"The two situations are not comparable," my dad says. "Now sit down."
"No. I'm not going to sit here and listen to you tell me I can't see my boyfriend. If I want to see him, I'll see him. Despite what you think, I'm not a kid and I'm tired of being treated like one."
"You are not being treated like a child." My dad shoves his chair back and stands up. "So stop acting like one and listen to me. Recently I've discovered some things about Reed's father that greatly concern me."
"Like what?" I ask, suddenly feeling nervous as I remember Reed's comments about his dad.
"Dean is involved with some very dangerous people. People who commit crimes. Very serious crimes."
"What do you mean?" I sink back in my chair. "Like drugs?"
"I'm not going to get into the details. The point is that I don't want you anywhere near his father. And until I can learn more about what Dean is involved in, I don't want you around Reed."
"What?" I stand up again. "Why is Reed being punished? He didn't do anything!"
"Are you sure about that? Do you know what he's up to when you're not around?"
"He works on his album covers. He goes to art exhibits. He isn't doing anything illegal."
"You don't know that. You're believing whatever he tells you."
"Because he wouldn't lie to me."
"Everyone lies. How many times have you lied to me when you've gone to see Reed?"
"I...I haven't lied." My heart's racing because I'm not telling the truth and my dad knows it.
"You lie about where you're going. What you're doing. And Reed goes along with it. So why would you assume Reed wouldn't lie to you as well?"
"He wouldn't do anything that would get himself in trouble. I know he wouldn't."
"Has he come across any large sums of money recently?"
"No," I say, avoiding his gaze.
"Tell me the truth." My dad crosses his arms over his chest.
Garret and Rachel are now looking at me, waiting for an answer.
"Okay, yes," I say, knowing they can tell when I'm lying. "Reed got some money, but it was a gift from his dad. He had nothing to do with it."
"That's what he told you?"
"Yes."
"And what was the amount?"
I hesitate, then say, "Ten thousand."
"Shit," Garret mumbles.
Rachel's eyes go to my dad but his remain on mine.
"I want you to take a break from Reed," he says, "at least until I know more about what's going on. I'm serious, Lilly. I don't want you getting involved in something that could be dangerous. You have no idea who these people are that Dean is working with, or if Reed is working with them as well. You may trust Reed, and maybe even Dean, but you can't trust the people they're doing business with."
I'm quiet as I think about this. It's not hard to believe that Dean is involved in something illegal, but Reed? It doesn't make sense. After his arrest back in high school, he's done everything possible to stay out of trouble. He doesn't even drink. But would he agree to do stuff for his dad if Dean asked him to? He might. Reed really wants to connect with his dad so if Dean asked for his help, it's possible Reed would do it. But maybe he doesn't know that whatever he's doing is bad.
I need to talk to him and find out if any of this is true.
"Can he come with us to Garret's house?" I ask.
"I just told you I don't want you seeing him."
"I'm not going to stop seeing him based on some made-up theory that he's doing something wrong. So either you let him come with us or I'll drive down to L.A. and see him myself."
"If you do that, then you will be grounded and your car will be—"
"Pearce," Rachel says. "Can we talk outside for a moment?"
She gets up and the two of them go out to the patio.
I turn to Garret, my hands on my hips. "Tell me what's going on."
He shrugs. "Sounds like Dad found out some stuff about Dean."
"So you're just going to lie to me? I know you know what's really going on. Why won't you tell me?"
"This is between you and Dad. I'm not getting involved."
"So you DO know what's going on."
He sighs as he pushes his chair back and stands up. "I don't know all the details. All I know is that Dean can't be trusted. He's involved in something bad that could be dangerous and because of that, I agree with Dad. You need to keep your distance from Reed."
"Just because Dean is involved in something doesn't mean Reed is."
"Maybe not, but he's around it and we don't want you getting messed up in this."
"How would I get messed up in it? I'm not even going down there. Reed is coming up here."
"And what if he was being followed?"
I roll my eyes. "Why would someone follow him?"
"Because his dad pissed someone off. So to get revenge the guy follows Reed. Tries to scare him. Tries to hurt him."
"Are we talking real life here? Because things like that don't happen in real life. Bad buys following Reed to get revenge? I think you've watched too many action movies."
He comes around the table and stands in front of me. "You're seriously not that naive, are you? You really think this doesn't happen?"
The way he asks sends a chill down me. His tone was sharp, angry.
"Yeah, maybe it happens in the dark seedy parts of town," I say, "but that's not—"
"It happens everywhere. And it happens all the freaking time, especially if you're involved in bad shit, like drugs, or whatever it is Dean's involved in. Dad wasn't joking around. He knows what these people are like. He knows what they're capable of."
My mind flashes back to the dreams I've had where my dad comes home wearing a shirt that's splattered with blood.
"How would Dad know?" I ask. "Are you saying Dad's involved in something bad, like Dean is?"
Garret pauses a moment, his eyes on mine, then says, "He knows because he has money. He's a target. We all are. Criminals try to come after him and there's always a chance they'll come after us. This isn't anything you don't know. We've been telling you this your whole life."
"Yeah, but nothing's ever happened."
"Are you kidding me? Lilly, someone took you when you were a baby."
"That was a long time ago. Nothing's happened since then. Has it?" I nervously chew on my lip, not sure I want the answer.
"Things have happened. Dad just doesn't tell you because he doesn't want to scare you. Part of the reason I moved out here when I was your age was to get away from all people who were coming after Dad. But even then, I was worried, more for Jade than for myself. I knew if someone wanted to get to me, or get our money, they'd do something to Jade. That's why I put security cameras all around the beach house we rented. And why Jade and I ended up at Camsburg. It's one of the most secure campuses in the country."
"Did anything ever happen?"
He nods. "Jade was followed and so was I, and one time some guy showed up at our house pretending to be a cop."
"Why?" My heart's beating faster, my stomach twisting. I knew bad people had come after us in the past, but I thought it was isolated incidents and limited to my dad, not Garret or Jade.
"He was trying to get information about us," Garret says. "Probably so he could rob us. It doesn't matter. The point is, you're already a target because you're a Kensington. So why put yourself in even more danger by getting involved in whatever Dean's father is doing? I'm not saying you can never see Reed again but right now, by being with him, being seen with him, you're putting yourself at risk. If Dean has bad people watching him, it won't be long before they put it together that his son is dating a Kensington. For criminals, that's a freaking gold mine. They'll come after you, Lilly. They'll come after all of us."
Guilt fills me, making me feel sick to my stomach. I don't want anyone getting hurt. I would never put my family in danger.
"Are you telling me the truth?" I ask, a lump forming in my throat. "Because if you're making this up just to ke
ep me away from Reed then that's just mean and I may never talk to you again."
"Lilly." He rests his hand on my shoulder. "I know you love Reed. I would never try to keep you two apart unless I knew you were in danger. I'm just trying to protect you. And so is Dad. Give him time to figure out what's going on."
A tear spills down my cheek. "So I'm just supposed to tell Reed I can't see him anymore?"
"Talk to Dad about it. Like I said, I'm trying to stay out of this. But Lilly, you need to trust Dad. He's not doing this because he doesn't like Reed. He's doing it because you're his daughter and he loves you and wants to make sure you're safe."
The patio door opens and Rachel and my dad come back inside.
"You can have Reed over," Rachel says to me. "We've decided not to go to Garret's house. Your father has some work to do and I could use some time in the garden."
I look at my dad. "And you're okay with this?"
"I don't want you running off to see him without telling me, so if this is what it takes to keep you from doing that, then yes. But I would still prefer that you stop seeing him."
His phone rings and he answers it as he walks off to his office.
"Guess we should get going," Garret says.
We hear tiny footsteps and see Ethan and Miles running down the hall. They stop in front of Garret.
"Daddy, can we go swimming?" Miles asks.
"Not here. We'll go when we get home."
"We're leaving?" Jade asks, coming up beside him.
"Yeah, but just us. Mom and Dad decided to stay here this afternoon. Dad has some work to do."
"I'll help clean up before we go." Jade goes to the table and starts stacking up plates.
"Jade, it's okay," Rachel says. "I can do it."
"I can't leave you with this syrupy mess." She laughs. "Ethan even got syrup in his hair."
Abi and Hannah run into the room and Hannah says to me, "Will you braid my hair?"
"You guys are leaving soon. I don't think we have time."
"Please?" With her sweet smile and sweet little face, she's too cute to say no to.
"Okay. Come here." I sit down on the chair and as I'm braiding her hair, I feel another wave of guilt pour over me. Am I really putting my family in danger by dating Reed? Am I making us a target? Are the people Reed's father is involved with going to come after us? Would they come after my nieces and nephews?
I can't let that happen. I'd never put them at risk. But I love Reed. I want a future with him. So what do I do?
Chapter Nineteen
Lilly
"Sorry we're not alone," I say to Reed when he arrives. We go in my room and I close the door. "I tried to get them to go to Garret's house but they insisted on staying here."
Reed's hands cup my face and he presses his lips to mine. "I've missed you so much." He kisses me as he backs me toward the bed.
"We can't do this," I say between kisses. "I want to but I can't. Not with my parents here."
"We'll lock the door." His lips go to my neck as he gently lays me on the bed, then joins me, lying on his side. His hand slides under my shirt and the feel of his warm hand on my skin and his body pressed against mine has me forgetting that my parents are just down the hall. But then I hear a noise in the kitchen and my body tenses up.
"We can't do this," I whisper. "I want to. I want to so badly but I can't risk my parents walking in. And if I lock the door, they'll know what we're doing."
"They already know we do this." His hand curls around my waist, his thumb reaching up and slipping under my bra as he continues to kiss my neck. "It's not a secret."
What he's doing feels so good I don't want him to stop but I also don't want my parents walking in on us.
"Lock the door," I tell him.
He smiles, then gives me a quick kiss before hurrying to the door to lock it. His lean body is covered in dark jeans and a black t-shirt but he yanks the t-shirt off as he makes his way back to me. Muscles line his chest from his broad shoulders to his narrow waist.
"I love you," he says as he leans down to kiss me.
"I love you too."
He goes to unbutton my short denim skirt but I stop him. "Just leave it on. It'll make it easier to get dressed fast if my parents knock on the door."
"This too?" He tugs at my t-shirt.
"No." I smile. "That can come off." He takes it off, leaving me in my lacy pink bra, then kisses me as his hand goes under my skirt to my panties.
"How about these?" He's already sliding them down my legs so I just nod as my eyes fall shut.
The bed moves as he gets up to take his jeans off, then the mattress dips as he lies next to me again, his lips covering mine as his hand slides up my skirt to the place that's been craving his touch. But as much as I want that, we don't have time.
"We have to hurry," I whisper as he kisses me.
He takes his hand away and nudges up my skirt, then I feel him between my legs. When he enters me I'm about to moan, but his mouth covers mine before I make a sound. He's right. We have to be quiet. For a moment, I forgot where we were, my mind focused only on Reed and how good he feels.
My hips move under him, urging him to go faster. "We don't have much time," I whisper.
He groans in response. He doesn't want to hurry and neither do I, but I know my dad, and if he sees the door closed, he'll be knocking on it and asking what we're doing.
I'm at the point now where I'm counting not just the days, but the hours until I can go back to college. I'm dying for some privacy.
We finish faster than we've ever done it, but I still end up with a satisfied smile on my face. Reed knows just what to do to get me there every time.
I quickly put my clothes on while Reed does the same, then we lie next to each other on the bed.
"Sorry it was so fast," he says, "but you had me freaked out your dad was going to walk in."
"It's okay. I told you to go fast."
"Did you even..." His hand runs up my thigh, his finger tracing along the seam of my panties. "Because if you didn't, I—"
"I did." I kiss him. "I just kept quiet so they wouldn't hear."
He sighs and lies on his back. "This sucks. We're adults. It shouldn't be like this. I had more privacy when I was in high school."
"I know. But my dad wouldn't let me drive down to your place."
"It's just as bad there. My dad never leaves, or if he does, he doesn't tell me where he's going or when he'll be back so I never know if I'll have five minutes alone or five hours."
"Where do you think he goes?"
"Who knows? Obviously during the week he's at work but at night and on weekends, I really don't know."
"Rachel." I hear my dad's voice coming from the hall. "Rachel, are you in the bedroom?"
"Sit up," I tell Reed as I crawl over him and run over to the door to unlock it. I open it a crack and see my dad going in the master bedroom. A moment later he comes back out and notices me at my door. "Have you seen your mother?"
"Yeah, she's out back, weeding her flowers."
He stops at my door. "What are you doing?"
"Talking to Reed. He got here a couple minutes ago."
"Hey, Mr. Kensington." I feel Reed behind me and step back a little so I can open the door more.
"Hello, Reed." My dad eyes us both. "Why don't you two go sit by the pool? It's a nice day outside."
"We will," I say. "See you later, Dad."
His eyes go to Reed. "How is your father?"
"Good," Reed says, sounding nervous.
"Does he like his new job?"
"It's not really new anymore but yeah, I think he likes it."
"Lilly mentioned he's getting a new car. Does he have it yet?"
"No. He's not sure when he's getting it. It's on special order. Actually, he's getting the same one you have. Well, I don't know if it's exactly the same but it's a black Mercedes."
My dad doesn't respond.
"Do you like yours?" Reed asks, desperately trying to m
ake conversation. When my dad gets quiet like this, it freaks Reed out. It kind of does the same thing to me. I'm never sure what he's thinking.
"It serves its purpose," my dad says.
Reed glances at me, like he wants me to say something and end this awkward conversation.
"Dad, Reed and I were going over our classes for fall so we'll talk to you later."
But my dad doesn't leave. "I need to speak with you privately for a moment," he says to me.
"Can we do it later?"
"No. This will just take a minute."
I fight an eye roll and follow him to his room. He shuts the door. "I don't want you telling him what I told you about his father."
"Then how am I supposed to explain the fact that you don't want me seeing him for the rest of the summer?"
"Tell him you're busy with your family. Tell him I've asked you to spend these last few weeks before school starts with us instead of him. If he's a respectable young man, he'll understand."
"He IS respectable, but why can't he just come here like he's doing now? We're not in danger when he's here at the house."
"I'm not getting into this now. I took you aside simply to tell you to keep what I said to you confidential. That includes information about our family and anything you've seen or heard over the years. Those are things Reed, and anyone else outside the family, should not know about."
"What things? I don't know what you're talking about."
His eyes fix on mine. "You know exactly what I'm talking about." He uses a serious tone that would scare me if he wasn't my dad. "Do we have an agreement?"
I nod. "I won't tell him anything."
"Good. I'll be in my office if you need me."
When I get back to my room, Reed is sitting on my bed, going through his phone. He looks up when he hears me close the door.
"What was that about?"
"I'm not supposed to tell you the family secrets." I laugh as if it's a joke.
"I don't get it. Are you kidding or being serious?"
"Never mind." I go sit next to him on the bed. "So...we need to talk about something."
He sets his phone down. "I don't like the sound of that. What's wrong?"
"My dad..." I hate lying to Reed, and I usually don't, so this feels really strange. And wrong. But I guess part of what I'm saying is true. "My dad wants me to spend more time with the family before I go back to school."
Lilly and Reed: A Kensington Family Novel Page 19
