Page 93 of Return To You

“Nah, nothin’.”

I set my burger on my plate and stare him down. “What.”

He clears his throat again. “Way back then, your dad… went to talk to my dad… about us.”

I stiffen. They knew? I kinda got that from Craig, earlier, at the farm. But I certainly never suspected our parents talked about us.

“Dennis wasn’t happy about it. To say the least. My dad told him he trusted me, and he didn’t like to mingle into his children’s… lives. Or that aspect of their life, unless something was really wrong. And he didn’t see anything wrong with us.”

My anger flares up at the idea of Dad going to talk to Craig. “When was that?”

“After I graduated college. You were eighteen. The reason I remember is that…” He takes a long draw on his drink.

“Yes?”

“We hadn’t kissed yet. Or rather," he adds with a small smile, "I hadn't kissed you yet. And… it made me hesitate for maybe… half a second?”

I’m woozy from his last words, but anxiety knots me over what happened with my dad. “Why? What did he tell you?”

“In no uncertain words, to stay away from you.”

What?! “That’s crazy. When? How?”

“I had just gotten back from college. I came by your house to see you, but you were out. He told me there was no point in me coming to see you. Next day, he showed up at the farm.” Ethan pauses, an uneasy look on his face.

“He was drunk,” I whisper, stating the obvious to ease him into telling me everything. We’ve never discussed our parents before. Not like that.

“After my dad told him to cool it, he threatened to file charges.”

Blood leaves my face. “What?! Charges for what?”

“Nothing that would have made sense, even less held in court. But your dad… at the time he was…”

He was a mean drunk. I blush in shame at the memories. There’s a reason I never talked about it with Ethan. I was too ashamed. Even now, realizing he knew, I don’t know how I really feel about it. I’m proud of Dad for going through rehab. For being years sober. But the stigma of who he was, back then, the mean things he would say to Mom, the unfair way he would treat Colton. All this slaps me in the face.

“What did he do?” I whisper.

“He ordered me to stay away from you. And he brought Colton along.”

I frown. “Colton?”

“First I thought it was because Dennis still had enough wits about him to not drive drunk, and he wanted Colton behind the wheel. And maybe that was the reason, initially. But then he told Colton, ordered him, to report anything suspicious going on between the two of us. He said it in front of me, so I knew my friend was ordered to spy on me.”

My heart hammers and my eyes well. That was the sort of manipulation Dad would get into when he was drunk. Which at the time, was… always. He’d threaten. Destroy friendships. Almost destroyed our family, until Mom threatened to walk out on him.

Fun times.

The lump in my throat isn’t going anywhere. My heart clenches. Sweet, sweet Colton never said anything to me. “He never would have said a thing.”

“I know. I just couldn't risk getting him in trouble, if word got out. And at the time, I knew—well, I thought I’d have you all to myself at some point in the near future. That it was just a matter of time and there was nothing Dennis could do. I could wait a little.”

I pinch my lips, battling the resentment growing inside me. Dad has fought hard to become a better person. I can’t fault him for the sins of a past he’s trying to atone for.

“I’m glad he’s better, Grace. I really am. I only brought this up because… I guess, seeing Colton so protective of you—it brought back memories.”

“I’m glad you told me too… all this time, I really believed you weren’t really that much into me. That you were ashamed, hiding me because I was still too young for you.”

Ethan looks at me in shock. “I built you a treehouse. You had many boyfriends do that after me?”

---