Page 83 of Blindsided By the Enforcer

“Kind of, but with all due respect, it didn’t take much for me to eavesdrop,” he says.

“Valid point,” I reply.

“You want to come sit beside me? I need some advice on something and, somehow, you’ve become the Don Juan of relationships in the house.” I laugh.

“Bro, I don’t know about that,” Macklin says.

“I have to tell you something that I’ve never told anyone,” I say to him.

I whisper in his ear to make sure no one can hear us. When I am done, Macklin looks at me wide-eyed. “That’s why you stayed with her for so long?”

I nod.

“Shit, Cade. I’m seeing you in a whole new light.”

“That isn’t the point, Mack. The thing is, I’ve developed feelings for Annie. I’ve never felt this way before. I need to come clean about this issue because Scarlett has confronted her and alluded to things. I don’t need Annie hearing about it from Scarlett. I need to tell her because I wasn’t completely up front as to why I needed her to be my fake girlfriend.”

“Bro, if you think you and Annie have a chance at something real, then you need to tell her. From what Ruby told me, her lasttwo boyfriends were lying cheaters. If you aren’t upfront with her, you guys could crash and burn before you get a real chance,” Macklin warns.

“You’re right. I just hope Scarlett doesn’t get a hold of her before I do. She’s still been texting me, thinking she has a hold on me, but I can’t play this game with her anymore. We’re over and she needs to accept it.”

“Bro, that’s a tough situation. All this time we were coming down on you for putting up with her shit. Now I feel bad,” Macklin says.

“There’s no way you could’ve known,” I assure him.

I fall asleep for part of the bus ride and Macklin does too, but Annie is always on my mind.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Annie

Since all the guys were away this weekend, I hung out with the girls at the hockey house. We ordered pizza and watched movies Friday night. Saturday night Briar was working and I was scared to bump into Ford at Black Jack’s, so I stayed back and got some work done while Ruby and Charlie went to get dinner. I knew it was a problem that I was avoiding places because of Ford, but I couldn’t get the night he grabbed hold of me out of my mind. Ford had never been that way with me. In fact, he was always a charmer. He’d spoil me, especially after doing something he shouldn’t have done, like hook up with another girl. He wasn’t upfront about it either. I always heard about his indiscretions through talk at school.

My cell rings and Daddy’s name lights the screen. “Hey, Daddy.”

“Hi, Annie girl.” He sounds tired. It is a Sunday night. I’m sure he must have been out working most of the day.

“How are you?” I ask.

“Tired,” he yawns.

“You sound tired.” He chuckles that deep throaty chuckle of his.

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.”

“Oh yeah?” I reply, wondering where this is going.

“I’ve been sitting in my office every night, trying to figure out how we pay the fine and fix what needs fixing.” He has my attention now.

“It’s been weighing on me too,” I admit.

“I went to the bank to see if we could get a second mortgage, but I was rejected,” he states, which isn’t surprising. Daddy had taken a large mortgage on the property when he transferred to organic based farming. A bank wasn’t just going to hand over more money now.

His harsh exhale sounds through the phone. “This is hard for me to say, Annie girl, but I think we need to close down the dairy and sell the cows. With the money we make we can pay the fine and fix up the place. You’ll still have a home to come to and we can keep some of the animals.”

My stomach turns. A part of me knew this day might come, but I was hoping for a miracle. “We still have the four months, Daddy. That takes us to the end of May. Maybe we can find another solution. I’d hate for you to have to sell. You’ve worked so hard.”

“I have, but I had too many animals and dealing with the waste became a problem,” he confesses. Selling the animals would put Daddy out of a job. He is too young to retire, and he loves working the dairy. “If we sold, it would help pay for any expenses with your master’s degree.”

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