26. Dylan

Chapter 26

Dylan

Bennett and Charlie had brought back a pizza and drinks for everyone to share, but Rosie was nowhere in sight. I didn’t need to be worried—this was a small town, her small town—and she was fine. Probably caught up in a marathon conversation with Mrs. Mabel about literature. Or Max, who wasn’t anywhere to be seen either, had wised up and cornered her to confess his love. Of course, he’d have to learn her real name first.

There was that man, though. The one I’d seen lurking around the store a few times.

My appetite fled.

Hudson approached just as I stood, dumping my pizza onto the blanket.

“Everything okay?” he asked. His shoulders tensed like he was ready to jump into whatever I was about to get myself into, just like always, as if no time had passed at all. How had I gone so many months without talking to Hudson?

“I don’t know.” I took off in the direction I’d last seen Rosie go, Hudson right at my heels. It felt like having a teammate again. A friend. It hadn’t been that long since I was on the ice with my team, but it had been a while since I’d actually allowed them to have my back.

There’s nothing to worry about. Repeating it over and over in my head didn’t help me to actually believe it. We passed the Icy Asp pizza tent, and I paused to scan the crowds of people, looking for her bright orange shirt. I caught a flash of orange behind the bookstore. That was definitely Rosie’s auburn hair, but I couldn’t see who she was talking to yet.

Most likely, Max was making his move, and our plan was working. For some reason, the thought didn’t give me any relief. And not just because she deserved someone so much better than Max.

I kicked up my walk to a jog as I crossed the street and came around the bookstore, behind whoever Rosie was talking to.

Rosie looked up at the noise of mine and Hudson’s footsteps, and her face went pale. She snagged the man’s arm and whispered something to him. He didn’t turn around to look at us before he began to walk away. I glanced in Hudson’s direction and didn’t have to say a word. Hudson darted after the man and grabbed his arm to bring him to a stop.

The man turned, coming in hot with a punch to Hudson’s face, but he was too slow for Hudson’s faster reflexes. He grabbed the man’s wrist and wrenched his arm behind his back.

“Dad! Stop,” Rosie cried out. She rushed forward to the two of them, but I snagged the back of her shirt and tugged her back before she could get any closer to the fighting men.

“Dad?” I asked.

She whipped toward me, and I let her shirt go. Her eyes were wide, and she looked back and forth between me and Hudson. Her dad had stopped trying to hit Hudson, but he looked like he’d love nothing more than to level the both of us.

He was the man I’d seen around town occasionally, especially in front of the store. His hair was coarse and gray, and his skin had the weather-beaten look of someone who had spent most of their lives outdoors. If I squinted, I could see some resemblance between this man and Bennett.

“You can let him go,” Rosie said to Hudson, sounding resigned.

“Are you sure?” Hudson’s grip tightened on the man’s collar. “He’s not bothering you?”

“No.” Rosie looked at me pleadingly. “Please.”

I nodded to Hudson, who released him but stood close. The man smoothed out his worn flannel, annoyed, as if he wasn’t the one who had thrown the first punch and Hudson had rumpled his nice suit.

Rosie audibly exhaled. “This is my dad, Orin Forrester.”

“Your dad?” Hudson’s eyebrow rose. “The one who ditched you guys?”

Rosie’s face went red, but Orin’s remained combative. Just looking for another reason to fight.

“Does Bennett know he’s in town?” Hudson asked.

“No,” Rosie blurted out. “And you can’t tell him.”

“How long are you planning on staying?” I asked Orin.

He spit on the ground in answer. Okay, so that’s how it was going to be.

“He’s welcome to stay as long as he needs.” Rosie glared at me and Hudson.

I was getting a bad feeling about this. “Where’re you staying?” I asked him.

Orin nodded his head in Rosie’s direction. “That’s our business. Not yours.”

I pictured Rosie sleeping on a chair in her art studio. On the floor of the unfinished apartment. Dragging a new mattress up there. I’d wondered why she’d been so desperate to stay there when she claimed to have a perfectly serviceable houseboat she could sleep in. I think I just got the answer.

I closed my eyes. I could tell a guy like this from a million miles away. A leech. I came across them all the time. People who pretended to be my friend so they could extort money or resources from me. My family, though, they’d never been that way. If anything, they were the opposite, going so far to prove they didn’t need me, it left me feeling like I didn’t have a place with them.

But for the first time, I was realizing it might be better than having a father who was willing to suck what little resources you had dry.

Rosie seemed to be getting over the shock of me and Hudson discovering her secret. “You can’t tell anyone, Dylan. It’s in the dating code,” she said forcefully. “And Hudson, I’ll tell everyone about …” Her eyes darted back and forth as if desperately trying to drum up some blackmail on one of the best men alive.

“Rosie,” Hudson said gently. I recognized that tone. He’d used it a lot when Shiloh and I were making a really reckless, but fun, plan that was most definitely going to end in injury. “You can’t keep this a secret forever.”

“Who are you to tell my daughter what she can and can’t do?”

Hudson acted as though Orin hadn’t even spoken as he continued to stare softly at Rosie. A protective urge compelled me to reach out and take her hand. It was cold and trembling, and she clasped her fingers tightly in mine.

“I need a little more time,” she said quietly.

Forget holding hands. That wasn’t enough. I’d never seen Rosie look so defeated, and I hated it with every part of me. I wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her into my side.

She glanced up at me with surprise, but readily tucked herself close. Her hand clutched my shirt, and even though my intention was to comfort her, I felt grounded.

Someone laughed, and a group chattered a little too close for comfort. Rosie stiffened against me, and she had a silent communication with her dad.

Orin backed up, and this time, Hudson let him retreat. Orin turned with his hands in his pockets and tucked his head low as he headed toward the marina.

Hudson tilted his head to indicate that he was going to follow Orin. Neither of us trusted him. I nodded, and he took off as well, leaving me and Rosie alone. I’d never describe Rosie as fragile, but in that moment, she seemed poised to break, and I needed to get her away from the crowd.

“I want to show you something.”