Ivan nods. “He’s waiting. He’s planning to return to your townhome shortly when he’s ‘more prepared.’” Ivan’s eyes turn to chips of ice. “I won’t let him. Not until you’re long gone.”
“How can you stop him?” I ask him.
He reaches into his pocket and holds out Dad’s weakness.
A poker chip.
“I’m checking in on him now.” Ivan glances at his watch. “I’ve set him up at an all-day game with a group of guys who know enough to keep him there. And someday soon…” he looks to me. “Your father will be behind bars. That’s a promise.”
But until then, we run.
Chapter Eight
Colton
I stand nearly waist-deep in the river on Brayden’s family property, fishing pole in hand.
Wild Ranch has always been a second home to me, but this weekend, I’ve felt homesick.
My cousins, Jenson, and I are here for our annual summer get-together.
But my dad’s home on the couch. The brutal treatments have ended, but the scans are Monday to see where he stands.
I’ve been with him non-stop since we found out the news that he was sick again. Including my seventeenth birthday when I celebrated at home with my parents instead of going out. This weekend, Mom insisted I take a few days off to hang out with my five best friends.
“Hey.” I turn as Ayden joins me in the water.
“Hey, Ayd.”
His blue-green eyes assess me before he focuses on his line.
He’s growing up, and even though I still think of him as a kid, he’s nearly as tall as I am already. And, possibly due to the loss he suffered, he looks older than his age.
Ayden may be younger than I am by a couple years, but he’s the first one of us to have experienced real loss.
His father’s tragic accident changed him, and of anyone, he would understand what I’m going through.
“How did you just…enjoy life again?” I ask without looking at him.
His sharp inhale of breath is my only indication that he’s heard me. “Bella,” he says simply.
Bella’s been his best friend his whole life. Her blond hair and porcelain skin are opposite to Ayden’s dark, brooding looks, but he and she fit together.
“Did you two ever…”
“No.” He hesitates when he says it, though, and I want to push him on the topic.
But I don’t. I don’t know the first thing about love, and I envy what Ayden has with Bella. Even if I can’t understand it, I can tell it’s meaningful in a way I’ve never come close to feeling with any girl.
“You’re lucky to have her,” I say instead.
“Don’t I know it.”
We go silent, lost in our own thoughts.
Until Ayden says—
“You know we’re here for you.”
