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Cisco’s brain went into overdrive, and all the puzzle pieces he’d been missing finally dropped into place.
Well, shit.
Hilly Duncan was—or had been—Kayhill Smittfield, or Kay as she’d been called then.
Things started to make sense to Cisco now; Hilly not wanting to disclose anything about her background. Fuck. With this insulting prick as a father, she clearly hadn’t had the easiest time of it, as a kid.
And in school…
She’d been in junior high at the same time as Cisco. He remembered her as a shy, awkward redhead, who’d been constantly picked on by her peers. She’d carried a little extra weight, but it hadn’t been so bad. It was the defeated posture she’d carried that had really made her a target for all the bullies.
He could even remember coming to her aid a time or two…
Cisco swallowed back the memories, realizing, in retrospect, that he hadn’t done it nearly enough.
“Hilly?” Cisco posed, tentatively. What did she want him to do, now?
She looked ready to cry.
“So, now you know,” she told him with a break in her voice. “If you want to leave, I’ll understand.”
Leave? What the hell was she talking about?
If anything, her beaten down demeanor—and the arrival of her asshole father—had every protective cell in his body standing at alert.
Cisco was right where he wanted to be.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Hilly couldn’t believe Cisco had found out about her true identity in the ugliest possible way. She’d been ready to tell him everything later today, letting him make up his mind at his leisure, after she’d spilled. She’d just hoped he’d at least stick with his camp job if she approached things nicely. But now that gentle introduction to the person she really was, had been wrenched out of her control.
Hilly glanced over at Cisco, where he stood stiffly, his jaw clenched tight, his hands in fists. He was angry, alright, but was it at her, or at the two assholes who were still lingering? Both were, of course, soaking up the uncertainty now coming off her.
Her sperm donor broke the silence, grinning evilly at Cisco.
“So you didn’t know Kay was a pathetic little fatty?” he laughed. “Are you kidding? You were actually…what? Thinking of dating her?”
Cisco looked like he was winding up to say something, but Hilly had heard enough. “That’s it,” she bit out. “You’re out of here. Both of you.”
“Not so fast.” Her father’s eyes narrowed nastily. “Don’t you want to know why I’m here?”
“No one cares,” Cisco ground from between clenched teeth. “The lady said, leave.”
As much as she dreaded that he was sticking around to undoubtedly question her later, at the moment, she appreciated his presence.
“Stay out of this, cop,” Marty spewed. “This is a family matter.”
Family. As if.
The only thing the prick had ever done when he was around, was denigrate her and her mother, then spend every hard-earned penny her mother made working as a clerk at an attorney’s office. But that job—where the resident lawyers and coworkers loved her mom—had also enabled them to get out from under Marty, taking care of her mother’s divorce without breaking the bank.
“Spit out whatever you have to say, and leave,” Hilly snapped, tired of seeing his ugly face. She had a camp to run, as well as apologies to make to Cisco.
“Fine,” her birth-father sneered. “You know this property was supposed to be mine. I was my mother’s only child. How you wheedled it out of her, I’ll never know, but I’m putting you on notice. I’m going to fight you for every inch of this place. You’ll be hearing from my new attorneys in the next few days.”
Hilly narrowed her eyes, finally putting two and two together. Why had it taken her so long?
“You mean, Mr. Cottins attorneys,” she growled. “You don’t have money to risk on a lawsuit, but he does.” She turned to the smug looking developer. “And what’s your cut for your part in this?” she asked rhetorically. “Oh. Don’t tell me. He’s gifting you a percentage of the property, after which you’ll buy him out of the rest.”