by Jenika Snow
“He didn’t take advantage of me, Dad.”
Her father glanced at her, the chilled expression on his face now directed at her. “Lake, no offense, because I know you’re a smart girl, but he did take advantage of you. He is not much younger than me, and you’re only twenty.” He turned and looked at Reese again. “I trusted you, not because you were Ginny’s brother, not because you were in the service, but because I thought you were a good man and a friend.”
“I’m a good man and a friend, but obviously made poor choices when it came to not speaking to you two beforehand.” Reese grabbed her hand, pulled her closer to him, and she felt the heat of his body spear into hers.
“I trusted you to treat her like family, too.”
“Calvin, I think we have to back away and really think about the situation,” Ginny said. She started worrying her bottom lip, obviously trying to calm the situation down, but Lake knew it was already far past that line.
Reese let go of her hand and took a step forward. “She means more to me than family.”
“You said this happened fast, Reese,” Ginny said, and Lake knew that his sister was possibly implying that maybe this was impulsive for both of them, or maybe a rebound thing for Reese.
But Reese shook his head. “It doesn’t matter, Ginny. I was with Brittany for six months before we got married, then another two years after we said our vows. Look how that went down.”
Her dad shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. Ginny didn’t respond.
“If she doesn’t want me, doesn’t want anything to do with me, then I will back off. I am not making her do anything she doesn’t want to do.”
Her father cursed out.
Obviously Lake wished she could have told her father about this beforehand, but she had needed to be with Reese right then, needed his comfort, and things just kind of went from there. She was an adult, knew that she could make her own decisions without letting her father know, but she also knew that telling him about this since Reese was part of the family should have been a priority.
“This is fast, Dad,” Lake said, and looked up at Reese. She pulled away from him, saw the surprise on his face, but she wasn’t done speaking just yet. “We aren’t saying we love each other. What we are saying is that we want you to understand we are both adults, and what was done was done with consent.”
Her father’s face turned a nasty shade of red, and he took a menacing step toward Reese.
“Stop, Calvin.” Ginny said, her worry clear in her voice.
Lake knew a fight would transpire if Reese didn’t leave and let her speak to her dad.
“No, Ginny,” Calvin said and lifted a hand to stop her from pulling him away. “This is between me and your brother.”
“This is about two consenting adults. This isn’t about us, Calvin—”
“You’re too old for her, Reese, too experienced and are barely divorced.” Her dad’s jaw clenched, and she heard him grind his teeth. “I don’t want to even think about what you are doing with her, or what you plan to do with her.”
“You know the age thing isn’t a factor for either of us. If it is for you then there is a problem. The issue is the fact I’m Ginny’s brother, and that we didn’t tell you beforehand what we planned on doing.” Reese took a step closer. “But even if we should have talked to you two beforehand, what we did was done by two consenting adults.”
And that seemed to be her father’s breaking point. He charged forward, and Reese and Calvin crashed into the foyer wall. Ginny cried out, Lake stumbled back, and could do nothing but watch the horror in front of her.
“Please, Dad, stop,” she shouted. Ginny tried to pull her dad off of Reese, but the two men were in a locked embrace. They were grappling with each other, Reese blocking blows but not delivering them.
The momentum of her father and Reese fighting had them moving out of the foyer and into the living room. Ginny kept shouting for them to stop, and Lake saw her tears. Lake moved forward, trying to pull her father away, but Ginny grabbed her just as her dad and Reese stumbled back briefly, before falling forward.
“Stay back. You’ll get hurt,” Ginny said, out of breath, her tears coming harder now.
Reese slammed into the couch, causing the piece of furniture to tumble backward. The first punch from her father hit Reese in the gut, and then he was hit for a second time on the other side. She’d never seen her father fight. Her dad’s normally perfectly styled hair was a disheveled mess around his head, and his face was red from his anger. Reese was equally flustered, but he wasn’t fighting back, just blocking the hits, and letting her father pummel him.
“I should kill you,” her father roared out. They fell into a side table, knocking over the lamp and having it crash to the floor. Her father hit him again and again, until blood came out of Reese’s nose and the corner of his mouth.
“I won’t fight you, Calvin. I won’t.”
Lake couldn’t stand by and let this happen. She had to do something. She charged forward, tried to pull her dad off of him, but it was like moving a brick wall.
“Stay back, Lake,” Reese said in a gruff voice.
Ginny pulled her back, just as her dad punched Reese again. Reese and Calvin fell to the floor with her father on top, throwing punches, gruff noises coming from him. Knowing this had to stop, Lake pushed her dad off of Reese with more strength than she thought she’d be able to muster.
“Stop,” she pleaded, yelled, and held herself in front of Reese, hating to see the two men she cared about fighting. “He didn’t do anything I didn’t want, Dad. I’m not saying we are in love and will elope. I’m just asking you to try to accept this and my decision to live my life the way I want to, no matter what the consequences might be.” She stared into her father’s eyes, pleading. “Please.”
“I deserved everything you gave me, Calvin, but I won’t give up on Lake.”
Her father stared at her and gritted his teeth, clearly still angry, and not responding. He looked at Reese. “You deserve a lot fucking more than what I gave you for doing this shit behind my back, Reese.” Her father moved back, and Ginny grabbed his arm, pulling him close to her.
“What is wrong with you?” she asked through her tears.
Her father didn’t respond, just stared at where Lake stood with Reese, his face a mask of anger. “I want you out of my house,” he said to Reese, turned, grabbed his keys of the foyer side table, and let. The silence stretched on, and Ginny rushed after Calvin.
“I’m sorry it came down to this,” Reese said and pulled her into a hug.
“I thought there would be problems, but never imagined anything like this.”
He rubbed her back, then kissed the crown of her head. “I’m not going to just walk away from you, not when I feel these emotions.” He pulled back and looked at her face. “I know it’s fast, and I know it’s confusing. I’m not saying I can give you the moon, Lake, but I sure as hell can give you my undivided time and the attention you deserve.”
She felt more tears well in her eyes. “It is fast, Reese.”
He smiled and brushed her tears away. “I know, Lake, but it feels right, doesn’t it?”
She nodded without hesitation.
“I know it’s hard to see right now, but things will work out.”
“I hope you’re right, Reese.”
Chapter Eleven
“I’m just as pissed that things worked out this way, Ginny,” Reese said and stared at his sister from across the small diner table they were sitting at. He’d met up with her after she’d called days after the altercation with Calvin.
“I know, and I know you didn’t mean any harm by it, but, Reese, see it from Calvin’s point of view.”
“Believe me, I can understand why he’s upset. I would be, too, if the roles were reversed.” He leaned back in his chair and sighed. “This ended up being all kinds of fucked-up. I didn’t plan to have feelings for Lake, and sure as hell not this quickly. But even during the separation
, not long before the divorce went through, I could see Lake for who she was.”
“For who she was?” Ginny repeated.
He nodded. “She’s smart and beautiful, has a good head on her shoulders. She’s been through a lot in her life. What with her mom passing when she was younger, and I know she had trouble in school with kids giving her a hard time, but she was strong through it all.”
Ginny didn’t say anything, but she was listening, and that’s all he could ask for right now.
“I didn’t actively pursue anything with her until after the divorce, and I certainly didn’t think about being with her in that way until then.” He thought about the night with her, about how yes, he’d been drunk, but how he still knew what he’d been doing. “It’s just something that happened, but it feels like the right move, Ginny. I don’t want to stop seeing her, not because I’m recently divorced and coming from a loveless, emotionless marriage, and not because her father isn’t okay with this. I want Lake because she’s beautiful inside and out.”
His sister stared at him, then looked at the coffee cup in front of her. “Be careful with her, and I’m not saying that because she’s so much younger than you, but because Lake is one of the most genuine and sweet people I know.”
He nodded when she looked up at him. “I know, Ginny. I can see that in her, too, and that’s one of the reasons I want this.” He leaned back in his chair and exhaled. “This isn’t what I planned, believe me. I never saw her as anything more than a sweet girl who was your stepdaughter. But then as the years progressed and Brittany and my marriage crumbled into nothingness, I realized there are women out there that aren’t like what I am used to.”
Ginny smiled and reached out to cover his hand with hers. “I support you two, because I know you’re a good guy and will take care of her. You don’t jump into things without knowing what you want, and that’s how I know this is really what you want.”
He was grateful and thankful his sister was okay with them. Now he just had to speak with Calvin about all of this.
****
One week later
“You need to talk to her.”
“I’m pissed, Ginny.” He sighed, rubbed his eyes, and knew his wife meant well, but also that he was having a hard time getting over this.
“They care about each other,” Ginny said, and he knew that.
“She’s my daughter, and he’s your brother.”
“And?”
He glared at his wife. For the last week he’d been working long hours, coming home late when he knew his daughter would be asleep, because he honestly didn’t know how to handle this. Reese had moved out, found a condo in town, and he knew that Lake and Reese would see each other if they wanted. He couldn’t stop that, but that hadn’t meant he liked it.
“Just go talk to her, tell her that you were an ass, and that you know she can make responsible decisions.”
“And you just accepted it?”
She shrugged. “He’s my brother, and I love Lake like a sister. If they’re happy I’m happy.”
He took a minute to let that sink in. He’d come to that conclusion already, knew that he needed to let Lake live her life the way she wanted to. Maybe Ginny sensed the conclusion he’d come up with, or maybe she saw the fact he agreed with everything she’d said. She smiled and came up to him.
“You’re doing the right thing.”
“I know, because you’re always right,” he said and smiled down at her. He hated that his little girl wasn’t little anymore. She might only be twenty, but she was an adult, a young woman who knew what she wanted in life. Yes, it was really damn hard to think that his daughter was with Ginny’s much older brother, but since finding out he’d done a lot of thinking. They may have fought in front of Ginny and Lake, but he trusted Reese with his life, and with Ginny’s and Lake’s as well.
“All I can think about is Lake getting with a man that just got out of a divorce, and is taking advantage of my little girl.”
“You know that’s not the truth,” Ginny said. He hugged her, wrapped his arms around his wife’s slender body, and kept her close.
“I know that’s not the truth, but that was my first thought and reaction. Now that I’ve thought about it the last week, I realized that Lake has her own life to lead, and that she can decide what’s right for her. I know that I can’t stop this.”
Ginny tilted her head back and stared at him. “What I do know is that if there was one man on this planet that you trusted to treat your daughter with respect, and protect her with his life, who would it be?”
He didn’t even need to think about it, and didn’t need to picture Lake with anyone else. “Reese. I’d want her to be with a man like Reese.” He sighed. “I just didn’t think one day it would actually be him.”
****
For seven days Lake’s father had avoided her, avoided the conversation she tried to have with him. Even Ginny had tried talking to him. She’d at least come around more than her father, and although they didn’t talk about everything that went on between her and Reese, Ginny supported her and wanted her to be happy. Lake just wished her dad were the same way.
She put a stack of her clothes away, clearing off the bed because she was going to study here tonight instead of her dad’s office. She just didn’t want to be around his stuff, reminded that he was so very angry with her he didn’t even want to talk to her. It had never been this way between them, and it killed her. She hated things turning out this way, that Reese had left, even if she knew it was the right thing to do after what happened. He was staying at a condo in town, not more than twenty minutes away, but she hadn’t seen him since the fight.
They talked on the phone, but it wasn’t the same as seeing him like she had for the past several months. It was harder now because they’d opened up. Was this whole situation crazy? Yeah, it really was. She’d gone from seeing Reese as this man that was married, who kept to himself, but who was incredibly strong, to seeing him being alone, divorced, and her feelings for him growing into something she couldn’t handle or understand.
But the craziest part of all of this was that he wanted her, too. Yes, they’d slept together, and the fact he’d been drunk had worried her that he wouldn’t remember what they’d done, or that he’d regret it. Those hadn’t been the outcomes, and instead he’d told her he wanted her as more than what she ever thought they could be.
She cleared off her bed, grabbed her books, and sat down to get to work on her homework.
“You hard at work again?”
Her dad’s voice came from behind her, and her heart instantly started pounding.
She turned around to see him standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed. He wore a pair of jeans and a plain t-shirt, and his feet were bare. At home he usually wore this kind of casual attire, but she was also used to seeing him wear his pressed business suits. As she stared at him she expected to see rage on his face, but when he stared at her there was just a man that was looking at his daughter without any anger.
Clearing her throat, she nodded. This was the most he’d said to her since he had stormed out of the house after the fight. “Yeah, it’s always studying for me anymore.” She pointed to the books on her bed.
He nodded and walked into her room. “That’s good to keep your head in school.” Her father sat on the edge of her bed. After he pushed her books away, he patted the mattress, gesturing for her to sit beside him since she was on the other side of the bed. She stared at him for a moment, took in his short dark hair, looked into his blue eyes that were the same color as hers, and knew that this man’s opinion meant so much to her. He meant so much to her.
Lake moved closer to him and shifted her body so she faced him. For a second he just stared at her, not speaking, but the emotion was clear on his face.
“I first want to say I shouldn’t have acted that way, period. But my emotions got the better of me.”
She nodded, not trusting her voice to speak.
“I also want to apologize for not speaking to you, and for avoiding you this last week.”
“I’m sorry things went down the way they did, Dad. We didn’t mean for things to happen that way, didn’t set out to make anyone upset. Things just happened, and I’m just as much involved as he was.”
He reached out and took her hand, gave it a squeeze, and smiled. “You love him?” He stated it without any hatred or anger in his voice.
She didn’t answer right away as she thought about his question. She shook her head, and looked down at their joined hands. “I don’t even know what love is, Dad, but I care about Reese a lot.”
“You understand why I got so angry?”
She nodded, even though he wasn’t looking at her. “Yeah, I do.” She gave his hand a squeeze. “But we really didn’t mean to hurt or betray anyone, Dad. Things just kind of happened, and as uncomfortable as I feel talking about this with you because, well, we never really have before, I want you to know that I want to be with Reese, and he wants to be with me.”
Her dad nodded again.
“He makes me happy.”
“Yeah, I understand that.” He gave her hand a squeeze and looked up at her. “I didn’t mean to blow up like that, hurt you or Ginny, or go after Reese. I just kind of snapped. What I did was extreme, and I should have thought about it, and listened to you two before attacking him like that.”
“I wish you would have let us explain, but I know things were fast all the way around.” She squeezed his hand again. “I’m an adult and know what I’m doing, and if things don’t work out, well, I’ll learn from that, too. But this is my life and my choices and mistakes to make, Dad.”
He didn’t respond for several seconds, and then he nodded. “Yeah, sweetheart. I know where you’re coming from, and although it’ll be hard for me to accept that my little girl is a woman now, and can make her own decisions, I know you have a good head on your shoulders. You’re smart, so damn smart.” He lifted his hand and brushed a stray piece of hair from her forehead. “But you’re tough as well. I knew from the moment you were born, watched you grow up, and after your mother passed away I saw the strength inside of you. You’re so damn strong and smart, Lake.” He smiled softly at her. “You didn’t let life drag you down even though I know it would have been so easy.” There was sadness in his expression. “You held it together better than me after your mom died, and if I’m being honest you still hold it together better than me.” He leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. “Your mom would be so proud of the woman you’ve become. I love you, and I want you to be happy.”