And I also don’t tell my new wife that two weeks later, Ana gave birth to my son. While I was in a motel, dirty and going through painful withdrawal symptoms. That’s all too dark and too much to handle for day one of marriage.
“You need to focus on school,” I stress to Scarlett. “On your future. I won’t be the thing that takes you down.”
Then she leans in and kisses me. God help me, I let her. It’s gentle and sweet. But I’m detonating inside, a thousand alarms going off at once.
I pull back, my hands grasping hers so she can’t touch me anymore. “No,” I breathe. “We can’t. I can’t. Not like this.”
“Okay.” She nods, her throat trembling. “Will I meet your family?”
I snort. “I have six brothers and one sister. And most of them have kids. Do you even have the space in your memory to remember their names? You had to label my kitchen cabinets.”
She groans. “Okay, fair.”
I lean in and kiss her forehead.
She blinks up. “Why do you do that?”
“It’s all I can give you,” I say quietly. “But it’s to remind you that I care. And that you’re mine. Make no mistake—” I lower my voice. “You are mine, little Ford.”
She bites her lip, grinning. “I like that.”
Of course she does.
We stare for a moment, and then she steps back. “I’m going to go see my father. Alone.”
I immediately think that’s a bad idea. Ford can pull a fast one if I’m not there. But I have to trust that she can’t be bullied into an annulment.
Nodding, I say, “Let me call you a car. That man in your apartment last night is a snake. I have no idea what Pierce or his father is planning for you. Please, I need you to not fight me when I want to keep you safe.”
She gives a visible swallow. “I understand. What about school?”
“I’ll go with you every day.” I reach out and hold her hand. “I’ll also figure out who gave Pierce the codes and get them changed so he can’t get back on the property.”
“His name alone will get him access.”
“Hey, my name has some power, too.”
She blinks. “Is that my name now, too? How does that work?”
I take a breath. “When we get the license, we’ll see if that officiant changed your name. If he did…and you want to keep your name, I’ll have it changed back.”
A stare stretches between us.
“Really?” she says, quietly.
“Yes. If you want to keep Ford, I respect that.”
“I’ll think about it.” She rocks on her heels.
Later in the afternoon, I’m still hungover from the earthquake my life took yesterday, and I’m ready for the aftershocks of telling Darragh the news.
I pay him a surprise visit at his medical practice, where Ana told me he was spending a Saturday afternoon catching up on paperwork.
“Hey.” He looks up from a patient file on his desk. “This is a surprise.”
“I need to tell you something,” I say and take a seat across from him.
“Nothing good ever follows that sentence,” he answers, shaking his head.