Page 113 of Fall for You
Dallas felt a pang of guilt. Willow had been MIA for the remainder of the day yesterday. He’d wanted to question her the second she got back, especially after more things had come to light.
Ronnie had talked to Margot, who’d checked in with Michelle—the friend who’d offered to host Willow. All she knew for certain was that Willow hadnotspent the night at her place.
So where had she gone?
Eric’s?
The thought was devastating. Disgusting. Deplorable!
He’d wanted to use all three of those words when he talked to her about it, but dinner prep had been in full swing, and she looked frazzled enough as it was.
He’d then planned to confront her this morning, but the kitchen was chaotic after two of her assistants called in sick. Onthe same day. She was run off her feet and barely coping. It wasn’t like he could raise such a serious topic as he was helping her. She was acting like a drill sergeant, ordering him from one task to the next. Hardly the time to say,“So, Willow, I hear you’ve been lying to us all. Want to explain why you’ve been sneaking around behind our backs? And what the hell have you been doing with Eric Spencer!”
Anger still roiled through him every time he thought about it. Most of it was directed at Eric, that weasel. But part of it simmered for Willow too. She might be trusting and innocent, but she’d still been making choices. It wasn’t like Eric had been kidnapping her—she was choosing to sneak away and meet with him. Choosing to keep it all a secret.
The thought sat inside him like a boulder. He really wasn’t looking forward to their chat, which was probably why he was procrastinating on it and calling his father instead.
Not that he’d tell their father everything. Willow was a grown woman and could spend her nights where she liked, but if ithadbeen with a Spencer, he wasn’t sure his father would cope.
The idea of his little Willow getting hurt would be too much for him. Heck, it was too much for Dallas, which was why he had to put a stop to whatever this thing with Eric was before it went any further.
He and Bailey had agreed to fill their dad in on the parts that might affect the lawsuit. Like the phone call he made to Walter Spencer and how going on the offensive with this thing was their only choice.
They didn’t have the sort of money the Spencers did, but they also couldn’t afford to roll over and let Eric Spencer destroy their family land.
“Your mother and I will talk to her,” his dad said. “See if we can figure out what’s going on in that head of hers.”
Dallas nodded. Guilt was making it hard to speak. But he would have felt even guiltier if he hadn’t stepped in while knowing his sister was in trouble…right?
He rubbed his temple as his dad continued to talk. He only paid attention again when his father said, “Sometimes I wonder if I even know my kids at all.”
Dallas lifted his head, his heart hammering. This was it. His opening.
“First Bailey, trying to prove herself as if I didn’t know she was brilliant, and Brandon starting a family without meaning to, and now Willow being so secretive. Who knows what Antony’s up to…”
Dallas cleared his throat, and his father’s gaze sharpened on him.
“What is it? Don’t tell me Antony’s in trouble, or?—”
“No, no. Nothing like that. It’s…” He cleared his throat again. “It’s me, Dad. I, uh…there’s something I need to say.”
His father’s eyes widened, but then he leaned back in his chair. “Go ahead, son.”
It wasn’t easy, but after a halting start, Dallas was soon blurting out how much he’d been suffocating at the office. How the challenge was gone, and how it didn’t feel like a good fit.
When he was done, he saw his father nodding thoughtfully. “I can’t say I’m surprised.”
Dallas’s brows rose.
Then his father added, “Can’t say I’m happy to hear it either.”
Dallas flinched. “Sorry, Dad.”
“No, don’t be sorry. I may not like it, but I appreciate that you’re being honest with me.” His father sighed. “You’ve seemed antsy at work. Distracted. I suppose I knew this day would come eventually.”
Dallas launched into the next part of his speech. The game plan. He’d spent most of the previous night lying awake,vacillating between worry for Willow and his plans for the future. He’d already settled on who he thought the rightful person to replace him would be.
That part of the conversation was a relief. It seemed his father had been thinking the same. There were people at the office who deserved his position more than he did. People who wanted it.
