I could see our small house clearly in my mind. It was the only one on our block which wasn’t covered in trash or falling down. Mom didn’t just say she was better than everyone else around her, she acted it. She was all I’d ever known, her and her sister, but her sister was the polar opposite to her. Where my mom was refined, my auntie was the white trash Mom hated.
“She passed away when I was fifteen.”
“Oh, Ford. I’m so—”
“Don’t say you’re sorry,” I gritted out. “You don’t have to be sorry. It is what it is. Made me who I am today.” I stared into Belle’s eyes, trying to convey as much as I could silently. “I’ve done bad things in my life, Baby Belle, I never denied that. But you need to know that just because I have a badge, doesn’t mean I’m innocent.” I was going to a dark place, one I never wanted Belle to witness, but she was smack bang in the middle of it, so there was no use trying to hide it. “I’ve killed people, I’ve tortured them—for my job and before that.” I paused, letting her soak that in. “But I’d never hurt you, Belle. Never.”
She was silent for so long, I wondered if I’d done the right thing by telling her that. I hadn’t meant to. I had no intention of speaking about even a second of my past, but I couldn’t help it. I hadn’t ever felt as comfortable as I did when I was around Belle, and although I knew people wouldn’t like us doing what we were doing, I couldn’t fathom the thought of not touching her in the way I craved. She was tying me up in knots, but I didn’t want any of them to be undone.
“I know you wouldn’t.” She placed her hand on the side of my face, and I closed my eyes at her touch. “Montgomery.”
My eyes flung open, but the smile on my face couldn’t be denied. “You’re not gonna stop calling me that, are you?” When she shook her head, I moved closer to her. “Only when we’re alone,” I told her. “Never in front of anyone else.”
She bit down on her bottom lip and nodded. “It’s a deal.” She let out a breath, and I felt it against my lips. “Now, are you going to kiss me? Or are you going to make me wait?”
I raised a brow and stared her down. “I’m gonna make you wait.” I pulled away and pushed open my door, letting Lottie out.
“What?” Belle shouted, but she didn’t make to move out of the car as Lottie took care of her business. “That’s not fair!”
I dipped my head down to look back in at her. “Neither is being named Montgomery, but we have to play the cards we’re dealt.”
She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest, and I grinned at her. I’d never had this level of banter with anyone else, and I was going to soak up every inch of it. I’d have to go home at some stage, and what we were doing right now would end. I knew that. I just didn’t want to think about it.
Lottie trotted back over to me, and I stroked her head, then she jumped into the car. After a couple of minutes, we were back on the road, half of our journey complete. The silence stretched between us the farther down the road we got, and that was when I realized Belle had fallen asleep. I didn’t bother waking her up, not until I was pulling into the long driveway that led to the lake house. And it was then I regretted not kissing her at the service station. That had been our last chance.
“Belle?” I stroked my palm over the side of her face as I pulled to a stop behind Brody’s Mustang. “We’re here.” It was just after eleven now, and most of the lights in the house were off. “Belle?”
“I’m tired,” she moaned, turning her head on the seat to face me. “I need my bed.”
“Come on,” I told her, pulling my keys out of the ignition. “It looks like they’re all asleep anyway.”
She turned to stare at the lake house, her lips lifting into the biggest smile. “Nah, Dad will still be up. In fact, I bet he’s”—the outside light turned on, and Lottie perked up on her seat—“yep, there he is.”
Brody’s large figure appeared in the doorway to the lake house, and as soon as he spotted my car, he took three giant steps forward and flung open the passenger door. At the sight of the newcomer, Lottie growled and darted forward. The belt she was attached to snapped, and I widened my eyes. How the hell had she—
“It’s okay, Lottie,” Belle said, and I stared wide-eyed at a very still Brody. I’d forgotten to tell him about Lottie. “Hold your hand out to her, Dad,” she said, keeping very still.
Brody reached his hand forward, and Lottie snarled again. A couple of seconds went by, and Lottie finally sniffed his hand, then licked it. She was a protective dog, but she was also a big softie.
“You didn’t think this was something you should have told me about?” Brody gritted out, his gaze focused on me as he pulled his hand away from Lottie.
I swallowed as Belle jumped out of the car, followed by Lottie, and I stared at them as they embraced. Brody hadn’t seen his daughter in three months, and the sight of them together made me realize what I was doing. I was sleeping with his baby girl, and I couldn’t bring myself to regret it.
Lottie’s side pushed against Belle’s leg, trying to gain her attention, so she pulled back, then turned to face me. Her gaze met mine as she smiled, and that was all I needed to get through the next seven days.
BELLE
I hadn’t woken up with the sun shining on me, and birds chirping around me, in so long, and I knew instantly where I was. There wasn’t a single place as special as the lake house. It was full of memories of my childhood, but more importantly, it was a place where we all had fun and just spent time together. Mom insisted on no cells at the lake house, and the rule was mainly for one person—my dad. He’d work all day every day if he could. He loved his job, just like Ford did, but he never knew when to switch off.
I stretched and opened my eyes, but I couldn’t deny I missed having Ford’s heat pressed against my back. For the last few weeks, he’d slept beside me every night, but now, we had to have separate rooms. He dropped me off outside my bedroom last night, and I was sure if Dad hadn’t been standing there, he’d have kissed me. But all he’d managed to say was a quick goodnight, and then he sauntered down the hall and to his bedroom.
“Belle Easton!” Mom shouted, her fist banging against my bedroom door. “You better get your ass out here right now and explain to me why there is a giant furball in my lake house.”
A brash laugh escaped my throat, and I jumped out of my bed and dashed toward my bedroom door. I flung it open and didn’t waste a second throwing my arms around Mom and hugging her as tight as I could. Her arms wrapped around me just as fiercely, and I basked in the safety of them. I hadn’t spoken to her much, not since someone had tried to break in. And although I liked to put on a front that I was okay, the reality of the situation had sunk in, and I was scared. But right then, I didn’t feel an ounce of fear. Not when my mom had her arms around me. There wasn’t anything that compared to a mother’s love and protectiveness.
“I missed you so much,” she whispered, and I nodded, not able to voice a reply. I wasn’t sure how long I stood there wrapped in her arms, but after a while, a second set came around us both.
“I missed you too,” Dad’s gruff voice said, and I tilted my head to look up at him. “Didn’t get to say that last night, thanks to your guard dog.”
At that, Mom pulled back and placed her hands on her hips. “Yeah, missy. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about your furball that you didn’t tell us about.”
I laughed as I spun around to grab my fluffy robe. “She’s not my dog,” I told them as I pushed my arms through it and tied it around my waist, then walked past them both, feeling the wood floorboards against the soles of my feet. “Ford adopted her from the shelter.”
“The shelter?” Dad repeated. “You mean, the shelter you didn’t tell us you work at?”
I didn’t turn to look at them as I walked down the stairs, but I could hear them following me. “I don’t work there,” I said, walking into the large kitchen. Dad had remodeled the lake house ten years ago, completely updating it. Now the kitchen had
floor-to-ceiling sliding doors, which took you out onto a balcony and then led to the dock and lake. “I volunteer there.”
I spotted Aria standing at the kitchen counter, her hands wrapped around a coffee cup as she stared out the doors and onto the lake. Her red hair was pulled in a messy bun on the top of her head, and her face had a small smile on it, which got bigger as she looked at me.
“Semantics,” Dad growled. “You should have told us.”
I pulled the refrigerator open and moved closer to Aria. “You would have made me quit.” I didn’t look up at Dad, because he knew it was true. I’d needed something just for me.
“And the coffee shop?” Mom asked. “You don’t need to work, Belle. You—”
“I wanted to.” I poured myself a glass of OJ and finally stared at them both. They were putting up a united front as they stood across the counter. “I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t even want to think about college and what is going on right now. I just want to spend time with you all and not look over my shoulder in case someone is trying to get me.” I took a swig of the OJ and heard nails clacking on wood. A couple of seconds later, Lottie whizzed into the kitchen and straight to me.
I bent down and wrapped my hands around her, pushing my fingers through her fur as Ford and Cade followed her in.
“So it’s your dog, Ford?” Dad asked, his voice low.
“Yeah,” Ford replied, and just hearing his voice had my hairs standing on end and my stomach dipping. “I told you that last night.”
“PB still asleep?” I heard Cade ask, and I grinned up at Aria and pressed my finger to my lips to tell her to keep quiet.
“She is,” Aria replied to him, and then moved around the counter. I had very different relationships with both of my brothers. Cade was sixteen years older than me, which meant we hadn’t grown up together, but we were really close. Whereas Asher and I had the kind of relationship where everything was a fight, but we protected each other fiercely. Although he may have been my little brother, he’d been taller than me since he’d turned twelve.
Conversation flowed as I stayed in my hiding place, and then I slowly moved around the counter, spotting Cade’s feet and then diving for them. He jumped in the air and squealed like a girl, and I laughed so hard I could barely breathe.
“I’m gonna get you for that,” Cade warned, his blue-eyed-gaze meeting mine.
I jumped up and ran around the counter, trying to get away from him, but he had a foot of extra height on him, so one of his footsteps was equal to two of mine.
“No, Cade!” I weaved in and out of Mom and Dad and then spotted Ford. I grabbed him around the waist and spun us so he was between Cade and me. “Ha!” I looked over his shoulder at Cade. “You can’t get me now.”
Ford’s hand touched my waist, and although to anyone else, it would have been innocent, when my gaze slid to his, I knew it was anything but. He hadn’t kissed me since we left my apartment yesterday afternoon, and all I could think about was how his lips would feel against mine.
“You’re always cheating,” Cade groaned out and stepped back. “No fair.”
He turned around, and my shoulders drooped, but at the last second, he darted for me and grabbed me around the waist and threw me over his shoulder. Lottie started to bark, and I thought Cade would put me down, but Ford commanded her to stop.
“Cade,” I warned as he stepped toward the sliding doors. “Don’t you dare.”
He gripped me tighter and stepped out onto the balcony. “This is what happens when you scare me, PB. You do the crime, you gotta do the time.”
My eyes widened as he walked onto the dock. “No, seriously. Stop. Cade. Don’t you—” He let go of me with a push, and for a second, I was flying in the air, and then my back was hitting the cold water, sending shocks through my body and having my breath catch in my throat.
I spluttered as I came up to the surface and gripped on to the dock. I couldn’t believe he’d actually done it. “I’ll get my revenge,” I ground out as I stared up at Cade, who had a shit-eating grin on his face. The fluffy robe was absorbing water like a sponge and trying to weigh me down.
He widened his stance and crossed his arms over his chest. “Shouldn’t mess with the big boys, should ya, PB?” He chuckled, and I flicked my gaze to the right and tried my hardest to keep a straight face. Asher—who was now just as tall as Cade—tiptoed down the dock in his bare feet and sweatpants. It looked like he’d been up for hours, and it didn’t surprise me. Out of all of us, he was the early bird. I couldn’t remember a time where I’d woken up before him. Since he’d started training in martial arts as a kid, he was always up early practicing.
I dunked my head under the water and then pushed my hands through my hair to get it off my face. “You’re mighty cocky there, old man.” Cade narrowed his eyes at me and let his hands drop from his chest. If there was one thing I knew Cade hated, it was being called an old man. He was only thirty-six, but it didn’t hurt to come at him about his age, especially not when he used his height as an advantage.
“PB—”
Asher’s hands collided with Cade’s back, and Cade windmilled his arms, his eyes as wide as saucers, and then he fell, stomach first into the lake.
I threw my head back, my laugh echoing in the vast open space, and then held my hand up for a high five to Asher. He slapped it with a grin on his face. “Hey, big sis,” he greeted at the same time Cade spluttered above the surface.
“Should have known you were around,” he gritted out, but his tone was different from the look on his face.
“Make way!” Asher shouted as he backed up a couple of steps and then ran and jumped into the lake with us. I couldn’t remember the last time we’d all been together like this. It had to be this time last year, and it made me sad to think about it. There was a time where our being together happened at least once a week, but as we got older, we all drifted apart. Asher was a teenager, about to take his last year at high school, and Cade had his own life to live.
I peddled my feet under the water, trying to keep my head above it, when Asher grabbed my legs. “Get on,” he said, and he sounded so much like the little boy who used to jump from one sofa to another as we played pirates and argued about who was going to be the captain. I didn’t hesitate to wrap my arms around his neck and attach myself to his back so he could keep me above water.
“So…” I pressed the side of my face to Asher’s and looked directly at Cade. “How’s things?”
Cade laughed and splashed water toward us. “Same old, same old,” Cade replied, but his brows furrowed. “I think we should be asking you, PB. How are you?”
I shrugged, not really wanting to talk about me. I’d had enough time to overthink everything that had happened, and I still hadn’t sorted through it in my mind. “I’m okay.”
“Yeah?” Asher asked, and even though I couldn’t see his face, I knew he’d have a look of concern etched onto his features. He may have been my little brother, but he acted like he was my older brother. So many times he said he’d have come to my rescue at school after witnessing me crying when I came home, but because he was four years younger, we never attended at the same time. “You should have seen Dad’s face when he found out you’d been to a club.”
I couldn’t help but laugh because I could imagine it perfectly. “Yeah, well, I’m a party animal, what can I say?” I was anything but that, and they both knew it. I blew out a breath and held on to Asher tighter as he moved us back toward the dock. “I didn’t know what the place was,” I murmured. “I never would have gone if I had.”
“We know, PB,” Cade confirmed, placing his hand on my head and ruffling my wet hair. “Ford said he about shit a brick when he first saw you.”
Asher snorted. “I bet he thought you were gonna blow his cover.”
I grinned as I remembered the look on his face. He’d had the perfect mask in place, but his eyes were screaming at me to turn around and pretend I didn’t know him. We’d never spoken
about that night, not since he’d taken up bodyguard duties.
Asher boosted me higher, and I reached for the dock, then pulled myself up. I should have known Mom would have been there waiting with towels. She wrapped me up like a burrito, just like she did when I was seven years old, and the memory sent warmth through my body.
Cade and Asher followed me out, but they wouldn’t let her do the same to them, so she flung her arm around my shoulders and walked with us back to the balcony and into the kitchen.
“It don’t matter how old you get,” Dad started as we walked back inside. “You’ll always act like kids.” His lips were pulled into a grin, causing his eyes to wrinkle at the corners.
He was right. It didn’t matter how old we all got because when we were together, we’d always have the bond we’d built. Just like me with Ford. I turned to look at him, and his gaze was fully focused on me. The bond we had was unbreakable.
At least, I hoped it was.
Chapter Twelve
FORD
Brody’s idea of a vacation at the lake house was to get up as the sun rose and pack the boats for a day out on the lake. I didn’t mind getting up early because I was used to it, but I hadn’t expected Asher to be out there before we were, running around the lake and doing pull-ups on a branch on the biggest tree surrounding the house.
“Hey, Uncle Ford,” he greeted, jumping down and wiping his T-shirt over his sweaty face. I winced at his greeting, remembering a time when Belle had called me that, but it had stopped a long time ago.
“Asher,” I grunted, leaning against the tree trunk. “What are you doing?”
Bonded Duet: Ford & Belle: Torn Bond & Tied Bond (Easton Family Duet Boxsets Book 3) Page 15