Page 44 of Forever Mine

I didn’t even look at it. I didn’t need to know. Not yet. I sprinted after Jay, ignoring the calls of my concerned family.

Thankfully Jay was still in the parking lot, pacing in front of my car.

“Jay!” He whirled toward me. “I need the keys, Dakota.”

Yeah, I didn’t fucking think so. “Why?”

Jay worked his jaw, his fists clenched at his sides. “Dakota, don’t do this right now, please. I need the keys. If I had my fuckin’ truck…” He shook his head like he was trying to clear his thoughts, “Never mind, that don’t matter. Dakota. Keys.” Every word was a strain to get out, he was barely hanging on.

I took a step toward him. “I’m not giving you the keys until you tell me where you’re going.”

He growled, frustrated, and spun away from me, tugging at his hair. “Did you read the note?”

“No. I came after you.”

He heaved a deep breath, his shoulder shaking. I wanted to hold him so badly, but for the first time in weeks, I wasn’t sure if my touch would be welcome.

“This has to end, Kota. This is a fuckin’ birthday party. What if he talked to your nieces?”

I was hit with a spike of fear. It was one of my biggest worries when I came here. God, if that fucker even looked at one of them…

“Talk to me, baby. What’s going on in your head?”

He bit his lip. “I—I just want to protect you and your family from all this.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You all are so good. You don’t deserve someone comin’ in and trying to destroy that. Your nieces are so innocent. So fuckin’ happy. And they should be. All kids should be like that. I—it’s one thing to mess with me, but to come here, to violate something so…good. It needs to end, Kota. I need to end it.”

How many times will this man shatter me with his view of the world? My eyes were stinging and I had to blink to keep the tears from falling. Not yet. “How, love? How are you ending it?”

“I was gonna go to the pizza place and figure out who the fuck wrote the note. Someone would talk eventually. If that didn’t work, I’d go to that store and see if that creepy fucker was there. He made you uncomfortable, Kota, and we’re only around the block from that place, right? I—I don’t fuckin’ know anymore. I just…I need to do something.”

My mind raced, trying to figure out how to handle it. I couldn’t let Jay leave, that I was sure of. It was the first time I was glad his truck had been destroyed and he refused Wes’s offer to replace it. I couldn’t even imagine what would’ve happened if he’d left.

I heard some commotion from behind me. I glanced back and noticed most of my family outside. I gave them a quickshake of my head, like don’t come over here. I could tell my mom and sisters wanted to, but my dad and brothers kept them back, for now.

“Baby,” I started carefully, “I love you. I love that you want to protect me and my family. But, please don’t run off on me. I need you here. Not running around town. That’s what the cops are for. Let them handle that. Please, Jay. The best way for you to help me is to be here with me.”

Maybe it wasn’t fair putting it that way, but I wasn’t above dirty tactics if it kept Jay from getting arrested for assaulting some poor pizza delivery guy. “You didn’t see the note yet. They threatened your dad, Kota. Said, he guessed he wasn’t surprised your family was okay with me, with your dad’s history, but he’d take care of it. Take care of you.”

Jay broke by the end, and honestly, I was pretty close too. We needed to get out of here. But I didn’t think either of us could drive. I wrapped my arms around Jay and he followed suit. We both stood there shaking and on the verge of crying. I was at a loss on how to handle it.

Finally, movement in my peripheral caught my attention. My dad was hovering. “Your mom called the police, if you give me Wes’ number I’ll give him a call and keep him updated.”

“Thanks Dad. I don’t think either of us can drive. We’re gonna wait in the car, can someone give us a ride when they get a chance?” I asked my dad. “Tell Bridget I’m sorry,” I added.

Dad waved me off. “There’s nothing to apologize for.”

I didn’t answer, and just led Jay into the passenger seat. Luckily, even after I turned on the car so we could get air, Jay didn’t fight me on leaving. He stared dead ahead. I reached for his hand, thrilled when he accepted it.

“I’m sorry, Kota. I shouldn’t have left you.”

“I know. I understand.”

“I—I never felt the way I feel about you, about anyone. You consume me, Kota. You make me whole. I love Beck and Riley like brothers, but that is nothin’ compared to the way you make me feel. You’re like oxygen. I don’t think I could breathe without you.”

I kissed his shoulder realizing that may be the closest Jay ever got to saying he loved me, and I couldn’t decide if his words were a good thing or not.

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