It wasn’t until a coughing noise resonated in the living room that we jumped apart.
“Willow!” I exclaimed, startled by my roommate’s early appearance, but she was focused on the man who had gone back to plating our breakfast.
“Seriously, I want all of the details,” she said, not caring in the slightest that Ford was standing beside me.
“How about some breakfast first?” he asked her and I had to force myself not to walk over to her and cover her eyes as he turned around and sat my plate on the counter. I knew that she was checking out all of the goods on display. And I couldn’t even blame her.
She finally seemed to understand what he had asked and she shimmied onto the barstool next to me and nodded. “I will take you up on that offer, kind sir. And if you keep this up, you are welcome here any time.”
Ford seemed happy with her declaration as he reached over and pressed his lips against mine once more.
“I’m going to let you guys eat. I probably need to let Link know I haven’t died.”
“Don’t you want something to eat?”
“Naw, I have a brand new box of my favorite snack since someone stole it a few weeks back.”
My cheeks reddened knowing that he knew I stole his bag of Cookie Crisp, but he had deserved it. I was a bit surprised that he was just getting around to replacing it.
“What have you been eating since then?”
“I stole Archer’s Captain Crunch.” Ford went to my bedroom and gathered his things before heading to the apartment door. “See you tomorrow.”
“Bye.”
I turned back toward my delicious breakfast, still in awe that Ford made something like this in a college apartment kitchen, but mostly trying to ignore Willow’s stare penetrating the side of my face.
“Oh girl, you are in so much trouble.”
After the break, most of the classes on campus didn’t start up again until Tuesday, so I was given an additional day of reprieve away from Ford.
I wasn’t sure what Ford had anticipated after our weekend together. I wasn’t assuming that we were a couple or anything, but some clarification would have been nice. I mean, if all he wanted was a girl to warm his bed at night, I wasn’t completely opposed and would probably be the first in line.
Nevertheless, Ford and I were on two different wavelengths, pushing and pulling each other when we were close enough. I had slept with him more times than I had anyone else, but we hadn’t even exchanged phone numbers. It was a strange situation that I wasn’t ready to give up just yet. He was beyond addictive and I knew that my yearning for him stemmed from those small moments that he allowed me to see the secret side of him, to hear the parts of his dirty past. And I was stubborn enough to believe that I could cleanse him.
I mulled through my statistics homework left over from the weekend, then trudged my way across campus to the clinic. Dr. Allen was the veterinarian on duty and she was my favorite with whom to work. I ran through the first half of tasks making sure the animals were fed and the cages and kennels were clean.
“Jolee, the patient in room two, is insisting that you be present,” one of the technicians called out. I scurried from the cat room and made my way to the front examination rooms. It wasn’t completely unheard of for patients to request a staff member in the room with the doctor, but I hadn’t been working here long enough to have those sorts of requests yet.
Dr. Allen was reading through the patient’s file – a blue tab on the bottom indicated that they were a new cat – I stood beside her patiently.
“So, you have a new cat?” Dr. Allen asked as she entered the room. I walked in behind her.
“You may leave,” the dark voice growled and Dr. Allen stopped abruptly.
“Excuse me?” she asked firmly.
“I have things to discuss with your employee.”
Dr. Allen glanced back at me and I caught my first glimpse of Rutherford Hastings standing beside an empty animal carrier. The blood drained from my face as he sneered in my direction.
“I don’t think so, Mr. Hastings.”
“Senator,” he bellowed, but Dr. Allen wasn’t fazed.
“If you need to speak with Ms. Ward, you may do so in my presence, that is if she wants to speak to you at all.”
“If she wants a grant for her animal rescue, she better be prepared to listen to every single word that I have to say.”
Dr. Allen cautiously stepped aside but made sure that she was close enough to me to pull me out of the room if necessary. She was aware that anything involving my rescue was of the utmost importance to me, even if it was coming from the threatening senator.
I crossed my arms against my chest and stared him down. I was not going to show how intimidated I felt by him. “Say what you want, then leave.”
“This is a check for five million dollars — more than enough to open your rescue. In return, I want you to give me the information that my consequence has gathered. He thinks he is so sly, but I’ve been tracking him since the day he was born.”
“What makes you think that I have any idea what you’re talking about?” I asked exasperatedly.
“Because I’ve watched you with him and you know deep inside that there is something he is hiding.” Disgusted shivers traveled down my spine at his insinuations and the thought of him spying on me with his son didn’t sit well with me.
“What happens if I don’t?”
“I’ll make sure that your rescue never sees the light of day.” He slid the check across the stainless steel counter until it was within my reach and I found myself staring at it. I had never seen so many zeroes in real life. “I’m just going to leave this with you. Mail the information to the address in the corner. You have two weeks.”
And just as quickly as he barged into my life, he disappeared, that was another thing that he had in common with his son.
I knew I wasn’t going to take the money, but my biggest fear was that Senator Hastings was going to stop at nothing when it came to Ford.
How did I get tangled up in this mess?
The door slammed as he exited and I reached over to grab the check with a shaking hand.
“Shred this, please,” I said to Dr. Allen as I handed the check to her.
“What is going on, Jolee? Are you in trouble?” she asked, taking the slip of paper from my hand.
“I’m not, but a friend of mine may be. Hastings doesn’t scare me. I’m just not sure how far he is willing to go to get what he wants.”
“Jolee, I don’t like this at all. You don’t come or leave without a ride, understand?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said as I exited the room to continue my work wondering if or how I would explain this run-in to Ford. He seemed to have so much on his plate regarding his mother that it seemed almost inconsequential to burden him with one more thing.
One of the technicians drove me to the shelter for my volunteer work and Ken waited while I called a rideshare home that night. I couldn’t remember what had gone on most of that evening, my confrontation with Hastings running through my mind the entire time. The man was a creep, for sure, and I began to imagine that even though I didn’t know Ford’s mother, he seemed like someone that would have manipulated her. There was no way that she was naïve enough to think he was a good man. But then again, he was probably good at getting what he wanted, just like his son.
Chapter Fourteen – Ford
For two people that wanted no strings attached, Jolee and I couldn’t seem to stay away from each other. She tried to ignore me in class, but that just left me egging her on as I had the first few weeks in economics. One morning I had pissed her off so bad that she shoved me into a storage closet while leaving the class to give me a piece of her mind, while I gave her mine. I had turned her around to face the sink and buried myself between her legs. Jolee broke apart quicker than I had ever seen. Whatever tension we had between us before seemed to melt away.
From that day forward, I made sure that she had my number and I
walked with her to classes when I was able. Most of the student body thought we were together, but Jolee and I both knew that this was nothing more than sex, even if feelings were starting to evolve. We both had things that needed our attention.
We were insatiable for each other, even if we fought against it. She would text me to pick her up from the animal shelter and we would head to her bedroom or mine. My favorite part was the nights I would bypass our apartments all together and drive her to a secluded park. She would pretend to be angry because she was tired, but she would rid us of our clothes faster than I could put the car in park.
I feared that I was falling hard for her and I couldn’t do anything to stop it, which meant she was going to find herself wrapped up in the mess that was my life.
Brent had been calling me almost on the hour with updates on documents he found related to my mother and my aunt and uncle. And his new intel claimed to find social worker documents where they manipulated the system to keep any family from adopting me.
I was leaving my last class of the afternoon heading back for my apartment when my phone rang in my pocket. Brent’s name flashed across the screen and I quickly answered.
“Hey, man,” I greeted.
“Hey. Can you meet me? I have some things to share with you.”
“Sure, where at?”
It was late, but I still had a few hours before I needed to pick up Jolee.
“How about Anthony’s Steakhouse across town? That way you’re away from the school.”
I calculated the distance and drive time then agreed to the meet up. I texted my brothers that I wasn’t going to be at dinner as I made the trek across town. Anthony’s Steakhouse was in a suburban area and as I pulled into the parking lot a few families shot worried looks as I exited the car. Brent was already seated and the hostess directed me to his table.
“Good to see you,” I told him genuinely and he returned my welcome with a smile of his own.
“I’m going to treat you to dinner first, then we can get into the dirt. You look like you could use a few hours to relax.”
He wasn’t wrong. Things with Jolee were moving faster than I knew possible and worry for my mother continued to escalate daily. Jolee had been acting a little differently, but I assumed it was the pressure of final exams.
I wasn’t in a good place mentally or physically. And truthfully, I was damn tired. Tired of fighting, tired of feeling worthless, tired of acting like I had my shit together.
Brent and I both ordered a steak and potato, killing time by talking about crazy things he saw when he was on the force. He and Adam went on the craziest calls. I remember that Adam once told me that they were called to a house fire that belonged to a hoarder who had chained himself to the porch because he didn’t want to leave his things.
Brent also asked me about Meredith, seeming happy when I told him that she had taken a liking to Nathan. He wanted my mother free almost as much as I did.
As the server took away our meals and gave us each a refill on our beers, Brent pulled out a new manila envelope.
I slipped my finger beneath the flap and pulled out the photocopies.
“Let me preface this by saying I have lead on a reporter that will text me when they are available to run the story. ”
“So, you found it?” I asked enthusiastically.
“That and more.
“First, you’ll find paperwork from the hospital detailing that your mother is of right mind. And the night you were taken, she passed the psychiatric evaluation. The next document shows that your birth father had a new doctor who had not seen your mother forge documents to have her committed without a chance of appeal. Those first documents were never stored electronically and had been in the hospital’s warehouse. Hastings must have assumed that no one would go looking for them.
“Under the second paperclip, you’ll find documents with your father's official letterhead threatening blackmail against the authorities that arrested your mother and the judges in the district where she would stand trial. Your mother had no chance to have any trial turned over. It also shows that your father kept a tight leash on your whereabouts, forcing social workers to put you into the foster care system instead of with family.”
“I can’t believe it. I knew he was vile, but this is. . .” I said, my words trailing off in disbelief.
“Really, this isn’t even the worst I’ve found when I started researching him, and unfortunately, your mother isn’t the only one he has duped and done horrendous things to. If you go ahead with the reporter, your mother won’t be the only one mentioned.
“That being said, the third set of documents relate to your aunt and uncle. My intel traced conversations that were held from your father’s office phone, where he sought out a hitman. They were asked to create a believable car accident that would be sure to end both lives. Your cousin was very lucky not to have been in the car that night. Your father figured that the child was too young to ask questions as they had.”
“So he murdered my aunt and uncle,” I whispered, not wanting to draw the attention of the patrons sitting around us.
“I wish I had another answer for you, but yes. Yes, he did.”
“God, I’m going to kill him,” I seethed as I pushed out of the booth. Brent reached out and grabbed my arm.
“Sit down, Ford. There is something else I need to show you.” He waited until I was sitting back on the bench before pulling out another paper with a collage of pictures. “Remember when I told you to watch out for yourself?” When I nodded, he continued. “You need to do the same for your girl.”
Brent flipped the paper around toward me and I was left staring at pictures of Jolee and me. Some around campus, some outside of the apartment, and a few of her by herself at work. I had been furious before, but now I was livid. He was hell-bent on destroying everything good in my life.
This time Brent stood from the booth, leaving the compilation of pictures laid out in front of me. One of his rugged hands landed on my shoulder and I looked up at him warily. “Be careful, Ford. I’m not sure that this is the worst Hastings is capable of. I’ll text you when the reporter is ready.”
He squeezed my shoulder as he left and I sat in place staring at the information that could destroy my father, but I wasn’t as confident as I had been before. It was almost like gathering the information had been fun, but now that vengeance was within my grasp and I wasn’t sure that it was so sweet. Regardless of my feelings, though, I needed to make a statement and my father needed to go down. A taste of his own medicine was the only way that I knew how.
The waitress came by once more to ask if I needed anything and I found myself gathering up the materials quickly so that she didn’t catch a glimpse of the pictures or papers. I shoved them into my bag and left the restaurant.
The knowledge of what I carried with me possessed me to drive to one of the harbor overlooks. I took a turn into a well-off neighborhood and drove to the large brick estate at the end of the road.
Lights shone on the mansion, illuminating its red exterior in the darkness of the night. Without a second thought, I parked the car, left the engine running, and made my way up the stone path to the front door. Not bothering with the doorbell, I pounded the side of my fist against the door.
It swung open as a tall thin man answered and asked how he could help me.
“I want to speak to my sperm donor,” I commanded and the man’s face paled. I knew he was taken aback by my words and appearance, but there was no denying the Hastings' eyes. Just then, my father turned the corner appearing as if he was readying to leave. Instead of paling like his hired help, Hastings stomped toward the front door and pushed me from the entrance.
“Stay away from here, boy.”
“No, you stay away. Stay away from me, stay away from my mother, and stay away from Jolee.”
He had the audacity to chuckle at my exclamation, which only fired me up more.
“At least you got your good taste from me.”
“You’re disgusting, old man. You may be able to fool everyone around you, but you can’t fool me. I’m going to destroy you.”
“Oh yeah? And how are you going to do that? No one is going to believe a word that you say, not against mine.”
“Don’t you worry your empty head about that, old man. Just know that it’s coming.”
“Rutherford,” a voice called out from inside the house and my sperm donor answered, “I’m coming.”
Turning his attention to me once more, he added, “I’m not afraid of you, boy.”
“Yes you are, I can see it in your eyes. And you should be, your time is up.”
“Is it? Maybe it’s your time that is up. How do you know that I won’t set my eyes on taking you out?”
“You could, but you won’t,” I tell him as I make my way down the steps back to my car.
“What makes you say that?”
“You’ve had twenty-two years to end my existence, but you haven’t. Because all it would take is a DNA test or a look at my birth certificate to prove that I was your son, you’d be the first suspect.” I opened the door to my car and leaned over the hood addressing my father for the last time. “Your run is up, Senator Hastings.”
I flew out of his driveway, my tires squealing as I left him standing in the porch light’s illumination. I had no destination in mind as my heart pounded, then signs for the water overlook drew my attention and I exited off the main road.
I turned the ignition off and watched the boats bob in the dark sea, their red and green lights flashing against the waves.
I wondered what my mother’s life would have been like if she hadn’t gotten pregnant with me, or had decided to end the pregnancy. Would she have finished law school and moved across the country as she had planned? Or would she have been buried under Hastings’ thumb still? Would she have been happy? Married? Had other kids? I couldn’t stop the questions from flowing until I was bursting at the seams with them.
My hands reached into my hair as I tugged at the ends hating the guilt that rose through me, knowing that I was the reason my mother had her life destroyed. It was all my fault. All the bad things in my mother’s life were because of my existence and she barely had me long enough to witness any of the good.
Of Boys And Men: An Enemies to Lovers, New Adult College Romance (Ridge Rogues Book 1) Page 16
