Repair Me (Kin #1)(64)
Author: Jennifer Foor

“Hey, you. How are you feeling?” I reached over and ran my hands through his dark hair.

He lifted his good arm and reached over to touch me. “Better now that you’re here!”

“I slept in my car.”

Ford scrunched up his face. “Don’t do that shit here, Sky. It ain’t a good neighborhood.”

“You said not to leave you.” I reminded him.

“I meant, in life. You could have gone home and got some sleep.”

We held hands and I leaned my butt on the side of the bed. “I wouldn’t have been able to sleep.”

“I’m not goin’ to get out of here for a few more days, they said. I reckon that will give that bitch time to vacate her stuff off of my property.”

I raised my eyebrow. It was good that Ford was hopeful, but I didn’t share his optimism when it came to his ex-girlfriend cooperating. She’d already shown that she wasn’t the kind of person to just give up on something she wanted. “I know you must be in pain and pretty mixed up, but have you considered the probability that she doesn’t do what you want?”

“Have you considered that I have no problems movin’ far away from her ass?”

“You mean, closer to me?”

“I mean, getting a place with you. Sky don’t you think we both deserve to give this a shot? I’m crazy about you, darlin’. It would bring me a lot of pleasure havin’ you to share a bed with every night.” I could see him smiling and couldn’t help but do the same thing.

“You want us to live together?” I don’t know why I doubted his intentions. We’d been so happy before all this Ash drama had begun. We spent a lot of weeks at each other’s homes. It wasn’t too farfetched to assume that we’d be happy living together as a couple.

“It would be nice.”

I leaned down and kissed him tenderly on the lips. “Okay.”

He rubbed his thumb over my hand. “See, now you can worry about that instead of other things.”

“What about the baby?”

Ford looked away briefly. He seemed like he was struggling for an answer. “How about we worry about that when the time comes.”

I agreed and the conversation was dropped for a later time. The rest of the morning I cuddled up next to him and kept him company. We fell asleep for a while and woke up after lunch. Since Ford already had his food delivered, I left to grab something from the cafeteria and check in with my parents. The whole time I kept wondering where his family was. It was odd how his parents were there so quickly the night before, but they still weren’t there today. Ford didn’t seem to be bothered, but I was starting to worry.

When dinner came around, and he still hadn’t heard from anyone, we called Shayne. He seemed oblivious since he was spending time at Lacey’s on his day off. The next call we made was to his Aunt Viv’s diner. He talked to Joey for a second until his aunt got on the phone. I couldn’t hear what she was saying, but Ford’s face turned a shade of white. When he hung up, he picked up a Styrofoam cup and threw it across the room. “Fuckin’ bitch!”

I knew he could tell that he’d scared me. He grabbed me and held my arm while he spoke. “They served my parents today. The land is bein’ seized and they have fifteen days to find somewhere else to go.”

“You think Ashley did this?”

“I know she did! That bitch went running home to her damn daddy and he made good on his promise.” Ford shook his head and covered his face with one hand, since he couldn’t lift up the other one. “My dad must be freakin’ out. He’s got nothing without his home and business.”

“Can’t he ask a relative for help?”

He shook his head. “He’s too proud. He won’t admit that he screwed up.”

“That’s just dumb. Someone could easily lend him that money.” I couldn’t believe that men were so stubborn.

“He knows he’ll never pay it back.”

“What about Shayne’s dad?”

“He paid for my mother’s rehab. That shit was expensive.”

“Do you have anything saved?” I wasn’t trying to be nosey.

“A couple grand. I’ve been helpin’ the business stay afloat and trying to get my dad caught up. Honestly, if I didn’t have his debt, I’d be doin’ well.”

I wondered if Ford had considered that they were being forced out of the last place his sister lived before she died. Surely the sentiment alone would make them all want to stay there. “Are you going to be okay?”

He pulled my hand up to his lips. “Yeah. As long as you don’t leave me for bein’ a broke bastard, I think I’ll survive.”

I looked him in the eyes and didn’t even flinch. “I won’t!”

Ford was a stubborn man, who didn’t like taking handouts or hearing that something couldn’t go his way. He was the type of guy to take what he wanted, not because he had to force someone, but because they wanted to do it. I loved his strong will and admired his strength. It was a terrible shame that this was all happening after he’d put so much time into trying to get them back on their feet. It seemed like every time something was looking up for his family, something bad would happen. The vicious circle was tearing them apart piece by piece.

When I looked at Ford I saw someone that I wanted to spend my future with. He needed to feel like he was worth something. More importantly, he needed to feel appreciated. I was going to help his family, whether they liked it or not!

Ford

It was bad enough that I was lying in a hospital bed and couldn’t go anywhere. God only knew what was going on at my house. I wondered if they were going to refuse us some of our personal belongings. My dad and I had invested a lot of money in tools and equipment. We couldn’t afford to lose them and everything else. For us, it was a double whammy. We were going to lose our homes and our business. With nothing saved and only the clothes on our backs, how were we supposed to find a new place to live?

My dad was too old to be looking for a new job. The young guys my age could double his work load in half the time. He couldn’t afford to open a new business and he was too young to collect Social Security. Since my mother had basically not existed for years, she was going to have trouble getting a job. Thinking about it all made me feel sick to my stomach. I was trying to be calm for the benefit of Sky being with me, but she knew me better than that.