Page 73 of The Naughty Elf

Bennet is a force of nature when he’s upset, and his eyes are glimmering with anger. With betrayal.

Shit.

He takes in the room, his daughter, and points at the three of us. It forces me to my feet. Sawyer and Ashley stand behind me.

“You three are dead to me.” The finality in his tone hits me harder in the gut than watching Ginger quit in tears.

32

GINGER

God, I knew the moment Jackson looked at me like he wanted nothing more than to touch me that my dad would read what’s between us.

But when he got distracted by the phone call, I thought, just maybe, we were safe.

Now, he storms in and points at them, and it’s clear that he knows.

What kind of conversation did he have with Sheriff Bentley? Has he taken Kaleb’s statement? I’m sure he’s said horrible things about me and my behavior, including how I was asking for it.

Did he talk about all the secret hookups between me, Jackson, Sawyer, and Ashley?

Would the sheriff relay that to my dad? Would he break my confidence like that? Invade my privacy?

It’s the only thing about this town that I don’t like.

Even though I’m an adult. A mother. People still feel the need to tell my father my business.

It’s too much after the day I’ve had.

Nausea roils through me, bending me over in the middle. I brace a hand on my stomach and will myself not to puke all over my kitchen floor.

A flush of heat takes over my skin, tightening it until I want to crawl out of it. It makes me dizzy.

I slow my breathing, willing my body to quit overreacting, but it’s hard.

Another wave of nausea hits, and I dart to my bathroom, pushing past my father’s outstretched arm, and lock myself inside in time to puke in the toilet. Retching a handful more times, I slump next to the toilet and wait for the sour feeling cramping my stomach to go away.

The door handle jiggles, followed by a soft knock. “Honey. Let me in.”

Pulling air in through my nose, I close my eyes.

“Tell me what’s going on. Please, honey.” The worry in Dad’s voice breaks my heart, but I can’t open the door to him. Not right now. Not with everything all mixed up inside me.

I feel terrible, but I don’t want him here. “Go away.”

“Ginger…” His heartbreak is a physical force against my chest.

“Please. Just go away.” I lean over and curl up on the mat in front of my sink.

Soft shuffling outside the door doesn’t sound like he’s retreating.

“Hey, Ginger. Can you let just one of us in? It doesn’t matter who.” The fact that my dad conceded to Jackson says a lot.

Tears burn in my chest and behind my eyes. “Leave me alone.”

“I don’t think any of us can do that until we know you’re all right.”

I pull in a few deep breaths. “Dad?”

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