Repair Me (Kin #1)(26)
Author: Jennifer Foor

I had no idea who Shayne was, but Ford didn’t seem too happy. “How about you just tell him I said ‘hi’.”

I was trying to be invisible, even though I was standing right there with them. Ashley caught my attention when she looked directly at me and started talking again. “So, what’s your name?”

“Her name is Skylar. Why do you care, Ash?” Ford didn’t let me answer.

“Just tryin’ to be nice to the girl who’s f**kin’ my man, that’s all.” Her smart comment rubbed me the wrong way, but Ford seemed to be the most offended.

“Let’s go, Sky. We don’t have time for this bitch.” He grabbed me by the arm and started pulling me away from her.

Ashley followed behind us. “What’s the matter, Ford? Can’t she take up for herself? Don’t you think she wants to know how you treat the women you’re supposed to care about? Why don’t you tell her how you only care about yourself?”

Ford let go of my arm and I watched, in slow motion, as he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her closer toward him. “Shut your f**kin’ mouth, Ash. I didn’t come here for this shit. What I do with her is none of your damn business. I can f**k who I want.”

The girl was starting to cry. “She’ll never love you like I do, Ford. I’ll wait for you to see that. I’ll wait as long as I have to.”

“Go to Hell!” Ford grabbed my hand and we left her standing there sobbing.

“Sorry about that.”

“Why are you sorry? It’s her damn fault for dredgin’ up the past every time she’s near me.”

I stopped walking and looked right at him. “She still loves you. I can tell her heart is broken. She’s just acting out because of it.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m done! I don’t want to be in a relationship with her or anyone else. Why is that so f**kin’ hard for everyone to understand?”

I took his words personally. For some reason I kept hoping he’d want to see what could happen with us. It immediately spoiled my mood and my buzz. “We should just go back to the room. I don’t feel like running into Mack when you’re this upset.”

“I’m not upset!” he raised his voice and started walking.

“Okay, whatever!” I followed behind him, getting shoved around by the crowds of people walking in the opposite direction.

He said nothing until we got to a dark street that led to the motel. “This ain’t about you, Sky, but it is one of the many reasons why I don’t want a girlfriend. I’m sick of the damn drama.”

He opened the door and held it so I could walk in first. A familiar voice called his name, causing him to turn around before he could walk inside.

I peered out the door watching him walk back across the parking lot toward Ashley. “What the f**k do you want now? I told you to leave me alone, now you’re followin’ me.” As he walked further away, I couldn’t hear what he or Ashley were saying. I could see that she wasn’t alone and that there was a guy with her, but was clueless after that.

The conversation continued and I decided that it was best if I just waited in the room for Ford to come back in. Whatever was going on between him and his ex was their problem. Since he’d made it clear that we were never going to be anything but this fling we were having, it didn’t make sense for me to involve myself any more than I already was.

By the time Ford entered the room, I was starting to doze off. The alcohol had worn me out and I was ready to call it a night. I could tell from the way he slammed the door that he wasn’t happy. He tossed his keys onto the table, removed his shirt, and climbed into bed next to me. “Is everything okay?” I asked.

He took his hands and rubbed his face. “Not really.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

I reached for his arm, but he rolled over and tucked it under the pillow. “No!”

I didn’t get why he was being so mean to me. I’d done nothing to make him angry. Still, I knew enough about men to know that he wanted space. It would be better for me to get a good night’s sleep and forget about the angry man lying in the bed beside me.

When I tried to close my eyes all I could think about was Mack. I imagined the things he was saying to those girls while they were naked in his bed. It made me cringe. After I tossed around, not able to get comfortable, I slid out of bed and walked over to the table. Ford’s keys and wallet were sitting there. I traced the leather wallet with my fingers, before looking over to make sure he was sleeping. With him facing the opposite direction, I opened his wallet and looked inside.

There was a picture of a beautiful little girl standing next to him when he was younger. They looked so much alike and I immediately knew who it was. How sweet it was that he kept her picture with him all of the time? I ran my fingers over the plastic covering the photograph, just as I heard him stirring in the bed. Before he could catch me, I tossed the wallet on the table and turned to climb back in bed. Ford’s arm wrapped around me and pulled me close to his warm body. I ran my fingers over one of his tattoos and closed my eyes. I felt safe there, like nothing could get to me as long as he was holding me. Sleep came easy, finally.

Ford

Running into my ex was bad enough, but my cousin being with her was even worse. At first I thought she’d followed me because she wasn’t giving up. It turns out that it had nothing to do with our relationship. As she was walking away, Shayne caught up with her and said they needed to hunt me down.

Shayne was someone that I didn’t want to run into. He was another link to my mother, since his father was my uncle; my mother’s brother. My dad and I had cut that part of the family out after we lost my sister. Sure, there was a time when we were all very close. When Harley died everything changed.

Shayne and I had been inseparable since we were kids. He was a year older than me and had moved to the beach to become a lifeguard after graduation. His grandmother on his mother’s side owned a beach house that they stayed in during the warm months. I remember spending a lot of time during the summer with him. We’d hunt for girls on the boardwalk and get into whatever we could.

Harley’s death didn’t just rip apart the family, it strained the friendship that I had with my cousin. Being with him was like being with her and I couldn’t sit around and have that reminder when it hurt so much.

Him being with Ashley couldn’t have been for a good reason. I knew they’d never hook up, so obviously he wanted something else. He held out his hand and I shook it. “Long time no see, cuz.”