Chapter 23 Ford
TWENTY-THREE
FORD
I’d never been in a relationship before, and the only one I had ever pictured was with Royce.
How did I go to her and tell her I’d been an asshole?
I had no clue what the fuck I was doing, and now I was parked in front of her house, saw that her bike was gone and she wasn’t answering my texts or calls.
I knew that likely meant she needed time, but how long?
Would she be even more upset if I pushed her boundaries and went to track her down?
I wanted to talk to her, tell her I know I fucked up and that I scared her.
I saw the fear in her eyes when she begged me to stay.
Then I dropped the bomb that I was the president and had lied to her.
Shit. How the hell was I supposed to get out of this? Maybe if I gave her Gus, or if I bought the Hollow for her? But Killian was right, if I bought it, then it would belong to the club, and she’d never love it the same.
I was sitting on my bike, staring at my cell when Rook’s name flashed across the screen with an incoming call.
“Hey,” I answered roughly. Was this tightness in the throat thing also part of being in a relationship? I felt like I was going to cry every five seconds.
Rook’s voice came out rushed as he said, “Ford, my parents are back in town. Dad called me, asking if I’ve seen Royce.”
I froze. That tension practically strangling me as fear began clouding my vision. I was too scared to ask why he was calling. He wouldn’t be calling me if Royce was happily chilling in their cottage. He called me because something was wrong.
“Her bike is here, but she isn’t.”
I knew where she was…there was a place in the orchard she’d go as a kid. She had to be there. She was likely just clearing her head.
Swallowing thickly, I explained that to Rook. “I’ll take care of it.”
Once I hung up, I started my bike and set off toward the orchard.
The entire way, I thought about what I would say to her and how I’d apologize.
I rehearsed how I’d explain that I knew I’d gone too far and that I had fucked up by not being honest with her.
I was trying to figure out how to say it all, how to demonstrate exactly what I’d do if she gave me another chance when I approached the northern side of the orchard.
When we were kids, we’d play hide-and-seek out here, and as we grew, those games would evolve into capture the flag and other various competitions.
Each of us would participate and more often than not, it would be the girls against the guys.
They were great memories, but Royce had a special attachment to one of the larger hickory trees outside of the orchard.
She’d hide there when the rest of us were supposed to pick lemons or help Uncle Silas.
I parked toward the entrance, so as not to startle her or spook her from staying put. The idea that she might be up in a tree and I could merely climb up to her felt sort of romantic and just the sort of gesture I needed to convince her to talk to me.
The lemon trees were staggered every few feet, yellow fruit hanging among the leaves.
The ground was soft earth under my boots, the sky a periwinkle blue.
Fuck, nearly the entire night had passed, and I hadn’t even slept yet.
Which meant Royce hadn’t either. Maybe she was curled up in that hickory with a blanket, snoozing. Maybe she’d let me hold her.
The sound of birds waking and cooing filled the air, and then a distant shout.
Something painful twisted inside my stomach, tightening with every step toward the tree.
There on the ground was a pile of black leather.
As I got closer and dipped to pick it up, I realized it was my leather cut…
the one I had slid over Royce’s shoulders and told her not to take off.
My head swung up, searching the grove, but all I saw were trees and sky.
I scoured the dirt for any signs of where she might have gone, finding only her pink cell phone in a clump of tall grass. My hands shook as I picked it up, and then I heard another distant shout.
With my heart twisting painfully in my chest, I took off running.