It’s damn near impossible to stop, but I know I have to. I pull away and look at her. Her lips are red and swollen; it’s obvious what she’s been doing. “We have to stop, or your dad will definitely know what you’ve been up to.”
At the mention of her dad, she freezes and pulls away, moving back to her seat.
“I want to see you tomorrow.”
“Aiden... I can’t. I want to, but I can’t.”
“I’m not asking, Gracie. I will see you, if I have to come here to get you.”
“No. Tomorrow is my dad’s poker night. He’s usually drunk and passed out by ten or eleven. I’ll come to the shop after that.”
I want to believe her. “Promise me. Promise I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She nods, her light blue eyes looking back at me. “I promise.”
5
Gracie
I walk into my house in a daze. My father’s car is not in the driveway, so luckily I beat him home. I run up the stairs and into my bedroom. Dropping my purse on the bed, I go straight to my mirror over the dresser. The woman looking back at me looks almost unrecognizable to me. My hair is tussled, wild around my face. My eyes are shades darker, and my lips look puffy and bruised. I touch my fingers to my lips, remembering the kiss that Aiden gave me. With my hand over my heart, I try to catch my breath. I don’t know how long I stand there just like that when my father opens my bedroom door.
He looks at me up and down, obviously noticing a difference in me. “Where have you been?”
I back away from the mirror. “I went for a walk.”
“Don’t lie to me, Gracie.” His voice is stern and sounds lethal to me. He always does this, and it always intimidates me.
“I’m not lying. I did go for a walk.”
He moves in close to me, and instead of pulling back like I normally would, I stay right where I’m at, jutting my chin at him.
He holds his phone up. “Explain this. Who is this?”
I gasp, looking at the picture. It’s of me and Aiden sitting in his truck, when he kissed me. “How did you get that?” I ask, but I already know. From where it’s taken, it was obviously our neighbor that took it and sent it to my father.
“I have spies everywhere. You can’t do anything in this town without me knowing about it. Who is this man?” he asks, pointing at the phone.
“Just a friend, Dad. That’s it.”
His phone dings, and he raises it to his face. “Aiden Savage. Owner of Savage Ink. He is purchasing one of my buildings on the other side of town.”
“Dad, he’s just a friend.”
He lifts his phone and points at it in disgust. “That is not just a friend. You are forbidden from seeing him, Gracie.”
And for the first time in my life, I go against my father. “I’m eighteen now, Dad. I’m an adult. I can see whoever I want.”
I suck in a breath as soon as I say it. The look he gives me is lethal, and even though he’s never hit me before I fully expect him to do it by the way the vein is popping on the side of his neck.
His voice drops low. “No. You are still my daughter, and you will do as I say. If I ever catch you around that man again, I will destroy him. He’ll lose his business and be run out of Whiskey Run so fast it will make your head spin. So if you like this man at all, you’ll save him from this. Don’t go near him again.”
“But Dad...”
He puts his hand up. “No... as a matter of fact, you have three months until your college term starts at Jasper Community College. I’m sending you to your aunt’s house.”
I gasp. “In Kentucky?”
He nods. “Yes, Aunt Bethany will keep you on the straight and arrow until I let you come back. But you screw up, Gracie, and you’ll never come back to Whiskey Run.”
If he’d said those words to me yesterday, I would have been happy. But not now, not when I just met Aiden. “Dad, please don’t do this.”
He walks to my door and turns. “My mind is made up, Gracie. You disobey me in any way and I will destroy your friend. Everything he loves he will lose.”
And then he slams the door behind him.
Aiden
This has been the slowest day of my life. So many times I wanted to drive over to Gracie’s house just so I could get a glimpse of her. But instead, I’ve kept myself busy. I spent the morning cleaning my apartment that is over top of the Savage Ink shop. Then from the afternoon into the evening I’ve been busy with one tattoo after another. When night finally comes, I’m on edge, pacing back and forth. Treyton and Dawson have already left for the day, leaving me to my anxious waiting.