Page 23 of Dirty Discipline, Vol. 2

“Jake, I swear I didn’t mean for anybody to find out. You believe me, right?”

“I believe you, sweetheart. But that’s not really the point, now is it?”

Sick to her stomach, Izzy pulled herself from his embrace and raced back up the stairs. She locked herself in her room, and that was where she stayed the rest of the day. Even Mari couldn’t coax her out. The only person she wanted to talk to was Ethan, but the few times she tried calling him, the calls when straight to his voicemail and all of her texts went unanswered.

Chapter Eight

One week. One week since he’d touched or even seen his brat. Scowling at his own thoughts, Ethan pressed the button to start the coffee maker before stalking to the front door to get the Sunday paper. It was infuriating that even in his own mind he still considered her his, after everything that had happened. That he still ached for her, even after her recklessness had almost cost him everything.

Yanking the front door open, he stopped short when he found Mari on the other side, her fist raised like she’d been about to knock.

“Um, hi,” she whispered, glancing around nervously. “Can I come in?”

The temptation to slam the door in her face was strong, but he willed it back and allowed her to step inside. Closing the door behind her, he crossed his arms over his chest and frowned at her.

“Why are you here, Mari?”

“I just wanted to talk to you. About Izzy.”

“That’s between her and me, Marisa.”

It was almost cute the way she flinched at the use of her full name. He’d spent enough time with her and Jake to know she was used to only hearing it when she was pushing her luck about something. But he wasn’t really in the mood to find much of anything cute.

“I know, I just wanted to see if I could clear some things up. About what happened last weekend.”

“There’s nothing to clear up. I asked her to keep our private life private and she didn’t. End of story.”

“It’s not that simple. Ethan, I swear to you, the only person she talked to was me. I was with her the entire night, other than when she was with you.”

His resolve wavered for just a second before he hardened his heart against her pleas. “I want to believe that, Mari. But that doesn’t explain how I ended up with my own deputy trying to arrest me for beating her.”

“I think I know. It’s a little fuzzy because we’d both had far too much to drink.” A blush crept up her neck and she reached back to rub her bottom. “We went to the bathroom together and she asked if I wanted to see her marks and I said yes. And I-I think I said something along the lines of ‘The sheriff really did a number on you’ and Izzy said ‘He really whaled on me’ or something like that. And we were so gone, I don’t think either of us bothered to check and see if the other stalls were empty. I’m so sorry, Ethan.”

So, Izzy had been telling the truth. And he’d brushed her off. Shit, was he the asshole in this situation? The idea that he’d actually been the one to fuck everything up sat like a rock in his gut. “How is she?”

“Not good. Other than going into work, she hasn’t left her room. She’s heartbroken, Ethan. And I know we should have been more careful but, dammit, you didn’t even give her a chance to explain.”

“She tried,” he admitted reluctantly. “I thought she was lying.”

Anger flashed in her eyes. “Izzy may have a big mouth, but she’s not a liar. She’s not sixteen anymore, Ethan. She grew up, but you’re still treating her like the reckless, careless teenager she used to be.”

The rock in his stomach grew heavier. “Guess I screwed up.”

“You both did. The difference is, she didn’t walk out on you.”

“Jeez, Mari. Don’t hold back.”

Some of the anger faded from her eyes, and she offered him a small smile. “She’s my baby sister, Ethan. If I don’t stick up for her, who will?”

As if on cue, the front door opened. “Ethan! We need to…” Jake froze in the doorway, his expression shifting from pissed to confused to sheepish all in the space of a few seconds. “Hey, kitten. Fancy meeting you here.”

“Jake? What are you doing?”

Stepping inside, Jake closed the door behind him and moved to stand beside his wife. In a move that seemed almost instinctive, he slipped his arm around her waist and pressed a kiss to her hair. “I came to talk some sense into the sheriff.”

“Oh.” The blush that had faded during her standoff with Ethan began creeping up her neck again. “I, ah, beat you to it.”

“I see that. Didn’t we have a discussion just last night about you not interfering?”

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