Page 76 of In Too Deep

“Mum, you need to leave… take Stace and leave. You’re strong enough. You can do it. Stace would do so much better without him, and you would, too.”

Mum’s bottom lip trembles when she pulls Stacy to her side. “Would you like that, Stace… to just live with me?”

“Mum, we need to get away fromhim. He’s awful to you. He stifles me. He kicked his eldest daughter out. He’s not a good man, Mum, and you deserve a better life withouthim.”

“Amen, sister!” Katie shouts from behind us, making us all chuckle.

Mum turns from me to Coby. “So… he’s cute, hey,” she whispers.

I roll my eyes. “Oh my God, Mum.”

She gives me a wink. “We better go. John will be waiting for us. But I’ll keep you informed. Maybe once we’ve left and settled into a new place, you can come over for a visit?”

“I’d love that, Mum.” I lean in and kiss her cheek, squeezing her in a tight hug, and then I reach out, pulling Stacy into a family group hug. “I love you, guys,” I whisper.

We let go, and they turn and walk off toward the exit where my dad will inevitably be waiting for them.

“I hope they’ll be okay,” I murmur as Coby pulls me to him.

He cuddles into my back and kisses behind my ear. “They will be now you’ve given them the strength to do what you did. You’re amazing, Lacy. You show people how life can be better, how people can live their dreams. You astound me at every turn.”

“Oh, geez… see you are a sappy shit.” Katie chuckles and then smiles as she walks off. “That was badass, Lacy. You sure told him!” She continues to stride away from us, and finally, we are alone.

Coby turns me to face him, and I wrap my arms around his neck, smiling with a sigh. “Wow! That was an intense few minutes. Finding my man in the arms of another woman and having a battle with the ex-family. I don’t know which one was worse?”

He rests his forehead against mine and shakes his head. “I’m sorry you had to go through both. But you’ve come through them equally as strong, and to me, it just shows how resilient and brave you truly are.”

Smiling, I take in a deep breath. “I couldn’t have stood up to Dad if you weren’t behind me, keeping me grounded.”

He leans in, kissing my lips briefly before pulling away. “I will always be here to keep you grounded. I’m not going anywhere.”

“I can think of somewhere you can go.”

He raises his eyebrow and purses his lips. “And where’s that?”

I gaze into his dazzling blue eyes. “Our nook.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

We head off toward our nook when Anna steps in front of us. Her frown, slouch, and pale face tell me that she isn’t in a good place. She glances from Coby to me and exhales.

“Lacy, can I talk to you?” she whispers.

Glancing at Coby, he furrows his brows.

What could this English athlete want with us?

“Sure, Anna, what’s up?”

She checks that nobody is watching, then grabs my arm.

“Hey!” Coby calls, stepping up so he’s next to Anna and me.

“Sorry, I just don’t want anyone overhearing,” she tells us, and my interest piques straight away. Her breathing is harsh and rushed, like she’s concerned for her welfare. Something’s definitely not right with Anna.

“Anna, tell me what’s going on? You’re freaking me out,” I say, pulling my arm from her grip.

She takes a deep breath. Her chest is heaving. Her eyes glisten. “Okay, I’m going to tell you this only because my guilt is weighing me down. Watching Caro and the others suffering because of what happened is eating me alive. I’m better than this shit.”

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