Sawyer then pushed Larry up against the car, trapping him between it and his body.
Where the fuck were the cops? It seemed like forever when it was just a couple of minutes.
“You ruined my life.” Larry wrestled in his arms, but the man appeared drunk, making his movements clumsy.
“We didn’t ruin your life. It was a business decision and had nothing to do with you personally. If you’d followed the contract and agreed to quotes instead of trying to gouge us it wouldn’t have happened in the first place. There would have been other jobs besides our resort.” He pulled Larry’s hand tighter, and the man cried out.
That was when he heard the sirens. Larry struggled to get free, but Sawyer wasn’t letting him go. The man was lucky he hadn’t thrown him to the ground and beaten his face to a pulp.
A door closed and he turned to find Officer Palmer approaching them, and another officer followed close behind. Sawyer didn’t step away until they had handcuffed Larry.
“You’re under arrest for aggravated assault,” the second officer said and began reading Larry his Miranda Rights.
Officer Palmer faced them. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, but I need to check on my boyfriend.” Sawyer rushed over to Ford, who was leaning against the car. “Are you okay?” Sawyer asked.
Ford nodded. “I think so.”
Sawyer turned to Officer Palmer—he refused to think of him as Rick—barely holding in his anger. “Now… is he going to be locked up?”
“Just as soon as you give your statement,” Officer Palmer said. “He’ll stay in jail until his court date unless he can post bail.”
Sawyer exhaled in relief. Maybe it was finally over and they could all rest easier.
It was a few hours later, and the kids refused to leave them. Sawyer wrapped his arm around Gavin and Savanna since they were sitting on either side of him on the sofa, and they both leaned in against him while Callum sat on Ford’s lap. He looked across the coffee table to where Ford was sitting on the love seat, and then turned to the two older children. “I know it’s disappointing that the rest of our family day was ruined,” Sawyer started. “We’ll make it up to you. I promise.”
“I don’t care,” Savie whispered.
“I was so scared.” Gavin burrowed into his side when he looked up at Sawyer, his eyes still glistening with tears. “I thought maybe something bad would happen to you and Ford.”
Sawyer looked over at Ford. Other than the bruise on his cheek, Ford was mostly fine, and that was pure luck. Sawyer knew it could have been much worse. Ford’s head could have… He shook his head, refusing to think about that.
“Nothing is going to ever happen to us,” Sawyer whispered. He knew it was a promise he shouldn’t make, but he didn’t care. “I swear it.”
Their arms tightened around him, and he knew he would do everything to keep that promise.
“We are both making that promise to you.” Ford’s voice was soft. He looked down at Callum and kissed him on the top of his head. Callum laughed and that got the two older kids to smile a little.
“Why was that man so mean?” Gavin asked.
It was a difficult question to answer, but Sawyer wasn’t going to lie to them. “Sometimes, adults forget actions have consequences, and that if you don’t do a good job, there are people that can replace you.”
“He was angry that he couldn’t work on the resort anymore,” Savie chimed in.
Ford and Sawyer looked at one another, and Ford nodded. Sawyer heaved a sigh and looked at Gavin and Savanna. He hoped he wasn’t lying to the kids when he said, “He’s not going to hurt us anymore, though.”
They eventually got Savanna and Gavin calmed down, and by then it was time to put Callum down to bed. Savanna and Gavin weren’t as clingy anymore, and the two of them had gone into the movie room.
After they all finished a late breakfast the next morning and the kids were watching TV, Sawyer felt the need to call Officer Palmer.
Fuck he hated feeling powerless.
He grabbed his phone from his counter.
“What are you doing?” Ford’s voice broke the silence in the room.
“Calling into the station to make sure Larry is staying in jail,” Sawyer said.
A woman answered after the second ring. “Amber Falls Police, this is Yvette. How may I direct your call?”
“I’d like to speak with Officer Palmer.” Sawyer’s quota for pleasantries was done for the day, maybe even the week.
“Hold one moment, please.” He was placed on hold with elevator music playing in the background, and he looked over to Ford.
“I just want to make sure we can keep our promise to the kids. I—”
“Officer Palmer speaking,” the man said, answering the phone and breaking into Sawyer’s conversation with Ford.
“Hello. This is Sawyer Lancaster. I’m just calling to make sure Larry Banks is behind bars for the night and won’t be out to harm my family.”
“Um…” There was a long hesitation. “Well, I was going to call you about that once I finished filling out the paperwork,” he continued. “Mr. Banks was released on bail a short while ago.”
“What?” Sawyer jumped to his feet and began pacing. “Are you shitting me? How’s that even possible? How did bail get set so soon? Who would have bailed him out? This is a joke, right?”
“We can’t hold him once he makes bail.” Officer Palmer sounded apologetic, but that didn’t help him right now. “All I know is that his bail was set shortly after he made his one phone call and then a woman I didn’t recognize came in and paid it about forty-five minutes ago. I can’t give you any information regarding who she was, and I know it’s not what you wanted to hear…” His voice trailed off.
“Damn right, it’s not what I wanted to hear. How can I protect my family when you keep putting the people that want to hurt them back on the street?” Sawyer knew he was shouting, but he didn’t care.
“I can assure that no one at the department was responsible for his release. We are following the law, and whether we agree with it or not, it is what we are required to do,” Officer Palmer started, “We—”
“Ford was attacked on our own property. The children could have been harmed. If he’s gonna keep getting away with it, then what’s to stop him from doing it again? How can you possibly assure me that my family will be okay?”
“We can patrol the area around your house more heavily for the next couple weeks if that will make you feel more secure,” Officer Palmer said. “But there’s nothing else that can be done. My hands are tied. I’m sorry.”
Sawyer clenched his fist. “Patrol. That’s the best you can do!”
“Mr. Lancaster, shouting won’t help the situation. But as I said, we can patrol—”
Sawyer hung up before he lost it on him.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Ford’s voice was tight, and Sawyer looked up at him to see the anger Sawyer felt reflected in his eyes.
Sawyer needed to calm him down before the kids heard him and got scared again, but it looked like they would have to handle things themselves.
21
Ford
Ford didn’t think he was hearing Sawyer correctly. “How could they possibly let that son of a bitch go?” he asked, feeling his anger bubbling just below the surface. After all that had just happened, how could the police just let the man go and then not even call to notify them? No, they only found out because Sawyer had called.
“Shhhh… language,” Sawyer quickly whispered while shooting a look over to the hallway to see if Gavin or Savanna had heard him. Once he was sure the children were out of earshot, he looked back to Ford and shrugged.
“All I know is they said some woman posted his bail and that they couldn’t hold him, but this isn’t vandalism, babe, it's assault. He won’t just be a suspect this time, and I’m sure they will be keeping an eye on him. Besides if he doesn’t show up for court that’s an automatic warrant out for his arrest
.”
Ford looked at him, a feeling of exasperation washing over him. “Why do you make it sound like it’s no big deal? This man came here to do bodily harm to whichever one of us he could get his hands on. You know that. Am I just supposed to shrug it off and say, ‘Oh well?’ I can’t and won’t do that. And you shouldn’t expect me to. We’re not just talking about the two of us, but the children as well.” Ford ran his hand through his hair. “Come on, Sawyer, please don’t tell me that I’m on my own here.”
“I’m not telling you that. Believe me, I don’t like this whole situation any more than you do. Babe, I know you’re angry. I am, too, believe me. But it won’t do us any good to let it ruin our lives in the meantime. He’ll go in front of a judge, and they’ll deal with it. Let’s—”
Ford shot up from the couch, silencing Sawyer before he could finish. “I swear to god, if you say ‘let’s not worry’ or something equally ridiculous one more time, I will lose my shit.” He shrugged. “I don’t believe it. I’m sorry. What’s to stop him from doing anything between now and the time he has to appear in court?”
Ford wasn’t sure why he was yelling at Sawyer. He could tell Sawyer was as pissed as he was but trying to keep it together for his sake. However, Ford was tired and sore, and he was sick of worrying about what was around the corner.
Couldn’t everyone just leave them alone? Was it fuck with Sawyer and Ford season?
“I’m sorry, Ford. I wish I had more answers.” Sawyer reached out, took his hand, and pulled him down into his lap. Ford drew in a long breath, his eyes shifting back to Sawyer’s. “I love you, Ford. Please, babe, don’t let this fester and eat you up inside. We will get through this, together. I know we will.”
Ford slowly nodded. “I love you too.” They shared a brief kiss before Sawyer cleared his throat.
“We have a busy day tomorrow.” Sawyer let out a groan. “I forgot to tell you that I got an email from the Historical Society this morning. I called them before breakfast and made an appointment for us to go in and talk to them, then all hell broke loose over Larry, and I never got a chance to let you know.”
Ford pulled back, brows furrowed. “What for?” He slid off Sawyer’s lap so he was on the couch and they could talk face to face.
“It seems when they were draining the water caused by the damaged pipes, an old foundation was uncovered, and they had to call and notify the Historical Society since the property is close to other prominent markers. So, we have to meet with them just to verify what the foundation was a part of and that it’s not something of greater historical importance to Amber Falls.”
Ford’s eyes widened, and Sawyer quickly went on. “It’s only for verification purposes. There’s no reason to believe the foundation is some great find, but we have to be sure before we continue with the building process.”
He tried to process the information, unsure what it all meant. Historical? Really?
“So… if it comes back that it’s part of some historical landmark, what happens?”
“They’ll halt the construction, and if anyone wants to fight it and designate this part of the property as historical and in need of preservation, well, we could be forced to remove everything that has been erected so far or shut down entirely.”
“Shut down!” Ford’s brain was going to explode.
“Babe, I doubt it will come to that. Again, this is only us taking precautionary steps. I doubt there’s a problem or we would have found out ages ago. I really think we’ll be fine. Just, please, don’t worry about it.”
Ford nodded, but all he could think about now was how they would have another delay with the construction. His brain blocked out the shutdown part.
Why was Sawyer so calm?
The next morning, Ford and Sawyer waited for the bus to arrive to take Gavin and Savanna to school. They weren’t sure about letting them go, but the kids insisted that they were okay and didn’t want to miss any more days. Sawyer agreed since he wanted to resume normal activity as if the previous night’s events never happened. That way, the kids would keep to their schedules. They’d had gone through enough upheaval as it was.
“Have a good day at school,” Sawyer said, and they took turns hugging the two older kids, then watched them get on the bus.
The kids looked over their shoulders and waved at them, and Ford’s gut twisted because he knew they were worried about everything that happened, but Sawyer smiled and waved while mumbling a quick prayer, hoping Gav and Savie moved on from fear about the attacker and just had a good day.
“Let’s get Callum to my mom’s,” Ford said. They walked back into the house to finish getting ready, grab the car keys, and lock up.
“Oh, by the way.” Sawyer started. “I might get my car back today. I need to remember to call them after lunch. It'll be nice to have another car in the family.”
Ford smiled. His blood still boiled when he thought about Larry and how he had smashed up Sawyer’s car. And knowing he was still out there… it all just irked him. But the worst part of it was that it made him feel powerless, feeling like he couldn’t do anything about it was the worst part.
“What are you thinking?” Sawyer asked as they got into Ford’s car.
“I’m thinking about how Larry has taken too much from us, and now we have to go and make sure that your dream isn’t going to have to be given up totally. That’s fucked up. Everything is just…” he sighed, “it’s a lot.”
He looked to the back seat where Callum kept singing rain rain go away to himself while looking out the window, oblivious to them talking. They’d played the song to him a lot, and he guessed it had stuck. Although he wasn’t quite getting all the words, Ford knew he would with time.
“Babe, don’t stress. We’ve got this.” Sawyer reached across the seat and touched Ford’s knee. Ford wanted to believe the same, but his mind was taking him all over the place, and most of those thoughts weren’t good.
They pulled up his parents’ drive and, after pulling Callum out of his seat, turned to find Barbara on the porch, waiting with her arms outstretched for Callum.
“Have a good day with Mammy and Pappy,” Ford whispered. He kissed the top of Callum’s head after handing him over while Sawyer stood there waiting for his turn. Once Ford backed away, Sawyer stepped up and kissed him too.
He grabbed Ford’s hand, and they turned to the Ericksons. “If you need anything, Barbara, be sure to give us a call.”
She nodded. “I will, sweetheart. You two have a good day at work. And don’t worry.”
They had already given his parents a brief rundown of all that had transpired the previous night without going into too much detail, of course his mom fussed over the bruising on his face, almost crying when she saw it. Ford didn’t want to worry his parents when all was said and done and told her he was fine and that his cheek and jaw barely even hurt anymore.
They waved to them one last time as they made their way to the car, then got in and headed off to handle what was scheduled for the day. Ford dialed Drake’s number, and he answered right away.
“Perfect timing!” he said when he answered the phone. “I just got to the site.”
“How’s it looking there?” Ford asked.
“Well, the town did a good job getting the water and sand mess removed, but we’re having a restoration team come in and filter the rest out. When they get here, we’ll know more about what kind of delay there will be.”
“Okay… sounds good,” Ford said. “We have a meeting we’re on our way to now and then we’ll head over to the site. It should be no later than eleven a.m.”
“Okay. See you then!”
“Thanks, Drake.” He hung up the call and turned to Sawyer. “It’s going to be a busy day,” he said.
Sawyer nodded. “We’ll take it one step at a time.”
They drove to the address Sawyer had been given for the historical society, which was located in a beautiful Victorian structure that had been painstakingly restored. Neither one
knew what to expect when they entered the building, but they were greeted by a friendly older man, probably in his mid-fifties, who took them into a large office.
“I‘ve already done the research for that portion of your site in question,” he said as he pulled out a large map of the town that dated back two hundred years, and Ford was a bit overwhelmed as he took it all in. “In that area, there’s a small portion up in this corner bordering your property that has been designated as a historical landmark,” he informed them as he pointed to the spot. “Then, when you get over to this section where the foundation was discovered”—he used his fingers to trace the section— “my research shows that it’s been vacant for the past fifty years. The previous building that stood there was demolished and nothing replaced it. Apparently, they just filled in the hole left behind, and everyone forgot about it.”
“So, in other words… we’re good?” Ford heard the relief in Sawyer’s voice, and it matched the knot that had just loosened in his belly.
The man nodded. “You’re good. And I apologize for any undue stress this has caused.”
Ford closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath through his nose. Something had finally worked out in their favor. Sawyer turned to Ford, the relief written on his face, too, this was definitely a great weight off his shoulders as well.
“There’s something else I’d like to add,” the man said.
Ford and Sawyer turned back to him. Ford was almost waiting for the ball to drop and hear a ‘but’ added, ruining the moment.
“What’s that?” Sawyer had tensed, he didn’t need to look at his boyfriend, Ford heard it in his voice.
“You two should be proud of the work you’re doing to better the town. There’s going to be thousands of jobs brought into the community. And what’s more, tourism is going to increase. We are all very excited for the new resort. Thank you.” He held out his hand, and Sawyer’s eyes lit up as he shook the man’s hand.
Forever With His Boss Page 18