Olivia’s Ride(24)

“Dad,” I said, as he stood from the table and pushed back his chair.

“Just a talk, Olivia, nothing more,” he assured me.

I stood in silence as my father exited through the back door onto the porch, and Keeton followed closely behind.

Just before closing the door he looked back over his shoulder and winked at me; only it did nothing to ease the sick feeling in my stomach.

“It’ll be alright, Liv,” Amber assured me with a pat on my arm. “This talk is needed.”

But even then I still wasn’t sure I shouldn’t sneak out and hide somewhere in the bushes. Just to be sure I still had a boyfriend in one piece when this so-called talk was over.





Chapter Twenty-Eight





Keeton



I had never had the desire to join a fraternity, but the torment and tests I had gone through over the last few weeks I was sure were the Sawyers’ own form of hazing.

Only theirs included three very intimidating men who made me feel as if they could snap me in half within seconds. I had never in my life felt as exhausted as I did tonight.

Olivia wasn’t the only one who had reached the end of her rope.

There was nothing I wanted more than for her family to accept me. I wanted them to feel safe knowing that my love for Olivia wasn’t just some fling; it was fucking real. I adored her and wanted nothing more than to go on making memories with her that would only lead us to more time together.

Now here I stood on the back porch of her grandmother’s house, with her dad only a few feet away. He had his hands braced on the railing of the porch with his back to me. And I just stood there, hoping like hell he wasn’t planning my death.

“I’ve always been a little overprotective when it came to Liv.” He spoke without turning around to face me. “That protective nature only grew after we lost Claire, because Liv was all I had left of her.”

The truth in his statement made my chest ache. Olivia was all that was now left of his first wife. And I suddenly understood this wasn’t just a power trip.

“For years I battled with how to live without her mother. I latched onto Liv even further, finding all those small things that reminded me of her mother. During that time, she and I developed this amazing bond. It was just her and I for so long. Then Amber came along, and it wasn’t easy to let go of that ache inside, but I did.” He stopped talking and I remained standing a few feet away waiting it out. Something told me he had so much more to say.

“When you lose someone like the way we lost Claire, it does something to ya. It puts this fear inside of you, and I’ll admit it can make ya a little crazy.” It was then he turned to face me.

“I don’t ever want to see hurt in my daughter’s eyes again,” he confessed, and for the first time since I’ve known her father, I saw a weakness in him I didn’t know existed. His eyes were full of unshed tears, and fuck if that didn’t make me want to tell him to continue the torture; that I would gladly take it all.

“No father wants to watch his little girl fall apart and be unable to fix it. And that day…” he paused as he closed his eyes, in what I took as an attempt to calm his emotions. “The day we said goodbye to Claire, was one of the hardest days of my life. For obvious reasons, but also because the sadness in Olivia’s eyes broke my damn heart. I don’t think I could handle seeing sadness in her eyes again. So I may go a little overboard trying to protect her, but I won’t apologize for that.”

“I understand,” I said. “But I need you to know that I would never hurt her intentionally. She means a lot to me.”

We stood in silence as I debated on what I could say to him to make him understand how I felt about his daughter.

“What about this neighbor girl of yours?” I looked up and our eyes met. He arched a brow as he waited for the answer. “The females in this family can be just as bad as the males; don’t let’em fool ya. Bailey wanted to board a plane to Texas so she could show up and beat the ass of this girl after she upset Liv. Jackson talked her out of it, but in turn it became a conversation over Sunday dinner at Ma’s. Now I wanna know if one day my daughter is gonna show up to find you and this girl in a compromising position, forcing me to put those guns of mine to use on something other than clay pigeons.”

“That’ll never happen. Lacy and I are just friends but now I’m not sure we’re even that,” I told him.

“And why’s that?” he asked.

“Because I don’t like the way she treated Liv,” I said without hesitation. “And because if I have to choose, Olivia wins. Olivia will always win; I don’t care who the other person may be.” It was my turn to speak and plead my case. Time to show that I, too, had her on a pedestal.

“I don’t ever want to see hurt in Liv’s eyes. And I can damn sure guarantee that if anyone else causes her pain, I’ll make them sorry they did. I never had the kind of bond you all have. I wasn’t lucky enough to have those I could turn to for support, but I have Olivia now. And there isn’t anyone or anything that will make me walk away from that gift. I didn’t count on meeting her, and I didn’t count on falling in love with her either, but I can assure you I take that very seriously and plan to spend my life showing her how thankful I am that she chose me.”

“Do you plan on letting this kid off the hook now?” I spun around to find Gran standing at the end of the porch. She held a broom in her hand and I arched a brow in question.

“What’s with the broom, Ma?” Ryan asked the question currently running through my mind.

“I brought this in case I had to beat some sense into you,” she stated. “Or I had to beat you in an effort to get you to remove your hands from around that boy’s neck. Either way, I thought it would come in handy.”

Gran was one hell of a woman. She had a fire inside her that reminded me so much of Olivia. It was easy to see why Olivia loved them all so much, even if they were crazy at times.

“I think we got it, Ma,” Ryan said as he stepped around me and wrapped an arm over his mother’s shoulders. “This man loves my daughter. He understands what he’ll face if a day comes that he ever hurts her, and he understands that she’ll always be my little girl, even if she is a grown woman. I’ll protect her, no matter what it takes.”

“And so will I,” I assured him, and he smiled knowingly.

I felt as if we had finally reached that point of clarity.

And for the first time in weeks, I felt like I could finally relax.





Chapter Twenty-Nine





Olivia



“What are you doing?” Keeton asked me as I climbed across the seat and straddled his lap.

The sun had already begun to set and I knew the fireworks would soon start but I didn’t care. Things had reached the point where they had begun to settle, and I missed the connection he and I shared.

For weeks we had both been walking around on eggshells fearful of upsetting the beasts, and now I no longer cared. If I wanted to kiss Keeton I did. And if I wanted to crawl across the front seat of my truck to straddle my boyfriend’s lap and ride him until the windows were fogged and we were both out of breath, I was going do it.

I rotated my hips and immediately picked up on the excitement he, too, was feeling.

“I’m throwing out all kinds of signs, so if you have to ask me what I’m doing, then I must be doing it wrong,” I said with a smile, and he gripped my hips, sliding me closer.

“You’re doing it right,” he whispered as he nipped at my lower lip. “I just wasn’t sure this was the place we should be doing it.”

I looked over my shoulder and glanced down toward the lake. Our vehicle wasn’t the only one parked there, but there was a safe distance between ours and theirs. Add to that the fact we were mostly hidden by the tree line and it was growing dark, I knew we were in the clear.

“This is the perfect place,” I said as I brought my mouth closer to his once again. “I always used to imagine having sex in my truck by this lake.”

Keeton knew my level of experience. So he didn’t have to ask those questions about me never having sex here or there. He’d already been given the story of my one and only time before him.

“Well don’t let me stop you, sweetheart. Let’s break this night in right.” Before I could say more, he began to push my skirt up my thighs and covered my mouth with his.

Whenever he put his hands on me, it was as if I became someone else. I wasn’t that spicy girl with attitude. I became a needy and greedy woman who was starved for the pleasure I knew he could provide.

An uncontrollable moan escaped me when he slipped his finger beneath the side of my panties and teasingly ran it over my wetness.

“This another one of your plans?” he asked, and I only offered a nod. All I could concentrate on was the way his finger continued to roll through my arousal as he circled my entrance before pulling back once again to tease my clit.

I felt like at any moment I was going to go off like a rocket. Keeton had mastered the task of driving me wild. He used it as often as possible and I love it.

I took control and began to unfasten his jeans and lowered his zipper. I couldn’t wait any longer; I just wanted him inside of me.