Leaning forward with my elbows on my thighs, I take it all in. “What if my walking away isn’t enough for him to back away from all of this?”
“You need to really think about this…are you willing to walk away from all of this for her? Does she mean that much to you for you to leave it all behind?”
My head dips down. I love being a defense attorney; it’s everything I’ve ever wanted.
I could work anywhere, start my own firm if I wanted.
Walking away from our dad, it hurts, knowing what he’s gone through, but not as much as I’m feeling right now, knowing Kendall is considering walking away from me…
my chest tightens, and it's hard to breathe.
“If I walk away, he might not blink an eye. What if we both commit to walking away? Would you do that for me? It’s a huge ask, so I understand if you need to think about it.”