Page 68 of Rosie and the Beast Next Door

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 therewhen 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,Ifelt 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.

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