Page 8 of Infatuated as They Come (Sinful Trilogy #2)

Sawyer

The only good thing about being poor was how easy it was to pack.

The trailer was close to empty, but there hadn’t been a lot inside of it to begin with, so me and Brodie had managed to get that done in just a few days.

We got rid of the stuff that wasn’t really essential, like the TV and the dining table and chairs.

In a couple days, we’d be saying goodbye to the fridge and our beds—a couple who lived a few trailers down already placed dibs on the fridge.

From it all, we had managed to make a few good hundred bucks that Brodie could use for gas money since he’d be taking my truck to college.

“Where on earth is your cousin?” Holly asked, throwing herself against my bed, her long locks spilling against my pillows. “I’m going to be so busy with my mom the next couple days. How will I say goodbye to him?”

“He’s gallivanting around town somewhere,” I said.

“I’m really gonna miss him. I’m really gonna miss your room too.”

I watched her face closely, taking in the bluebell in her hair and the little bunch of them she had in her hand, pressing them to her nose. I had loved every second of our day in Granbury. Just watching her, being with her. I wished all my days could be like that.

Holly caught me staring at her, and the little smile she sent my way made my heart skip a beat. “I’m gonna miss sneaking into yours. Had some good times, huh?” I asked, moving so that I was standing by the foot of the bed.

“Who knew you were so good at climbing trees?” A pretty shade of pink was on her cheeks. “But seriously, it’s so weird seeing your place empty. Is there anything else you need to sort out?”

“Just a couple things, but nothing you gotta worry about,” I said, eyeing my mostly empty room. In a few days, it wouldn’t be mine anymore. Earl—the guy who owned the trailer park—wouldn’t have trouble moving someone else in. “You done packing your whole wardrobe, princess?”

“I am not taking my whole wardrobe, thank you very much.”

“I saw those suitcases in your room the other day.”

“Those are my winter clothes. It’s gonna be really cold in New York.” She pouted up at me. “Annie got me some really warm socks for my birthday. Thank God.”

“You sure you’re gonna be able to handle it?”

“Well, I have you to keep me warm, right?”

“Yeah, you have me.” My hand reached out, one finger on her chin while my thumb ghosted along her bottom lip. Her soft skin felt smooth and soft as I moved in closer, dying to feel her lips up against mine.

She was all I wanted. Well and fucking truly, and I still couldn’t believe that I had her.

Right there. In front of me. With not a single care in the world as to where she was.

She had never cared. Had never been concerned about how my room was a quarter of the size of her closet.

That my mattress she was sitting on had more than a few uncomfortable springs that always dug into your back.

That I didn’t have her fancy silk bed sheets or her soft, cushiony pillows—but she seemed to love lying on mine, always snuggling them close to her and making them smell exactly like her.

It made falling asleep on my uncomfortable bed a much more pleasant experience.

Humming, my eyes flickered down to her lips. Soft and pink and pouty. I needed her, needed to kiss her, but I heard a banging noise that was coming from outside. Then footsteps. Someone was opening the door.

I looked over my shoulder, still holding Holly’s chin. “Brodie? That you?” I called out, but I didn’t hear his voice. Just those footsteps getting louder.

It all happened in a millisecond. Head turning, I saw my dad standing there in the doorway, eyebrows raised and a glint of amusement in his eyes. My hand landed on Holly’s, pulling her off the bed and making sure she was behind me.

“Sawyer?” she said, a tiny bit of panic in her voice.

“It’s been a while, huh?” Dad asked with a laugh.

The words didn’t come out all slow and slurred, which at least meant he wasn’t drunk.

The odds of him losing his shit and getting violent was still a possibility, though.

I was my dad’s favorite person to beat up, but before that it had been my mom, so he wasn’t above putting his hands on a woman.

That meant I had to get Holly out of there.

“Why’s all my shit gone? You better not have touched my room. Where the hell is everything?” he snapped. Anger had risen up in him fast as he moved out of the doorway, boots heavy on the carpet.

“Holly, get in the truck,” I said, keeping my voice steady as I pulled her towards the door.

The sound of drawers being opened and slammed shut hit my ears.

He was busy rummaging through stuff in his room as I pushed my car keys into Holly’s hand.

Turning to her, I was met with her wide eyes, her fingers grasping at the little bouquet of bluebells tightly.

“Is that…?”

“Yeah,” was all I said. “Get in the truck.”

“But—”

“Holly, please,” I said, eyes shutting for a second.

“I don’t wanna leave you alone with him,” she said softly, and I could hear the clear worry in her voice.

“I can handle him. I’ve been handling him my whole life; I can handle him now.

” Being able to take on my own father in a fight wasn’t exactly something I wanted a medal for, but it was the flashes of Holly’s bruised skin that kept consuming my brain.

I couldn’t let him get close to her. I wouldn’t .

My hands gently grasped her hips, pushing her further and further down the hallway.

“What if he does something?” she asked, peering over my shoulder. “Just come with me. Do you really need to talk to him?”

“Aren’t you gonna let me say hello to your friend?” I heard Dad call out behind me.

“No,” I answered, eyes still stuck on Holly as I kept guiding her away from him. “Holly, please. Please get in the truck.”

Bright, white teeth chewed at her bottom lip as she gently took the keys from my hand. “But…”

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Don’t fucking talk to her,” I bit out, my hand on Holly’s back as I led her to the door.

“It looks like you two are together,” he said. “I don’t believe it.”

“Uh, what’s that supposed to mean?” Holly asked.

“There’s no way you really want my boy. Look at you. Look at him!”

“Excuse me?” Holly called out, her little bouquet of bluebells hitting the floor. I did my best to avoid stepping on them and felt my jaw tick when I saw that my dad had no problem pressing a heavy foot to the petals.

“I get it, son, I get it,” Dad said as I held the door open for Holly. “You don’t wanna embarrass yourself in front of your little girlfriend.”

Holly scoffed, looking over her shoulder as she moved down the stairs. “I love your son a lot. He’s really special to me and I hope one day that you get to see what I see.”

She was real sweet for trying, but nothing and no one was getting through to him. The man hated me the second he set his eyes on me.

“You can do so much better than him. Come on,” he said. “You’re gonna run off with someone else eventually. May as well do it now.”

“That’s not gonna happen,” Holly said sharply. There was some fire in her voice that I couldn’t help but be proud of. She spun around, leaned up on the tips of her toes, and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. “I’ll be in the truck. Be careful please.”

I watched her closely, making sure she was inside and safely tucked away before I turned back around. Dad made a move down one of the steps and I quickly pressed a hand to the metal doorway, shaking my head at him. That was as close as he was getting to Holly.

“You wanna talk? Fine. We’ll do it,” I said, keeping my voice clear and blunt. “But not in front of her.”

He nodded at me. “I won’t embarrass you in front of her.”

I huffed, moving up the stairs and slamming the door behind me. Holly didn’t need to see me and my dad in the middle of whatever was about to happen.

“Where’s all my shit?” he asked, arm outstretched as he pointed at the close to empty living room. “What the hell did you do? I leave for a couple months—”

“A couple?” I interrupted.

“And you let the place get fucking robbed or something? Where is everything?”

“I made sure this place stayed standing. Where the fuck have you been?” I asked. “What happened to your brother and his wife dumping their kid here like they never wanna see him again?”

He looked behind him towards the hallway. “Where’s your cousin?”

“None of your fuckin’ business.”

“He get tired of you and leave? Like that girl out there is gonna?”

I sucked in a sharp breath. “Brodie got into college in case you’re wondering. A really good school too. Full ride and everything. Would have been nice if he had another family member besides just me to congratulate him on that.”

“He’s a smart kid unlike you. Good for him.”

“His parents should have been here. He worked hard all last year to get this and I was the only one in this family who seemed to fucking care.”

“What do you want me to say?”

“You were with his dad. You were in Kansas. Why didn’t you tell him to wake up and be a real man for once and make an effort for his kid? Why wasn’t anyone else here to see him graduate?”

“I don’t have time for this.” He took a few steps away from me as he paced the room. “Where is everything? The TV? The couch?”

I shrugged. “Sold it. Brodie needs cash when he goes to school.”

“What happened to his full ride?”

“He still needs to pay for other stuff.”

“So you sold my things?” he asked, voice getting louder.

“My things, you mean. Yeah. I sold it. We didn’t even get that much, anyway. Just a few hundred dollars. ”

“Couldn’t the kid get a fucking job?”