by C. A. Harms
Her words hurt me, because she did know me. “Liv, you do know me.” I told her. “You may not have known about the hate from my past, but you know me. You know the man I am and want to be every day for the rest of my life. I’m still that guy, and no amount of shit my father or brother throw at me will change that.”
I lifted a hand from her hip and curled it around the back of her neck as she tilted her head upward to look at me. “I don’t like the way things went down the other night, and I plan to make sure something like that never happens again. You come first, Liv.” I paused, resting my forehead to hers. “You’re my girl.”
We remained in this position for a few moments without speaking. Her eyes were closed as her soft breaths fanned out over my face.
And then she took in one last deep breath before pulling back and opening her eyes. The look she gave me made my stomach tense with worry once again. “If she ever attempts to talk to me that way again, I can’t promise I’ll keep my mouth shut. It may lead to violence, and I won’t be held responsible for my actions.” She held my gaze and bit down on her lower lip.
I couldn’t stop my laughter as I leaned in a little closer and placed a soft kiss to her lips. I couldn’t picture Liv being so-called violent. The girl was too damn sweet, but something told me if the time came to lay shit all out, she wouldn’t hesitate.
I also understood there were still so many things we both had to learn about the other, but I knew I wanted that. For the first time in my life I was content. I had the one girl that made my heart race, yet she calmed me as well. Olivia was the best of both and I wanted more. I wanted to experience everything she was willing to give, because she gave me hope that life could be better than the things I had experienced. I wanted her to show me what it felt like to have that kind of happiness every day.
Since Friday I’d walked around with a hollow feeling in my chest. I allowed myself to believe I had screwed this up.
Those feelings and thoughts ate at me for days.
I didn’t like that.
“I’m sorry for everything,” I whispered. Trailing my thumb along her cheek, I brushed back the hair from her face. “I should have told you about everything in my past; I just didn’t want you to look at me and see that. I wanted you to see me for the guy I am now.”
“I do,” she replied. “And nothing that you told me will change that. If anything it only made me see just how strong you truly are and the determination you have to succeed.”
“Can you leave now?” she asked.
“Yeah.” I lightly skimmed over her lower lip with my thumb. “Technically, it’s my day off.”
“Let’s go get some ice cream.” She grinned when I wrinkled my brows and looked at her with a confused expression.
She shrugged. “What? It sounds good. Ice cream always makes things better.”
Chapter Nineteen
Olivia
If I’d learned anything from losing my mother and then my grandpa, it was that we just never know when we might lose the chance to make more memories, so I didn’t waste valuable time over things I couldn’t change. Those memories have a way of outweighing all the little things.
Now that my mother was gone, I didn’t find myself sitting around thinking of those times she told me no, or even forced me to do the things I hated.
No, what I did think about were those nights she and I would lay outside under the stars and just talk. Or those mornings she would wake me long before my dad was up to make a heaping pile of chocolate chip pancakes. Those were the memories worth having.
So that is what I did. I pulled Keeton Pearce into my world.
I chose to let go of the anger I felt over the snag we had stumbled over. I understood why he held back regarding his past. And now I knew he didn’t willingly share it with Lacy; she was just at the right place at the wrong time. Or the right time, however you wanted to look at it. If she hadn’t been there to call the cops that night Keeton’s brother showed up, who knew what would have happened?
That was something I couldn’t allow myself to imagine.
I decided to share with him things I had grown up loving, things he should have been given the chance to enjoy but had been selfishly taken from him.
He came home from work one night to find me on his back deck, with dinner spread out before me. We had to eat on a blanket on the ground because he had no outside furniture, but we compromised and it was perfect. We ate under the stars and talked until well after midnight.
That peaceful feeling reminded me of those nights with my momma under the stars.
And then there was the night he woke up to find me standing over him with a water soaker, fully loaded and ready to strike. He just looked up at me with eyes droopy from sleep and smiled. “Game on, baby.” He spoke the words with a smile tugging at his lips. Before I could register just what he meant, he moved lightning fast and I squealed. He hooked my waist and threw me over his shoulder, carrying me toward the bathroom.
I was just about to ask him what in the hell he was doing when he flipped on the shower and stepped under the cold jet with me in tow. I shrieked from the impact of the freezing water and he lowered me to the ground before him with a gleam in his eye. There we stood, fully clothed, under ice cold water and I couldn’t stop smiling.
Those are memories I’ll carry with me. I found myself smiling in the middle of the day just remembering the happiness in his eyes and the deep laughter that fell from his lips when I danced around his living room, singing the words to my favorite songs. I found myself wanting to make him laugh and smile every chance I got. His eyes lit up when he was happy, and I found that look addicting.
I truly couldn’t wait to make more memories with him.
Finals were only a week away. And the idea I would soon be leaving him to go back to Livingston for the summer was almost crippling. I knew I would miss him with every breath I took.
I sat outside on the lawn in front of the Academic Center, staring at my history book but not seeing the words on the page. I intended to study for a couple hours before heading back to the dorm, but my mind kept drifting to the distance that would be between us. I was torn between wanting to see my family, and missing Keeton and those moments I became reliant on.
“Hey you.”
I looked up to see Keeton sauntering over to me with that swagger he owned. I took the opportunity to drink him in as he lowered himself to the grass beside me and leaned in to kiss me. “What’s wrong?”
He was beginning to pick up on my moods instantly. My inability to hide my feelings was a fault of mine. I was like an open book, and at times I hated it. Times like now.
“I was just thinking.” I touched him, attempting to brush it off even though I knew the chances of it working were minimal.
“I know you’re thinking; I can almost hear it ticking away inside that beautiful head of yours.” He tapped his finger on my temple lightly. “But what I need to know is what’s caused this right here?” The tip of his finger smoothed over the frown lines on my forehead. “Why the frown, sweetheart? And what is it gonna take for me to fix it?”
He was honestly the sweetest man.
“What are you gonna do this summer?” I asked as I looked down at the book I held, still not paying attention to what was on the page. “Because I won’t be around, so I was just wondering what you would do to keep yourself busy while I’m gone.”
After a few silent seconds passed, I looked up to find him staring at me with a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “You gonna miss me?”
He knew I would but if a stroke of his ego was what he needed, then fine, I’d bite.
“Yes.” I snuggled in a little closer to him and he happily accepted me. His arm curled around my waist as he pressed a soft kiss to the side of my neck. “I miss my family and I can barely wait to see them, but I’ve gotten used to this right here,” I said, referring to the closeness and the way he held me like I was the most precious thing to him. “I’m already begi
nning to miss you and I haven’t even left yet.”
“What if I told I talked to Nate, and he assured me my job would be safe even if I took some time off?” I sat up quickly and turned to face him. A deep chuckle escaped him as my eyes grew wide.
“Is this your way of telling me that you’d love it if I visited you and your family in Livingston?”
My heart was racing as he sat there and smiled like the Cheshire cat.
“Are you being serious?” I asked.
For the love of god, he had to be serious, because I was honestly worried for his safety if he wasn’t. Teasing me like that would only end in bodily harm.
“Yeah,” he assured me as he reached out to pull me close once again. “It’d give me the chance to meet everyone, and maybe get a better introduction to your father. Our first meeting wasn’t the best and I know he was standing there thinking of ways to hide my body after the murder.”
I pinched his stomach and he chuckled.
“And I don’t think I could go all summer without seeing you, either.” The thought of us being apart had been eating away at me.
“My dad didn’t wanna murder you, by the way,” I told him with a laugh.
“If you say so, darlin’.” He kissed the top of my head.
Excitement rushed through me as I thought of Keeton in Livingston, with me and my family. My father, Uncle Jackson and Uncle Noah, all in the same town with the guy I was falling for. Then suddenly that excitement changed to fear—not for me but for Keeton.
Somehow I needed to warn him, without scaring him out of going.
Maybe I would just wait until after I got him to Montana.
I hugged him tighter, burying my face in his chest and breathing in his manly scent.
Yep, that’s what I’d do. I’d just wait until we got there before I told him I was sure how all three would interrogate and torture him to the point where he might feel like running away.
***
“So I finally get to meet the guy that stole my sweet Liv’s heart?” Gran asked, and I could sense she was smiling. “I’ve heard about him from your dad, but I didn’t believe a word.”
“Um, Gran,” I said as I folded Keeton’s shirt and placed it inside the suitcase on his bed. “What exactly did my dad say about Keeton?”
“It’s not important,” she said.
“Oh yes, it is very important,” I assured her.
I could only imagine the things he ran back and told everyone. My dad had tunnel vision that night, every night for that matter. He only saw it as Keeton mauling me, pinned up against the wall. But I was the one who took control that night; Keeton just went along for the ride.
“He may have come back mumbling something along the line of some college asshole corrupting his daughter. I heard a few things about padlocks and a bodyguard.” I sat down on the end of the bed and rested my head in my hand. “But Uncle Noah talked him down from the surveillance camera outside your dorm room.”
“Oh my god,” I complained.
Her laughter filtered through the other end of the line.
“Gran, it’s worse than I thought.” I closed my eyes tight and began to wonder what I was going to do to save Keeton from my father’s crazy antics. “Keeton is gonna run away screaming, ain’t he?”
“Oh sweetheart, if that boy survives the summer with the Sawyer boys hot on his tail, then he is made for you.” Gran had always been on my side.
I remember growing up and running to her to fix things when my dad refused to listen. Now I felt like she was enjoying this all entirely too much.
After the phone call with my grandma, I finished packing Keeton’s things, then decided to walk to the store down the street to grab something for dinner to surprise him. I wanted to make sure he was overly full and unable to run like hell when I tried to warn him, just a little, on what was to come. I felt I owed him at least a small snippet about the Sawyer men and the torture I was sure he would endure.
As I was rounding the corner on my way toward the apartment, my arms full of bags, I saw Lacy entering the building. It was the first time I had seen her since the encounter that led to my weekend pity trip.
I slowed, hoping she would enter and I could waste a few minutes before following behind, but when she looked up and our eyes met, I knew I couldn’t avoid it.
“Where’s that sack of shit?” A loud booming voice bellowed out and I looked to my left to see a man stumbling toward Lacy. “You ain’t stopping me this time you damn little floozy. Where is he?”
I realized then he was talking to Lacy, and I slowed as I observed their encounter.
“Keeton’s not home.”
My stomach instantly tightened when she said Keeton’s name. But when she looked over the man’s shoulder and gave me a look that had me tucking myself closer to the building, I knew the man had to be Keeton’s father.
I remembered Lacy had been forced to deal with him before, and he must have recognized her.
“He thinks he’s better than us,” the guy said. Actually it was more of a scream. “He ain’t better. Even his own momma left him behind. He won’t amount to shit, and the day he comes crawling back looking for my help is the day I laugh in the little shit’s face. He can rot for all I care.”
My head pounded in my temples. My stomach tensed. It was all too much.
How could someone be so heartless and cruel to their own flesh and blood? It was sick.
I found myself wanting to rush forward and beat the bastard over the head with the sack of potatoes I had just bought, but decided that wouldn’t be best.
I leaned against the building making myself as close to invisible as possible as he stumbled away and walked toward a car waiting along the road. There was a younger guy behind the wheel, and I could instantly see the resemblance between Keeton and him. It had to be his brother. The idea of yet another person who made Keeton’s life hell only infuriated me more. The need to protect him engulfed me once more.
The man smiled as if what their father had just done was the most innocent thing in the world. He laughed as they pulled away.
“You’ve now witnessed it.” I looked up to find Lacy standing on a few feet away from me. “Now you know firsthand the torment Keeton faces with his family. Things aren’t easy, Olivia, and they never will be.” She didn’t pause even for a second before turning around and yanking open the front entrance to the apartment building and walking inside.
Chapter Twenty
Keeton
I left work in a decent mood, feeling as if for once things were falling into place.
I worked out a deal with the company that sublet out their computer programming to me. They agreed to allow me to work from Livingston over the summer. And Nate had assured me my job would be waiting for me when I returned.
I wasn’t sure how long I would stay, whether it be two weeks or the entire summer, but I was looking forward to getting to know not only Olivia better, but the family she loved so much.
Being surrounded by an actual family was something I never had and I wanted to witness as much of it as possible.
I pulled up in front of my apartment a little after five and grabbed the case of beer I had stopped for from the passenger seat. Walking up the path toward the front entrance I was startled by the sound of Lacy’s voice.
“Kurt showed up tonight looking for you.” She pushed off the wall as she stepped in front of me. “I saved your girlfriend from having to face them so you can thank me later.”
A rush of panic boiled within my stomach as I thought of what Olivia had to witness. Then that panic turned to anger, because I was damn tired of that man interrupting my life.
“Not that your sweet little Olivia could have handled the situation had I left it up to her. She kind of reminds me of a timid mouse, scared of her own shadow.” Lacy had always been cool. She and I had this relaxed relationship without any drama, but lately I was seeing a side of her I didn’t much care for.
“I can assure you O
livia can handle herself.” I pushed past her and reached for the front entry door of the apartment complex. Pulling it open, I looked back over my shoulder. “Do me a favor and stop thinking you need to handle shit for me. It’s becoming a problem. And let go of whatever the fuck your problem is with my girlfriend, because she isn’t going anywhere, Lacy.”
The moment I entered the building and walked in the direction of my apartment, I could smell something cooking. The aroma seeped out from beneath the door and filled the entryway.
A warm feeling slowly began to deplete the irritation I felt only moments ago. There was just something about coming home to Olivia. It was something I was growing quite fond of, something I found myself looking forward to each day.
People say home is not the house itself, but the people and the love shared with them that truly make it a home. I was beginning to understand just what they meant.
Olivia was allowing me to see that a little more each day. She was giving me the sense of family and hope, and I don’t think she even realized it.
As I entered the apartment, she turned around and looked back over her shoulder as she continued to stir something on the stove. A smile graced her lips, and no one would have guessed she had earlier witnessed the tantrum of the man who gave me shit almost on a daily basis.
“Smells good in here,” I said as I pulled off my boots and let them drop to the floor. That sweet damn smile of hers lit up my night in an instant. Forget about all the garbage that followed me; all it took was Liv to melt my heart.
I stepped up behind her and kissed her temple as her body relaxed back against mine. We remained in this position for a few moments without speaking. She continued to stir the sauce in the pan as I wrapped my arms around her waist.
“You gonna tell me about it?” I finally broke the silence even though I had to fight to do so. The moment was so peaceful I truly did not want to break it, but I knew I had to.