Sutton stared silently at her father. She had received a scholarship to the University of Kentucky where she had planned to pursue a law degree. After Tate’s parents’ deaths, however, she intended to go to a nearby community college until Tate’s brothers graduated, and could assume Rachel’s care. It would take several years longer, but she was in love with him, and he was worth waiting for so they could leave Treepoint together.
“You’re not to see him anymore.”
Sutton stood up. “I won’t do that. I love him! We’re going to be together, no matter what you say!” Sutton stormed around the couch, picking up her pale coral prom dress in the expensive garment bag then going to the staircase.
“Stay away from him, or I’ll make sure he loses custody of his brothers and sister.” Her father’s harsh order had her coming to a stop with her foot on the first step.
“You wouldn’t do that!” Sutton cried out.
“Watch me! Who do you think will be hearing his case when he’s brought to trial? Me. I can send him away, Sutton. I have the power to do it. If he’s sent away, his brothers and sister will be put in a foster home. Do you want that to happen?”
“You wouldn’t do that,” Sutton whispered, shocked at the vehemence in her father’s voice.
“I don’t want to, but I will if you don’t break it off with him.”
Sutton stared at her mother pleadingly. “Mom, I love him. Please…” Tears coursed down her cheeks as her heart broke into tiny pieces.
“It’s for the best, Sutton. Tate will hold you back from the future you deserve.”
“Tate’s going to want to know why I’m breaking up with him,” Sutton argued. “I’ll just wait until I’m eighteen. I can do what I want then.”
Her father shook his head. “Do you really think this will be the last time Tate gets caught? Next time, I won’t offer to save him. I’ll just send his ass off. I suggest you make damn sure he doesn’t come around you anymore. I know this hurts now, but you’ll get over him after a few months.”
“Please Daddy, don’t make me.” Sutton pled, trying to reason with her father, soon seeing it was useless.
“You’re wrong. I’ll never stop loving Tate. I’ll never forgive you for this. I’ll do what you want, but as soon as I graduate, I’m leaving, and I won’t be back.” With that, Sutton ran upstairs, slamming her bedroom door and locking it behind her, ignoring her father’s yell as she threw herself on her bed, crying helplessly.
Burying her face in a pillow, she cried until she had no tears left. Then she rolled over and stared sightlessly up at the ceiling, knowing what she was going to have to do. Tate loved her, so she was going to have to make him believe her feelings had changed. He would hate her for this, but he would stay out of jail and keep his family intact.
Sitting up on the side of her bed, she picked up the phone on her bedside table. It took her a few phone calls to get the information she needed. Wiping the tears still clinging to her cheeks, she punched in the numbers.
“Hi, Cash.” Sutton deliberately made her voice turn flirtatious. “This is Sutton. You busy?”
She heard the surprise in his voice as they talked. She tried to pretend interest, telling herself over and over it was for Tate.
After he finished talking about his last football game, Sutton brought up the reason for her call.
“Have you asked anyone to the prom yet?”
“No.”
“Want to go with me?” she asked in a rush before she could change her mind.
A brief silence met her question.
“I thought you were going with Tate.”
“We broke up. I really want to go, and since you’ve asked me out a couple of times since school started, I was wondering if you would take me.”
“Okay. I think we’ll have a good time.” Sutton heard the insinuation in his voice.
“Me, too.”
“You okay? You sound funny.”
Sutton cleared her throat. “I’m fine. Just have a small cold. I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”
“See you then.”
“Goodnight, Cash.” Sutton hung up the phone, any chance she had of a future with Tate now eliminated.
Chapter 4
“Did you see anything while you were out?”
“No. Why?” Tate asked, looking up from his plate at Greer.
“You’re not eating your dinner.” Greer nodded at his still-full plate, and Dustin was watching him just as curiously.
“Guess I’m not hungry.” Tate shoved his chair back from the table and stood up.
He went outside, staring at the mountains that surrounded his home. Leaning on the railing, he picked up a pack of cigarettes and took one out. Pulling the lighter from his pocket, he lit the tube and sucked in a deep breath.
“What’s going on, Tate?” Dustin came to his side, leaning against the banister.
Tate glanced at the worried frown on his youngest brother’s face. Dustin had matured fast over the last few years with the responsibility of a child. Tate was proud of the way he had stepped up to make a living for his son. Dustin had worked hard to become an accountant despite everyone not taking him seriously. He still fought an uphill battle; he had only five clients. The people in town were more worried he would steal their money than keep an accurate count. To the people in Treepoint, Porters would always be trash.
“When I went to the field, I heard a car at Pap’s house.” Tate kept his voice low. He didn’t want Dustin worried unnecessarily for Logan’s safety.
“Really? Shit. That’s the first time in years anyone’s been in that junk heap. Did you see who it was?”
“Sutton Creech.”
Dustin gave him a sharp look. “What’s she doing back in town?”
“Didn’t ask. I don’t imagine she’ll stay long. Probably here to see that property.”
“Shit. The Hayeses aren’t going to be happy about that.”
“No, they’re not. They’ve been using that property for the last three years to grow their weed. They think it’s funny as shit that the judge’s father’s land is being used to grow weed under his nose.”
“Damn, you think they’ll mess with her?”
“I don’t know. It depends on how long she stays and if she stays away from the back part of the property. The Hayeses probably already dug up this year’s supply, so she should be fine until spring. She won’t be hanging around that long, anyway.”
“What if she decides to sell?”
“Who’s going to be stupid enough to buy it, knowing they’ll have to deal with the Hayeses?”
“You going to tell her?” Dustin lifted a brow.
“Fuck no. I’m not sticking my nose where it’s none of my fucking business. Asher and Holt are mean fuckers, but if Sutton doesn’t go snooping, they’ll leave her alone.”
“What if they don’t? You going to do anything?”
Tate snorted. “Sutton doesn’t need me to fight her battles. She can take care of herself.”
He would never forget the day Sutton showed him exactly what he meant to her. After chasing her all senior year, he saw she was spending the summer with her pap, and used the opportunity to his advantage. They saw each other all that summer, getting to know each other better.
Most of the boys in the school had chased after the beautiful girl. She had smiled at some and dated a few, ignoring the rest. He and Cash Adams were two she had ignored. The rivalry between them over the girls in town was becoming heated by that point, neither worrying about stepping on the other’s toes. Looking back now, Tate realized it had been stupid and childish.
When Cash went out with a girl Tate liked, he would retaliate by going out with one Cash liked. The girls became a game to them, neither of them caring about the broken hearts they left behind … until Sutton.
He grew close to her during that summer. When she began making plans to go off to college together, he didn’t tell her no, though he often changed the subject when he could. She
stood beside him during the worst time of his life when his parents died. He leaned on her for help with Rachel, and she came through, helping her with her homework and holding her when Rachel would break down in tears that he didn’t know how to deal with.
As her prom drew closer, he wanted to make it up to her for all the help she had given him, so he decided to make the night special for her. They hadn’t made love yet, since Sutton was too shy to let him go further than kissing her other than the few times she let him brush her breast with his hand. It had been a frustrating time in his life because he was already used to girls putting out when he wanted. Sutton was refreshing and sweet, driving him insane.
He had rented a room in Jamestown, since both of them knew their relationship was going to change that night. Sutton wasn’t going to walk out of that hotel the virgin she was when she went inside. He wanted to give her a taste of what the other girls at school would have with their dates renting limos. However, even with working part-time at the grocery store, he didn’t have the extra money to pay for one, so he got sloppy selling a few bags of pot to several of the boys from school who wanted it for prom night.
He was driving home from work when the sheriff pulled him over. Tate hated the old bastard, but he had been smart enough to step out of his car when told to. The evil gleam in the sheriff’s eye showed he was waiting for Tate to argue. It didn’t take him five minutes to find the pot hidden in his car; as a result, Tate knew someone had snitched on him. He was handcuffed and taken to the sheriff’s office five minutes later.
He hadn’t known who to call to get him out of jail. With his parents dead, he had no relatives to turn to for help. He had called Sutton, only to have her father pick up the phone. He had been humiliated as he haltingly explained he needed to talk to Sutton. Her father had never been overly friendly with him, but he hadn’t been rude, either. When the judge had told him Sutton was out shopping, Tate had become desperate, not wanting to leave his brothers and sister home alone for the night, and had told the judge he was in jail then asked for help.
Surprisingly, the judge showed up at the jail and had him released. Tate’s mouth twisted bitterly at the memory. He was sickeningly grateful as they walked outside together, the sheriff watching impassively after handing him his car keys as they went out the door.
“Thank you, sir. I promise I won’t do—”
“Don’t make promises you aren’t going to keep. You want to thank me? Stay away from Sutton,” the judge had ordered.
Tate stopped walking to stare at the judge. “I can’t, sir. I care about her.”
“A Porter never cared about anything more than how much weed they’re selling and not getting caught. Are you going to drag Sutton down like your father dragged down your mother? Is that what you want?”
“No, sir. I’m not going to sell it anymore. I just needed the money for—”
“I don’t care why you needed the money this time. Every time you need it, you’ll pull out your bag and sell it again. It’s how you were raised. I’ve never known a Porter to make a living legally. It’s why most of your kin’s in the pen or dead. You will be, too, and I’ll be damned if I’m doing to watch my daughter being dragged through the dirt with you.”
Tate’s hands clenched at his sides. “Sir, I appreciate your help, but I won’t stop seeing Sutton.”
The judge’s lips tightened. “Then I guess we have nothing further to say to each other, do we?”
“No, we don’t.”
The judge gave him a sharp nod then got in his expensive car and drove away, leaving Tate standing in the parking lot. Tate drove home, and not wanting to get Sutton in trouble with her father, he didn’t call her that night. Instead, he searched for her the next day at school when he dropped Greer and Dustin off.
Usually, she waited for him at the entrance of the school, and they would share a quick kiss before she went inside. Tate waited as long as he could before he went to work without being late.
That day went from bad to worse. When she didn’t meet him after school, he knew she was mad at him. Thinking her father had told her to stay away from him, he decided he was going to drive by her house after picking Greer up from football practice. However, when he walked into the locker room, it went silent, his friends avoiding his eyes. Greer, who was changing out of his uniform, gave him a curious look.
“Did Sutton tell you she ate lunch with Cash?”
“No.” Tate kept his voice low so no one could hear his reaction.
Greer nodded. “It made me fucking sick. She couldn’t keep her hands off him. I sit behind him in biology, and I heard him tell Miller that Sutton asked him to the prom.”
Tate slammed his fist against Gree’s locker, immediately going toward Cash who was standing with his friends.
Greer tried to hold him back, but he shoved him away.
“What’s up with you and my girl?” Tate snarled at Cash.
“Sutton’s not your girl. She told me so herself last night.”
Tate’s gut churned in anger. “She’s mine, so stay the fuck away from her.”
“I can’t do that. I’m taking her out tonight then to the prom on Saturday. If you have a problem with that, then you shouldn’t have broken up with her.”
“I didn’t break up with her!”
“That’s what she told me. Good to know she likes to stretch the truth. Of course, it’s not going to keep me from going out with her, but at least I’ll know not to trust her.”
Tate lunged at Cash; however, the other players held him back. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to see the fight; they just didn’t want the coach to get pissed off and make them run their asses off again.
Tate angrily shook them off going back outside to wait for Greer. He drove Greer home, instead of taking Greer’s advice to move on to another pussy, he drove back into town to Sutton’s home. Her mother answered the door, saying Sutton wasn’t home from school yet. Tate knew the woman was lying, but he backed off, unable to do anything else except drive home where he called Sutton several times, trying to reach her. Her mother answered each time, telling him she wasn’t there.
Then Tate remembered Cash saying that he and Sutton were going out that night. He ended up pacing around his house until finally going to bed.
The next day, he dragged his brothers and Rachel out of bed, determined to get to school early enough that Sutton couldn’t get past him without talking to him.
He was waiting by the front school door when Cash drove up in his truck, opening the passenger door for Sutton. After putting his arm around her, she and Cash approached him.
Tate swallowed hard. He didn’t have to be told; he knew. Sutton was different. The innocent, shy look in her eyes was gone, and she moved stiffly. Cash had fucked her, and Tate’s world crumbled around him. He had believed Sutton’s father had pressured her not to see him again. He was wrong. She had dumped him for only one reason—she wanted Cash.
Cash brought Sutton to a stop a few feet from him. “We going to have a problem?”
Tate stared at Sutton coldly, remembering how many times she had refused to let him touch her over the last few months, while Cash had managed to take her virginity after only being alone with him a few hours.
“No. You don’t have a fucking thing I want anymore.”
Sutton kept her gaze turned away from him, but she paled at his angry words.
“Tate, I’m sorry…” She broke off, quickly glancing at him, then away again.
“Don’t be. You were nothing but a tiebreaker, anyway.”
Her eyes jerked back to his. “A tiebreaker?”
Tate stared back at her mockingly. “Cash and I have each fucked eight girls the other wanted. If I had fucked you, you would have made number nine. You would have broken the tie in my favor. Congratulations, Cash, you win for now. I hear Lisa doesn’t have a date for prom.” Greer had told him Cash had been chasing after the dark-haired senior for the last couple of months.
“You??
?re a fucking prick, Tate.”
Cash’s arm stiffened around Sutton.
Tate shrugged. “I already paid for the hotel room this Saturday, so I’m not going to let it sit empty.”
Sutton’s face paled further. “Let’s go, Cash. I don’t want to be late for class.”
Tate held the door open for them, wanting to rip them apart yet too proud to let Sutton see how badly she had hurt him.
He was still standing in the doorway when he saw Lisa get out of her mother’s car.
“Hey, Lisa.”
“Tate.”
He held the door open for her then walked with her down the hallway. He waved nonchalently to the principal, a customer with a secret habit. Sutton and Cash were both standing by Sutton’s locker. He talked casually to Lisa as they came to a stop by her locker.
Feeling Sutton’s eyes on them, he brushed Lisa’s hair away from her cheek. “You look pretty today.”
“Thanks, Tate.”
They stayed at her locker, talking for several minutes, as he managed to convince her to let him go to prom with her. When the homeroom bell rang, he straightened off her locker, telling her he would meet her after school.
“You are eighteen aren’t you?” He teased seductively running his tumb over her bottom lip.
“Yes.” She sent him a flirtatious smile before she hurried off to her class.
He then sent a gloating look in Sutton’s direction as she passed him to go to her homeroom, hardening himself against the tears he saw in her eyes and telling himself over and over what Pa always told him.
“No one hurts a Porter and gets away with it. No one.”
Chapter 5
Sutton picked up a package of drop cloths, moving to the cleaning aisle in the local hardware store, hoping she would see less people in this store than the local grocery store. She would wait to go at night when she was sure not many customers would be in the store. She knew it was useless to avoid the locals who knew her, but she wanted to dodge as many as possible. She wasn’t looking forward to answering any of the nosy questions she was sure would be asked of her.