by Codi Gary
They left the room quietly, and Justin whispered, “Thanks for doing that.”
He hated that she’d seen his dad at his worst, hated that anyone ever did.
Sweetly, she took his hand, raising it to her lips, “Just returning the favor.”
He realized she was talking about the night he’d brought her drunk sister home and smiled.
“What do you say we tell Everett good night and I take you over and show you my house?” he asked, leaning down to kiss her neck, trailing his mouth over the soft skin.
“Hmmm . . . I’m all for that. I didn’t want to mention this in front of your dad and brother, but I brought dessert with me.”
“What, you didn’t want to share?”
“It’s more of a private dessert.”
Private dessert?
His body jerked at the possibilities, and he practically dragged her down the stairs to say good night to his brother, her laughter following softly behind him.
Chapter Twenty
* * *
THE FIRST MONTH of their relationship was relatively low-key. Val found that getting to know Justin by taking their relationship slow really was the most fun she’d ever had with a man. Justin was crazy, both his antics to make her laugh and his just generally wanting to jump her bones.
For Valentine’s Day, they had decided to keep it simple, but the whole day he’d pulled hilariously sweet gestures that had made it special.
A red box on her doorstep, which she’d originally assumed held lingerie, turned out to be a red sweater with a big white heart on the back for Gus. He hadn’t exactly been happy when she’d wrestled it over his massive head, but the final effect had been adorable, and she’d taken a picture on her camera phone and sent it to Justin.
He’d texted back a few minutes later with Poor dog, and when she’d called him to ask why he’d given her the sweater if he didn’t want Gus to wear it, he’d said it was a joke.
“So you bought me a dog sweater, but you didn’t actually want him to wear it?”
“Exactly,” he said, and she’d called him a weirdo.
After finding a copy of My Bloody Valentine on her dashboard the next day, Val had had to admit she was enjoying Justin’s thoughtful gifts much more than the easy gifts of jewelry Cole had always bought her. They’d spent five years together, but he’d still never realized she preferred funky, fun costume jewelry to diamonds.
Justin’s final gift had come during dinner at his house, which he’d decorated with candles. Standing in a pair of red heart-covered boxers, he’d told her to strip. Val had obeyed, giggling the whole time and wondering how a pair of ridiculous novelty boxers could look so sexy, but at the first touch of his hands on her back, she’d forgotten about anything but enjoying the deep massage Justin gave her as he trailed his mouth over her skin and rubbed her aches away.
It was thoughtful and lovely, and she’d wanted to return the favor.
They had hardly slept that night, but Val had felt amazing the next day, especially when she’d given Justin his actual gift: two front-row Brad Paisley tickets in Portland, Oregon, the next month.
When he’d leaned over and whispered, “I’m pretty sure going to that singles weekend was a hell of a lot more fun than the concert would have been,” her heart had melted a little more. And when he’d pushed her back on the bed and kissed her, she’d realized she’d never felt this way before.
So when is the other shoe going to drop?
She just couldn’t seem to annihilate that final pessimistic voice that remembered how every happy moment in her life was usually destroyed by one thing or another.
And at least one of those potential problems had been missing in action; Val had seen very little of her father. He hadn’t taken her to church with him, which was just as well because Val preferred to go with Justin. Especially when they went off-roading together afterward.
Besides the sleepovers, they had gone to Boise for the weekend and seen Craig Morgan. Val had dragged Justin to The Cheesecake Factory beforehand and put a slice of cheesecake in their hotel fridge for dessert after. It had become a ritual for them to end dates with something sweet, but if Val wasn’t too careful, she was going to have to bust out her fat pants.
When they’d returned from Boise, her father had been at her house to talk to Ellie. He’d been civil but had left in a hurry. Despite his cool attitude, his lack of meddling was actually a little suspicious. She should have been tipped off by his easygoing behavior, but she was too caught up to really dwell on it.
And if she hadn’t shown up at Fred’s farmhouse unexpectedly a week later, she wouldn’t have seen her dad’s car leaving the Silverton ranch. A sense of foreboding washed over Val as she climbed the porch stairs and knocked on the door. When no one answered, she pushed the door open and looked around.
Fred Silverton stood by a wooden hutch, his back to the door. He turned slowly and his leathery face looked tired. “Ah, Valerie. Justin’s out at the moment.”
“I know; I was going to surprise you all with dinner, but . . . Fred, what was my father doing here?”
With a hoarse laugh, Fred said, “He was just coming by to persuade me to talk to Justin.”
Val’s stomach twisted up on itself, nausea sweeping over her. “About what?”
“About you.” Fred actually looked at her with pity. “Valerie honey, your daddy warned me a month ago he didn’t want you anywhere near my son. Guess he just lost patience when I didn’t do what he wanted.”
“But . . .” Val looked at Fred’s shifting eyes and asked, “What was he using to persuade you?”
Fred sighed. “He has pictures of me burning down my field seventeen years ago.”
“What?”
“I knew about them, but he never acted on them. Maybe it’s because Ed was too close to the scandal, so he was afraid his dirty dealings would be exposed. Whatever the case, he’s threatening to have me brought up on charges.”
“Why? Does Justin know about this?”
“He knows. You father asked to be my partner on an organic food venture, but he was actually using toxic pesticides to increase crop production. I tried to make it look like an electrical storm caused the fire that destroyed the crop, but I guess someone saw me,” he said. “I collected insurance money on the crops to pay your father back. But if he turns those photos over to the county prosecutor, I could be charged with insurance fraud.
“I also told my son that if you make him happy, to hell with it. I’m not going to give Edward Willis the satisfaction of making me back down, but . . . I could lose everything. I did a bad thing for a good reason. I made a mistake, but if we lose the farm, my sons will have nothing.”
Fred was blaming himself, but Val knew it was her fault this was happening. If she hadn’t started dating Justin, her father probably would never have used those photos against Fred. Blood thundered in her ears as she realized the implications. In a last-ditch effort to prove his complete control over her, her father was willing to bully anyone in his path. Val ached with guilt and fury. She’d just tried to be happy, but her father had destroyed that.
Fred was willing to sacrifice everything so she and Justin could be together, but she couldn’t let him. She couldn’t be selfish, not when she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that she loved Justin Silverton.
And when you loved someone, you protected them, even if it meant offering yourself up on the chopping block instead.
JUSTIN WAS DRIVING back from the store with Everett riding shotgun when his cell phone rang.
Everett picked it up from the cup holder and looked at the caller ID. “It’s your girlfriend.”
Everett said it like a grade-school kid, complete with kissy noises, and Justin hit his shoulder before taking the phone.
“Hey, Val. We’ll be home in about twenty minutes—”
“We can’t see each other anymore.”
The flat statement sent ice water racing through his veins. “What? What are you talking abo
ut?”
“We tried things your way and it didn’t work. We’re just too different and—”
“Where the hell is this coming from?” Justin asked, trying to concentrate on the road and ignore Everett’s muttered, “Fuck.”
“Just lose my number and move on, okay? You and I had a good run, but now it’s time to give up the fantasy and return to reality.”
With that last cold statement, she hung up on him, and he lost the ability to breathe. Pulling off the road, he gripped the steering wheel and tried to fight the misery he felt washing over him like dark waves in an ocean storm.
“Hey, man, I’m sorry. I really liked Valerie.”
“Something’s wrong. She wouldn’t just call me and break up with me for no reason.”
“You said from the beginning she’s gun-shy. Maybe she just got cold feet.”
No. Something had happened. Her father had finally gotten to her or something because their relationship could not have been one-sided all along.
Pulling back onto the highway, he floored it, needing to get home to see her. Let her tell him to his face that they had been a mistake.
VAL BURST INTO her father’s office and found him sitting with Kyle Jenner, who gave her a slow, oily smile.
“Get out,” she growled, and when Kyle actually hesitated, she screamed, “Get the fuck out before I turn you into a eunuch!”
Kyle glared at Val as he left the room, but her attention was reserved for her father, who was leaning back in his chair with a triumphant smile.
“Call off your dogs.”
“Excuse me?”
“I broke up with Justin. It’s over,” she snapped, her hands on his desk. “So call . . . off . . . your . . . dogs.”
“I wasn’t aware I had done anything—”
“Please, I know all about you blackmailing Fred Silverton. There’s no use feigning innocence here.”
“All right,” he said, standing up. “But I want one more thing from you.”
“Go to hell.”
“I wonder how a man of Fred’s years would do in prison. It seems like such a hard life for a man his age.”
Val took a breath and silently counted to ten to calm down, glaring at him all the while. “Fine, I’m listening.”
“The newly appointed DA is looking to settle down in Rock Canyon. I need you to take him around the area and show him a good time.”
“And after this, you’ll leave the Silvertons alone?”
“Of course.”
Val straightened back up and said, “Set up the date, but I want all of the evidence you have against Fred.”
He went to his safe and pulled out a manila envelope. “Here.”
“Your word that this is everything?”
“Yes.”
Val left her father’s office feeling dirty and knew if she headed home now, there was a good chance Justin would be there waiting for her.
Heading in the opposite direction, she decided if there was ever a night to cut loose and get rip-roaring drunk, this was it.
JUSTIN BANGED ON Val’s door and yelled at the top of his lungs: “Valerie, open this damn door now!”
The door swung open, but instead of Val, he came face-to-face with a wide-eyed Ellie.
“Justin, what the hell?”
“Is your sister here?”
“No. I thought she was with you tonight.”
His laughter had a high note to it as he ran a hand through his hair. “No, she called me an hour ago to tell me it was over, and I’ve heard nothing since.”
Ellie seemed surprised. “Well, when she gets home, I’ll be sure to call you.”
There was nothing more he could do, and the frustration of it all was crippling.
“ONE BOURBON! ONE Scotch! And one beer!” Val obnoxiously sang along with the band before downing another shot of tequila. It had been so long since she’d partied and drunk without any reservations.
Still, she was trying to block out images of Justin and what he was doing right now.
Buck’s Shot Bar was packed on a Friday night, and Val sat up on the bar stool, weaving a bit.
Suddenly, a pair of familiar hazel eyes came into her line of sight, and she smiled happily. “Sis! How’re you?”
“Not as well as you, apparently,” Ellie said sarcastically as she slipped her arm around her waist. “Come on, party girl, let’s go home.”
“I don’t wanna.”
“Well, too bad. You might be older, but I’m bigger than you, and I have no problem getting one of these guys to haul you out of here like a sack of potatoes. Now march!”
Val wasn’t used to taking orders from her sister but saluted her sloppily. “Yes, ma’am.”
Falling into another fit of giggles, Val let Ellie help her out to the car. Once inside, she leaned back against the seat, her head lolling heavily.
“Are you going to explain what the hell is going on with you?”
“I just felt like a drink. You’re the one always telling me to pull the stick out of my ass.”
“And you’re the one always preaching about the dangers of reckless behavior. If Grant hadn’t called, I wouldn’t even have known where you were.”
“And thus the point of the whole night. I wanted to be alone.”
“Why? Because you broke up with Justin and know it was a boneheaded move?”
Yes.
“No, and mind your own business.”
“What is the matter with you? I’ve never seen you as happy as you’ve been the last six weeks and you’re just going to give all that up because you’re scared?”
No, you’re not scared of being with Justin. You’re afraid of ruining his life, like your father has ruined yours. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I just don’t get—”
“Just drop it, for fuck’s sake!” Val yelled, and Ellie snapped her mouth shut, not making a sound for the rest of the drive.
As they pulled up in front of the house, Val felt the oncoming eruption just as she was opening up the door and barely had time to kneel on the front lawn before she was emptying the contents of her stomach. She heard a door slam behind her as she continued to retch, and a soft hand brushed back her bangs.
When her stomach finally quieted, Ellie helped her up and into the house, and then to undress and crawl into bed. Her sister left the room without a word, and Val felt like a monster. Curling onto her side, she broke down and sobbed like a baby for the first time since before her mom’s death. She had alienated everyone she loved; she deserved to be alone and miserable. She was toxic and had brought nothing but trouble to Justin’s family.
She had to make him see that she was no good for him.
Chapter Twenty-One
* * *
“THIS IS IT, Val! Open this door or I swear I’m going to break it down!”
Val had been avoiding Justin’s calls and ignoring the desperate knocks on her door for days. Then Jared had shown him Miss Know It All’s latest blog about how Val had been out with the new DA twice in the last week, which had just pissed him off more. Whatever her father had done, it was no excuse for what she was putting him through.
Finally, he’d had enough.
Justin could hear Gus’s excited barking on the other side of the barrier, and just when he was about to slam his shoulder into the hard wood, the door swung open, revealing Val in a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt, looking rather healthy and not at all the ball of misery he had hoped he’d find.
“What do you want?”
His hands dropped to his sides at her cold question. “I want to know why you’re doing this. Did your father finally get to you, or—”
“Were you going to tell me that my father stopped by after we got back from True Love to convince your dad to warn you off?”
He paused, opening his mouth, but he couldn’t think of a thing to say.
“Yeah, your father told me. I thought you were all about honesty, but you kept something huge
from me and your father almost lost everything, including his freedom.”
“He told me to hell with your father and—”
“Of course he did, Justin, because despite his problems, your dad is a good man who loves you. He wants you to be happy. Did you know about the crops he burned down?” He remained silent, and she continued, “My dad had photos of him setting fire to them and was threatening to turn Fred in for insurance fraud. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because it was in the past, and it wasn’t about them. Remember? Just you and me?”
“I think it’s selfish of you to risk your family over a relationship based on really hot sex.”
“There’s more to this than that. I—”
“Okay, so it’s more amazing than hot, but this is never going to go anywhere. You’re meant to marry and have two-point-five kids, and I’m supposed to stick with my own pedigree. We just need to face facts and move on.”
“I don’t believe for a second you think that. I know you feel more for me than just lust, Val.”
He didn’t miss the sheen of tears in her eyes before she turned her face away and went inside. A few seconds later, she returned and handed him a manila envelope.
“Here’s all the evidence against your dad,” she whispered, walking back behind the door. “Please leave me alone.”
She shut the door with a loud final thud, and Justin numbly walked back to his truck, trying to fight the emptiness taking over.
Leave me alone.
It was over. He was done. He wasn’t going to beg and chase her like a lovesick fool anymore.
Getting into his truck, he threw the envelope across the seat and headed back to the farm, rage boiling inside him. Inside the farmhouse, he found his dad coming out of the kitchen, Everett right behind him.
“Justin, what—”
Justin reached out for the bottle of whiskey on the armoire and threw it against the wall, shattering it.