“I know.” I did know that. Didn’t mean I liked it. Didn’t mean I wasn’t wishing my place could be with Triton and that we could spend the rest of our lives in this little cottage, making love and listening to the sounds of the river right outside the window.
“We’ll see you soon.” He hung up before I could respond.
Defeated, I set my phone back on the table and went out front to find Triton. He sat on the porch swing with his phone pressed to his ear. I climbed into his lap, melting into him as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. With my cheek resting on his chest, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat helped me regulate my own pulse.
“I don’t like it,” he said to whoever was on the line.
In the time we’d spent together, my priorities had shifted. He’d opened my eyes and my heart to the possibilities of a future I’d never even considered. With one call from my dad, reality took a wrecking ball to my dreams.
“Get back to me as soon as possible.” Triton mindlessly ran his fingers up and down my arm. I felt loved, even cherished when I was with him. “Thanks, Chance.”
“Did he say anything about the cartel?” I asked.
“No. Everything’s been quiet over at the church and my guys have had it under twenty-four-hour surveillance. Your dad went to the sheriff?” He set his phone down and wrapped both arms around me.
“I guess so. He’s not a patient man and I don’t think he’d ever be able to look the other way if he knew something bad was happening right under his nose. He told me if I didn’t come home today, he was going to come down here and get me himself.”
Triton’s grip around me tightened. “It’s not safe to go back yet. We need more time to figure out what they’re doing on church property before law enforcement can do anything.”
“He said the sheriff’s department is coming out this afternoon to set up cameras.”
“The cartel probably hasn’t made a move yet because they’re watching the place to make sure your dad isn’t going to do anything stupid.” Triton shook his head. “He’s playing right into their hands. They’ll know he’s not going to keep his word and will be looking for you to take their revenge.”
A cold chill raced down my spine. “What do I do?”
“Run away with me, Bess. I make a good living and have plenty of savings to support us long enough for the cartel to find someone else to harass.”
“That sounds wonderful.” Wonderful, but completely unrealistic. It would break my mother’s heart if I ran off with him. Plus, I only had one year left of college. I was so close to getting my degree and wasn’t ready to throw away three years of hard work.
“We can head out east. One of my foster brothers is in North Carolina and another one lives in the mountains of Virginia. Or California. Hell, I’ve got connections everywhere. Pick a place, and I’ll take you there.”
I sat up and put my hands on both sides of his cheeks. “There’s nothing I want more than to wake up next to you every day and fall asleep every night in your arms. But I can’t.”
“Can’t, or won’t?” His eyes begged me to change my mind.
“Isn’t it the same thing? I’m all they’ve got.”
“Sugar Pie, you can’t live your life for your parents. The only thing you owe them is your love and even then, only if they deserve it.”
He didn’t understand, but that was mostly my fault for not telling him the whole story. It was time he knew why I felt such responsibility toward my parents. “I had a brother. He was five years older than me and perfect in every way. From the time he could walk, he followed my dad everywhere. By the time he was ten, he already knew he wanted to grow up to be a pastor.”
“You don’t have to tell me if it’s too hard.”
“I want you to know.” I hadn’t talked about my brother for a long time. It was too painful for my parents, and we’d moved so many times that I didn’t keep in touch with the people who remembered him. “He was riding his bike home from mowing the lawn for an elderly man and got hit by a truck.” I sucked in a deep breath and tried to hold back my tears. “He didn’t make it.”
Triton tucked my head against his chest and rocked the swing back and forth. “I’m so sorry.”
We sat like that for several minutes before I felt like I could go on. “I’m all they have left. I know I’ll never be as good a person as he was, but I can’t leave them.”
“You don’t have to.” He kissed the top of my head. “We’ll figure something out. Something that works for us and your family. That is, assuming you want to continue what we’ve started?”
“What?” I pulled back and looked at him, too scared to give in to the hope blooming in my chest.
“I’ve fallen for you, Sugar Pie.” His eyes were clear and honest. “I sure as hell didn’t mean for it to happen, but it did.”
“What are you saying?”
His lips ticked up into a soft smile. “I’m saying I love you, Bess. I want to keep seeing you when we get back to Maplewood.”
