I just lifted a hand, begging her to let me finish. "I researched that shit, you know. Looked up about pedophiles and stuff. Well, I fit as much as Brody does. We ain't had a problem around here before, ok? And I know y'all are just trying to help, but I think maybe you've seen a little too much bad and not enough good, and these are good people. The whole town."
Ash grunted at that. "I think they're small-minded and judgmental."
"Isn't that what you're doing?" I shot back. "You're judging before you know for sure."
"Ash," Violet warned, making the man close his mouth. Then she turned those pretty grey eyes on me. "The difference is that we're worried because a lot of bad things never get reported, Luke. In places like this, where that stuff doesn't happen? It's not easy to convince anyone that it did. That's why we're worried. Faith's a great kid, and I'd rather make myself look like an idiot than have her get hurt."
"So you buy this load of crap?" I asked.
But she didn't get to finish. The front door banged open hard enough to make all three of us jump. From where I sat, I couldn't see it, but I could hear the heavy steps. Then it slammed. Hard.
"Fucking pencil-dicked prick!" Cy snarled. Then something heavy hit the ground. It sounded like his motorcycle helmet. "I'm gonna break that fucker if I have to see him again. Shit's bad enough that I stopped to call CPS on my way back, but they said they're overburdened. Two fucking weeks, can you believe that shit? She's not in immediate danger, they said. But I'll be damned if...." His words trailed off as he rounded the corner and saw me sitting there. "Luke?"
"You fucking called CPS on my kid?" I asked, easing myself from the chair.
"They need to know," he told me. "I'm legally bound to - "
"Fuck that!" I snapped, feeling my hands clench into fists.
"Don't you two fight inside my house," Violet warned.
"Fuck your house," I told her. "This is my kid we're talking about, and he's trying to ruin her life." I shoved a finger in Cy's direction. "What else did you do?"
He ignored that. "Brody has pictures of her, Luke."
"Fucking yeah, he does. He's her stepdad."
"The kind of her changing clothes," he added. "And I was there long enough to see how that family interacts. He spends more time focused on Faith than Meredith. The man barely held Meredith's hand, but he couldn't keep from hugging Faith against his side. You think that's normal?"
"If someone was trying to take away my daughter, yeah." I jerked my chin at him. "Kinda what you're doing, isn't it?"
"Sit down, Luke," Ash said. "Let's figure out what to do."
"No, fuck that." And I rounded on him. "That's how this shit works, isn't it? You know what they say about y'all? How is this any fuckin' different?"
"Because we got proof first," Violet said, reaching up for my arm.
But I flinched away before she could touch me. They'd called Child Protective Services on my kid, and they thought I should be ok with that? Those people would come in and find any excuse to put her in a foster home. My little girl would be gone. I'd see her even less than I did now - if I got to see her at all. They'd probably send her so far away that I'd never be able to find her again.
"Ever since you showed up, shit's gone sideways," I told her. "You fucking sauntered your ass in here and brought all your big-city problems with you. Shit was good before you came back." Then I looked at Ash. "And you're the one who eggs it all on, aren't ya?"
"What did I do?" Ash asked.
I didn't even care. CPS was going to take my girl. That one thought was spiraling through my mind, and I had to do something. I wasn't sure what thing, but fuck if I'd just let her go without a fight. Meredith had fuckin' warned me. She'd told me these people were no good. I'd ignored it. I'd convinced myself things at Southwind weren't what they thought, and Violet had whispered softly in my ear the whole time, making me feel like everything made perfect sense.
"Luke," Cy said, stepping toward me. "We're going to fix this, ok?"
"Fuck you!" I yelled. "Fix? Is that what you call having my kid ripped out of her home?"
And then I remembered something else. Slowly, I looked back at Violet. Ice ran across my skin as I watched her clench her jaw, and I figured out what was really going on. I couldn't believe I hadn't seen it before, but I'd been distracted by her wild beauty, captivating demeanor, and the chance to spend a little time between her legs. She'd told me, though. Before the guys showed up to back her up, she'd accidentally told me, and I'd ignored it.
"Was this your plan the whole time?"
"What?" she asked. "Luke, I don't know what you're talking about."
"You told me you don't want kids!" I had to leave before I hit something, and no matter how pissed I was, it wouldn't be a woman. "You said it right to my face. You didn't even try to hide it. You fucking seduced me in that pool, then you made it clear that I don't get to make the decisions. I fuckin' fell for it too, then you flat-out said you don't want kids. Now you're trying to get rid of mine!"
"What?!" She shoved to her feet. "That isn't even close to what happened! You're the one who backed off. I pointed out that my grandmother had just died, but you didn't hear any ofthat,did you?"
