She reached for his other hand and he didn’t pull away. “Thank you for saving my life.”
He said nothing.
She looked down at the ground, sadly. “I know you don’t think I deserve to be here. No matter what it takes, I’m goin’ to prove you wrong, Ford. I want to be a part of this family.”
He nodded, but still wouldn’t say anything to her. Ford just stood there like some statue made of stone.
Finally, she let go of his hand and looked at me. “You must be Ashley?”
I was shocked when Ford corrected her before I could. “This is my girlfriend Skylar.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I kept gettin’ cards in the hospital from Ashley and Ford. I figured that was you.”
I could feel the blood boiling inside of me as I put on a fake smile. Ford must have been equally as pissed off. “Ash and I were together last year. We aren’t even friends now.”
The woman grabbed my hand and smiled. “Forgive me for the mix up. It’s so nice to meet you Skylar.”
“You can call me Sky.”
After the introductions, she walked back over to Ford’s dad and started talking. It was about all Ford could take of the party, so we retreated back to his apartment. Joey came up and we watched a football game on the couch. After about a half hour, someone knocked on the door. It was sort of weird since everyone at the party was family, but Ford still got up and answered it politely. “Councilmen Tilly, what brings you over here?”
I had no idea who the man was, but he gave me a dirty look before turning his attention to Ford. “We need to talk in private.”
Ford turned and looked at me and Joey. “Joe, can you give us a minute?” He turned to the man. “Anything you have to discuss with me, you can say around my girlfriend.”
“Son, I’m afraid that I’m goin’ to ask you to reconsider. This is a little more serious than I am comfortable talkin’ about.”
I walked over to Ford. “It’s okay. I’ll go down with Joey and mingle. Just find me later.”
Ford didn’t look like he felt comfortable and I didn’t understand it.
In fact, it wasn’t until I saw Shayne and Lacey that I knew who the man was.
“What does he want?” Shayne asked.
“He said he needed to talk to him in private. Who is he?”
“That’s Ashley’s dad.”
My stomach dropped. To say I had a bad feeling would have been an understatement. A million thoughts ran through my mind, but I felt confident in the end of my self-torture to know that Ford and I would be okay.
Nothing could tear us apart.
Ford
“What’s this about?”
“We need to sit down and have a talk about some things, son.”
I kept standing. This guy wasn’t going to tell me what to do. “I’m fine here.”
“I need to know what your intentions are with my daughter. You can imagine that this predicament can cost me when it comes to the voters.
“What are you talkin’ about? We aren’t together and we’re not goin’ to be. If you haven’t noticed, I have a girlfriend.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. Ford, I’m not happy about this, but I’ll be damned if I sit back and watch my daughter go at this alone.”
I was lost. He must have had me mistaken with someone else. “Look, I’m tryin’ to understand why you’re here, but for the life of me, I can’t figure it out.”
“Her pregnancy. I’m here because she is going at this all alone and that needs to change.”
I didn’t know what to say to the man. Clearly he had me mistaken with someone else. “First, I didn’t know she was even pregnant. Second, I’m not the father!”
He stood up, but did not walk closer to me. “She said she spent the night with you a couple months ago. My daughter was adamant about not bein’ with any other man. You and I both know she’s tellin’ the truth.”
I didn’t know that, but he was right about one thing. I did sleep with her that one night. It hit me like a ton of bricks, but instead of thinking about being a father, all I could think about was losing Sky “I’ll be a good father, but I have no plans on bein’ with your daughter. She knows that already.”
He walked up to the kitchen counter and handed me his phone. “Do you see what the screen says?”
On the phone screen was my father’s name. It was a copy of a tax bill and he was in arrears for nearly twenty-grand; fifteen thousand to be exact. I stared at it. “Is this some sort of joke?”
“I’m afraid not. You’re father hasn’t paid his taxes in nearly four years. Now, I’ve held off on account of you bein’ a part of our family, but I’m afraid that I won’t be doin’ you any favors from now on.”
I looked right at the man, realizing what was happening. “You’re blackmailin’ me?”
He put his hands up. “Let’s just say that I think we can come to a mutual agreement that will benefit us both. Your family can keep what’s theirs and my daughter will be able to bring her child up right.”
“You’re insane! I won’t agree to that!” What he was asking of me was ridiculous. I wasn’t going to give up my life to be tied down to someone I didn’t even like.
“I have the authority to take the business and the house as early as next week. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you may want to rethink that decision.”
“Why didn’t Ash come to me with this news? I want a paternity test before I agree to anything. I should discuss this with my dad, too. There is no way in hell that I’m signin’ my life away without more proof.”
He put his arm on my shoulder and I pulled away. He put up his hands. “I’ll give you two days. If you take my deal, the tax problems disappear. If I haven’t heard from you, I’ll sign the paperwork and proceed with the property seize.”
I watched him walk out the door before picking up an empty bottle and tossing it into the wall. It happened to be the second that Sky walked back into the apartment. She crossed her arms. “What the hell?”
“It’s nothin’!”
She walked over and started picking up pieces of the glass. “This isn’t “nothing”, Ford. What did Ashley’s dad want with you?”
I walked over and started helping her. “My dad didn’t pay his taxes. He wanted me to know that we needed to come up with the money soon. I was just pissed about it.”
It wasn’t a complete lie, but I couldn’t stand to tell her the whole truth. I’d gotten another woman pregnant and now I was stuck making a huge decision. I could be with Sky or protect my family. How had I gotten myself into this kind of situation? Even if I chose Sky, she was going to find out about the baby and leave me anyway.
I stopped picking up the pieces of glass and pulled her into my arms. “Do you have any idea how much you mean to me?”
She kissed me on the lips and picked up another piece. “Yes, I do.”
“What do you say we get out of here and go stay at your house tonight? I don’t feel like bein’ around my family anymore today.”
She smiled. “My parents are out of town. We have the house to ourselves.”
“You should have told me that sooner. I didn’t feel like bein’ at this party, at all.”
If I would have just stayed at her place I wouldn’t be trying to run away from the truth now. I wouldn’t know about the pregnancy or the taxes. I’d be alone, in bed, with Sky.
“Pack light. I don’t plan on wearing any clothes once we get there.”
Hearing her say that almost made me forget about my worries. Sky was the only person that made my life bearable. Imagining one moment without her was making me feel sick to my stomach. I’d opened up my heart and let her fill my life with hope. Her father had even offered me a way out. How was I going to be able to walk away from a future that I was so close to being able to have again?
I wanted to be pissed at my father, but the truth was that Ash’s father would have found something else to blackmail me with. In a small town like ours, he could
destroy your life and make everyone hate you in just days.
My mother was back, and for the first time in a long time, my dad was happy. I had to consider that my mother really did want to change. If it helped my father stop drinking, wasn’t it worth giving them the chance to find out?
I had to keep quiet and not ruin my life until I knew for sure what was going on. I wasn’t willing to lose everything, not this time!
Chapter 23
Skylar
We didn’t even say goodbye to anyone when we left the party. Ford was driving and I could tell he was in rare form. He turned up the music and beat his hand on the steering wheel, like he did when he had a bad day at work. I reached over in the seat and wrapped my arms around him, which seemed to relax him a bit. “Are you okay?”
He kept looking at the road, but leaned over and kissed me. “I am now.”
“If something was really wrong, you’d tell me right?” I was worried that he was keeping something from me. I knew the tax thing would upset him, but he seemed to be taking this so personal. I didn’t get it.
“You’ve got nothin’ to worry about, darlin’.”
We had small talk on the way to my house, but nothing else serious. I was too afraid to make him upset again. The closer we got to home, the better he seemed to be. When we pulled up out front, he turned the truck off and looked at me. “Do you want to take off our clothes now, or wait until we’re inside?”
I reached up and touched his cheek, running my hands over his stubbly face. “If we take our clothes off now, we may not make it into the house.”
He kissed my nose. “Good point.”
Ford wasted no time getting out of the truck and walking to the front door. I handed him my keys and let him open the door. He walked in and tossed them on the table, before turning around and lifting me into his arms. “What are you doing?”
He kept walking, taking us straight upstairs. “I’m taking your ass up to bed. I need to be inside of you, right about now.”
Far be it from me to fight him on something he obviously needed. Besides, I was feeling a little on edge seeing him act so uptight. When his cousins had told me that the man was Ashley’s father, I felt sick to my stomach, imagining the worst possible reasons for him to be paying Ford a visit. When I walked in and saw him tossing that bottle against the wall, I knew something was wrong.
Ford removed his shirt as soon as he sat me down on the bed. He leaned in and kissed me full on the lips, while pulling my dress over my head. He reached back and unhooked my bra as we continued to kiss. My breasts freed and his hands were all over them. His eagerness gave me chills as his hands began to explore other parts of my body.
I unbuttoned his shorts and used my feet to get them pushed down. His boxers were next to be tugged off. With just my panties left, I lifted up my ass and let Ford pull them off of me, partly with his teeth.
He pushed me down on the bed and grabbed one of my legs, rubbing my foot as he kissed the base of my ankle. I pointed my toes and watched him kissing his way up to my knee and then my inner thigh. My nipples tingled every single time I felt his wet lips leaving a part of my skin. As the air would hit it, the tingles traveled to the ends of my limbs.
I bit down on my lips and watched him kissing my belly button. Then he stuck out his tongue and licked all the way up until he was between my breasts. While he was kissing his way up my neck, I bit down on my bottom lip. When he reached my mouth, his tongue found mine immediately. I moaned as we kissed and mingled our lips together.
Ford cupped one of my breasts and pinched the nipple with two fingers. I gasped pulling him closer to me by wrapping my legs around his back. He pulled away and looked into my eyes, holding my face with both hands. “I need you to sit on my face.”
I giggled, but soon realized that he was being completely serious. As hesitant as I was to sit on his face, I ran into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Of course, Ford followed me. I just didn’t feel comfortable doing something like that unless I was fresh and my body smelled like soap.
Since we were both in the shower, Ford washed my hair in between kisses, then I washed his. He ran the bar of soap over my whole body and even washed my most personal areas. I found myself become more turned on by the way the soap felt as it rubbed against the sensitive areas of my skin. As he rinsed me off, he crouched down and separated my lips with his tongue. I reached up and ran my hands into my wet hair. I’d never had a man do the things that Ford wanted to do to me. He not only had taught me so much about myself and my body, but he’d showed me what I’d been missing out on. The exploration of each other’s bodies had left me knowing every inch of him, as he knew every inch of me. I wasn’t sure when it had happened, or if it had always just been there lingering. All I knew was that I was madly and completely in love with him.
He was all I wanted and the thought of ever losing him was too painful to even consider. When I looked at Ford I knew one thing for sure; he may not have said those words, but I was positive he felt that same way about me too.
Ford
I carried Sky to the bed, still having the taste of her sweet pussy on my lips. She was going to sit on my face and give me what I wanted without a fight. I just knew it. Her heart and her trust allowed me to devour her and enjoy every single second of it. I’d memorized the way she tasted months ago, so as I grabbed her and pulled her on top of me, I started to smell her musky scent and went for it. I sucked on her, tasting her juices and hearing her cry out. My tongue stiffened as I fucked her with it. Sky moved her body up and down, her head falling back as she moaned even more.
I felt her grabbing my cock from behind her back, but until she started rolling over, I wasn’t sure what her intentions were. I could feel her wet saliva dripping down my shaft before those perfect lips surrounded it. My hands went straight to her ass and I began licking her again, this time with more aggression. She was blowing me and it was making me crazy. I wanted her to cum first and I wasn’t going to let off until it happened.
I could tell she was getting close because her movements slowed. I started shaking my head around while using my tongue. I think my whiskers gave her the extra tickle she needed to lose control, because that is exactly what happened.
Once she was able, Sky put her mouth around my dick again and started moving. Her pace was rapid and I could tell she didn’t want to stop until I finished. The problem with that was the fact that I needed more than just a quick blowjob. With all that could go wrong in my life, I needed to feel her body close to mine, while I was inside of that perfect body. I wanted to be as close to her as physically possible.
I patted on her ass. “Darlin’, I need to kiss you.”
She finally stopped what she was doing and flipped her body around. Our first kiss was enough to send me over the edge, except I was too determined to have one certain thing. The best part was the fact that she’d flipped and was sitting in the right position for me to slide right inside of her. I didn’t even have to ask if she was ready, since she’d took it upon herself to grab ahold of my dick and sit it right where it needed to be.
I filled her warm pussy with everything I had. Her eyes closed and I could tell that it felt good. She moaned and ran her hands over my chest, even pinching my nipples while rocking back and forth. She was so determined to get me off that I clearly wasn’t going to be able to hold off much longer. I was going to have to let her know that this was different.
While holding onto her hips, I forced her to stop moving. “Not like this, Sky.” I flipped her around. As she fell down on her back, I rolled on top of her. “I need to look at you and see those pretty eyes looking back at me. I can’t fuck you tonight. It needs to be more.”
Sky reached her arms around my neck and pulled me into a slow kiss. I held my lips against hers as I imagined how hurt she was going to be. I thought about this being the last time we were ever like this and it took a lot to hide my emotions. Instead of looking into her eyes, I buried my face into her neck,
so she couldn’t see me falling apart.
I’d never been so close to heaven as I was when I was with this woman and now something was going to take her away from me. What had started as a distraction was now the most important thing in my life. When I looked forward to my future, she was always in it. This pregnancy would end that dream.
I knew that I was going to have to lose Sky, but wasn’t sure about how it was going to happen. The last thing I wanted to do was break her heart. Even if Sky cared for me half as much as I cared for her, it would crush her forever. She’d never trust another man for as long as she lived. I hated myself.
While still trying to participate, I could feel myself losing control. Even my cock has stopped participating. My emotions were causing me to go limp and Sky was going to start asking questions. I kissed her on the neck and then sucked her nipples into my mouth. Nothing was happening. I couldn’t get hard and her hand was already grabbing it.
I looked at her to see her reaction. “Well, this has never happened before.”
I just kept looking at her, like it would somehow make her stop asking questions.
“Ford, seriously. What the hell is going on?”
I rolled over on my back and covered my face with my hands, trying to find the words to tell her the truth. No matter how I said it in my head, it was going to have the same result.
I avoided looking at her. “I reckon I need to tell you somethin’ and I know you’re not goin’ to like it.”
When she said nothing and rolled over, I saw her sitting there with tears in her eyes. “Ashley’s pregnant isn’t she?”
Chapter 24
Skylar
I sat there waiting for him to respond, but he continued just staring at me.
“Are you going to say something?”
Ford put his face down in the blankets.
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