Of Boys And Men: An Enemies to Lovers, New Adult College Romance (Ridge Rogues Book 1)

by Renee Harless

  I let the Border Collie puppy back on the ground and turned to glance at Ford, who was gazing at me with a look of awe and amazement. I blushed under his watchful eye, and as I stood up, I flustered opening the gate.

  He followed behind me and we ran into Ken near the locker room. I thanked him for calling me so that I could be with Rocky.

  Ford and I didn’t have a change of clothes, so we both appeared to have been rolling in dog hair, but neither of us seemed to mind. He even chuckled as he pulled his shirt away from his body and shook it out, mounds of dog hair floating to the floor. Reaching into the locker for my bag and Ford’s jacket, I almost ate my own tongue when I turned to find Ford pulling his shirt over his head.

  “What are you doing?” I asked, glancing around like someone would actually yell at him for showing his incredible chest and abs. I found myself wishing that I could lick at that darn V that ran across the front of his hips and slithered beneath his jeans.

  “I have a shirt in my car I can put on,” he explained as he reached for his jacket.

  “Yeah, but it’s freezing outside. You’ll get sick.”

  He laughed in a way that crept across my skin like a snake, wrapping itself around me until I could do nothing more than succumb to its power. “That’s what I have a jacket for. Now, take yours off. I have a shirt you can wear.”

  Hypnotized by his spell, I found myself tugging my sweater over my head without a second thought. Ford helped slip my jacket over my body and zipping, the still damp material went all the way up to my chin.

  “Let’s go.”

  Our hands intertwined as we made a mad dash from the building to his car in the pouring rain. Ford even stood in the downpour, holding my door open until I was settled inside, before moving toward his own.

  “Oh my gosh, will this rain ever stop?”

  “Eh, it’s supposed to be like this through the weekend.”

  “That stinks. But I guess it’s a good thing I’ll be staying inside.”

  Ford started the engine for the car and pulled it out of the parking lot. “No plans for Thanksgiving?” he asked as we turned onto the street.

  “No. Just going to hang out at the apartment. You?”

  “Tracy has us all over and her family from Carson, North Carolina comes in to town. It’s a big thing.”

  “That must be nice.”

  Silence filled the car as Ford refrained from saying anything else. I wondered if he imagined having a large feast with his mother or if he had ventured back to the incidents regarding his father.

  “I want to do something for you since you allowed me to kidnap you and trail along today pretty much,” Ford said nervously. His voice was shallow and tight as he spoke, something I had never heard from him before. And as I turned in my seat to take him in, he was gripping the steering wheel, twisting his hands back and forth along the leather.

  “You don’t have to do anything, Ford. But what did you have in mind?”

  “I want to take you to dinner.”

  Shock and disbelief ran through me because I knew from Willow and Haley that they had never known any of the ridge rouges to do more than go to bed with a woman. Dates were not part of their repertoire.

  I murmured, “Like a date,” barely able to get the words out.

  “Yeah.”

  He seemed so uncomfortable, that despite my excitement, I gave him an out. “It’s okay, Ford. You don’t have to do anything for me. It was nice to have you there today.”

  His head turned toward me quickly and one wet clump of his hair draped over his eye. “I want to. . .with you.”

  “Okay,” I complied, and needing to break the tension that I had caused, I added, “But I’m going to need that shirt. Otherwise, the restaurant is going to get an eyeful.”

  His laughter joined my giggle and thankfully the remainder of the car ride was filled with Ford asking me more questions about opening a rescue. I was amazed at how interested he seemed in the work I wanted to do.

  Ford pulled into the same pub where Willow, Haley, and I had seen him and his family. He handed me a shirt from the backseat. At first, I was worried that it would smell like sweat or musty, but it didn’t. It smelled like being wrapped in a Ford blanket.

  “You’re not getting this back, you know,” I said as I slipped the Metallica shirt over my head and smirked at him as he did the same with another shirt.

  Together we dashed into the pub, which wasn’t very full. It was that time between lunch and dinner, but since Ford and I had skipped the previous meal, we were starving. The same server as before took our order, both of us opting for soup and sandwiches instead of something more substantial.

  Ford’s phone sat on the table, and throughout the meal, he continued to glance at the screen. I wasn’t annoyed, but more or less concerned. After learning everything about his mother and father, I would imagine that someone would constantly have to be on the lookout. Because if Senator Hastings was trying to hide Ford, I couldn’t imagine the lengths that he would go to.

  I choked on a piece of bread at the notion of Ford’s father trying to rid himself of his son completely. It took a forceful gulp of water to get the rest of the sandwich down.

  “You okay?” Ford asked as I coughed a few times, trying to get air back into my lungs.

  “Yeah, sorry. It went down the wrong pipe,” I lied. I was afraid of how Ford would react if I told him my thoughts and theories about his father. My heart lurched thinking about how wrong I could be – of how wrong Ford could be in his assumptions. “Are you okay?” I changed the subject and gestured to his phone.

  “Yeah, sorry. I’m just waiting for a call and I was going to go see my mother when we’re done.”

  “Oh my gosh, don’t let me keep you. Is she close by?”

  “Yeah, she lives about forty minutes away.”

  Gripping the sandwich in my hand, I took the last two bites until my cheeks were puffed out like a chipmunk and smiled at Ford, gleefully showing him that I was finished with my meal. He rolled his eyes but flagged down the server to pay.

  We remained quiet through the car ride back to the apartment complex, where Ford pulled up to the curb closest to the building. There was a large group of students milling about, so without a backward glance, I opened the door to his car and grabbed my bag. With my hand resting on the top of the door prepared to shut the metal mass, Ford’s voice rang out.

  “Hey, Jolee,” he called and I glanced over my shoulder to find Ford leaning across the seat toward me. “Thanks.”

  I wanted to ask for what, but instead, I found myself smiling and saying, “You’re welcome.”

  Closing the door, I stepped onto the curb and watched as Ford drove away. I was getting confused at my response to him. There was no denying that we had an attraction, a finite chemistry that attracted us to each other. But there was also the notion that Ford didn’t fit into my plans and I didn’t fit into his. We could let this unnamed thing between us fizzle out naturally and then go about our days, except nature already fooled us in thinking it was a one-time thing.

  Ford’s car disappeared down the road as water pooled around me. I turned just in time to bump into a tall and angry man. Through the rain, I could barely make out the man’s features. A shiver traveled down my body, not from the cold, but from his icy gaze locked onto mine. I recognized him at that moment, even with his formal dress coat collar pulled up toward his ears.

  “Miss Ward, I think you and I have some things to discuss.”

  My head twisted left and right to see if any of the other students were taking in our encounter, but everyone was too busy dodging the rainstorm.

  Harshly I responded, “I have nothing to discuss with you.”

  “Oh, I’m sure that we do and you’re going to listen carefully.” The man leaned close to me, more than I felt was necessary. And as his breath ran across my cheek, I had to fight back the urge to gag. I wanted to push him away. I wanted to call him out in front of everyone for the inh
umane way he treated Ford and Ford’s mother – if what Ford said was true.

  “I’m not going to listen to anything,” I said, pushing away and cutting toward the apartment complex.

  I knew that if Senator Hastings wanted to track me down – he could. It would only be a matter of time. But I wasn’t going to let anyone put a damper on my day. I had already dealt with one loss and I wasn’t going to be forced into another.

  Chapter Twelve – Ford

  Visits with my mother were always turbulent. Not because of her or anything she did since my mother was a saint. But seeing her confined in this space, with her fight drained empty, always caused my chest to twist in agonizing pain. Usually, I went home and I lost myself in whatever booze was at the apartment.

  “Hey, Mom,” I said as I watched her enter a new patient at the nurse’s station. She looked so calm and put together in a pressed navy suit and her dark hair pulled in a knot at the back of her head. I imagined that this was how she would look if she had been able to represent clients in the courtroom.

  My mother peered up from the computer and her smile stretched across her face in delight. Her dark eyes twinkled in joy and I hoped that one day they’d stay like that permanently.

  “Hey, sweetheart,” she exclaimed as she dashed around the workspace.

  When I learned to drive, I started to visit her more, but with school I could only manage once a week. She didn’t seem to mind, though. Meredith had probably worried that she would never see me again after that fateful night. She and Tracy had remained good friends after that first time my foster mother brought me to the facility.

  “Sorry that I’m late,” I told her as I wrapped her thin frame in my arms. She smiled, always seeming so content with whatever life had thrown her way. I liked to think that I carried the burden around for both of us.

  “I’m always happy to see you at whatever hour.” And she meant it. My mother was never sad or morose when I appeared, even if it was for a few minutes. Regardless of what life had thrown her way, mostly caused by my despicable sperm donor, Meredith never let on how unhappy she was. She had to be, though. I couldn’t imagine having a positive outlook if my life had turned out like hers – my career and son both taken from me without an explanation and no one offering me the chance to make it right.

  I hoped that soon my mother would get her justice.

  Meredith perked up as she pulled away and she made that same look Tracy made when she thought that I had a secret. “You seem happy today.” She wasn’t wrong. I was simply waiting on Brent to confirm one more bit of information and I was going to be ecstatic.

  “Yeah, my friend took me to an animal shelter and we played with puppies.”

  “Is this friend a girl?” Shaking my head, I pulled away from my mother and glanced at a few other caregivers sitting at the nurse’s station. Everyone was sharing the same knowing smirk and I felt like I was ten standing in front of a group of strangers giving a speech.

  “Don’t read into it, Mom. She needed a ride.”

  “You say that, except you make the same face your uncle used to make when he liked a girl. This one is special. I can tell.”

  I stepped away from her and then took a second and third step back. “Well, Mom, it was great seeing you.”

  “Oh, come on now. I don’t get to tease you enough,” she joked and I couldn’t fight my answering chuckle.

  Screams sounded from down the hall and two nurses rushed around us toward the patient.

  “I hate that you’re here.”

  My mom reached out a soothing hand, caressing my face with her thumb. Her touch was soft and gentle, and I found myself tilting my head toward her palm. “You’re a good boy.”

  “If you were free from this place, where is the first place you’d go? What is the first thing that you’d do?”

  I’d asked her these questions many times, especially when the ramifications of her living situation became more clearly defined as I got older. The answers always changed, but their center stayed the same. Me – she wanted to be wherever I was. I was always her first thought, as she was mine – except for the time Jolee had been in my bed. That was the only time someone else was my initial thought and it continued to taunt me.

  “I want to meet the girl that has you wrapped up in yourself. And I want to watch you stand at the end of a wedding aisle waiting for your bride. And I want to see you happy, Ford. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. I’ll stay in this home for the rest of my life so long as you get the chance to live yours.”

  I felt like I had been on an emotional rollercoaster today and my mom’s words took me for another loop. How could she tell Jolee had infiltrated the parts of me I had thought didn’t exist? How did she know that there was a girl that made me wish that my life was different, that my situation was different? Nothing would be able to change until I was able to vindicate my mother.

  “I don’t know anything about marriage. I think you’re getting a bit ahead of yourself,” I joked and my mother lightly tapped my arm.

  “Whatever you say, my boy. But don’t forget Tracy and I talk on the phone and I know all about your verbal sparring partner.” I was going to wring Tracy’s neck and then my brothers’ because they had to open their big mouths. “Now, Nathan said he had a nice steak for me for dinner tonight. I’d love it if you sat with me.”

  Nathan was a world-renowned chef that gave up everything when his youngest sister made multiple attempts at ending her life. When she was admitted to the same facility as my mother, he took it upon himself to become the food provider for the patients. He wanted to make sure that his sister got the best meals and he only knew one way to provide that. Nathan had also taken a liking to my mother. He was only a few years older and my mother was beautiful, looking no older than thirty or so. I also liked Nathan, so I was happy that he kept an eye on my mother as well.

  “There is nowhere I’d rather be. Just limit the googly eyes, please.”

  Dinner was as eventful as I imagined with two middle-aged people making flirtatious comments back and forth at each other. It took everything I had to keep from vomiting all over the table. But I knew that she was delighted to have dinner with both of us. I would just need to bring earplugs next time.

  The two of them were in deep discussions about music from the eighties when my phone vibrated in my pocket. Brent’s name flashed across the screen and I felt my lungs shrivel up. I had been waiting anxiously all day for his call.

  “Hey, Mom. I need to take this. I’ll be right outside.”

  Swiftly I scurried around the tables and made my way outside the dining room doors dialing Brent’s number.

  “Do you have anything?” I demanded, my words clipped and tight.

  At Brent’s answering sigh, I immediately deflated against the wall. “The contact was compromised. But they were able to provide me with some information, it’s just not enough. I have one more person I’m seeking, then after that. . .” He let his words hang in the air, but I knew what he was referring to. If this person didn’t pan out, then there wouldn’t be enough evidence to pin anything on my birth father. Years of hard work and hopes for absolution would be for nothing.

  It took me a moment to gather myself, to compose what little ounce of hope that remained. One of the nurses walked by and gave me a sympathetic glance.

  “When do you think an exchange will take place?” I inquired.

  “A week or two. I’m on their timeline.”

  “Okay. Thanks for the update, Brent.”

  Ending the call, I knew that I needed to take a moment to settle down. My heart was pounding wildly in my chest.

  My problem was that I didn’t have a backup plan – everything was riding on Brent gathering this last piece of information. I just knew that it had to exist, but it was proving to be as hard to find as the Loch Ness Monster.

  Peering over my shoulder, I look through the glass partition into the dining room where my mother and Nathan were leaned close to each other
deep in conversation. My father was robbing her of her life for no other reason than because she had me.

  Frustrated, I turned and found the closest wall, pounding my fist into the plaster. Blood oozed from my hand onto the white wall, but I didn’t notice the pain, just the shock that there was a chance my mother would spend the rest of her days locked inside this place.

  The nurse that had walked by when I took the phone call warily came closer, holding a clean towel for my hand. I thanked her and went back inside to say goodbye to my mother, tucking my injured hand behind my back.

  “I love you, Ford.”

  “I love you too, Mom.”

  Leaving the facility, I drove my car around aimlessly with no real place in mind. I was lost in my own mind that somehow I ended up at the cemetery where my cousin, Tyler’s, parents were buried. I couldn’t explain it, but my gut was telling me that my sperm donor was responsible for their deaths as well, but so far, Brent hadn’t been able to find anything suggesting that he had been. It just all seemed too fishy for me.

  Stepping out of my car, I made my way over to their gravesites, the large marble headstones glistened in the setting sun as the rain dissipated. The cemetery wasn’t a place that I often visited, not because it gave me the creeps like it did most people, but because of the guilt that weighed on my shoulders. I couldn’t stop thinking that my aunt and uncle would still be alive if my birth father hadn’t been a terrible person.

  My hand rested on the top of my aunt’s headstone. I could remember her laughter and how easy it came. I had wondered for a long time why social services hadn’t given me to them, but I quickly realized that the system had been manipulated. Somehow, someway, he had made sure that my entire family, not just me, suffered.

  The wind picked up around me, rustling the trees as I let these thoughts loop through my mind.

  “I’m sorry that I don’t visit more, but I promise you that I’m going to make this right. I’m going to make sure Hastings pays.”