“Someone needed to,” Sienna said with a huff as she shook her hand.
“If she hadn’t, then I would have,” Will Ashton said, standing eye to eye with Cy. “You’re my friend, Cy. You’re practically a brother to me. How could you think so little of my son?” Shaking his head, Will turned to Layne and gave her a strained smile. “Congratulations, Layne. I’m sorry we’ve ruined your wedding.”
Layne smiled kindly as she hurried forward and grabbed Will’s hands. “It’s not a party until a punch is thrown.” The band took the hint and began to play a fast song.
“I’m going to find my son and then head home. We’ll stop by when you get back from your honeymoon to see you both,” Will told her as he reached for his wife and daughter.
“I look forward to it. You’ll find them behind the barn. I’m sure Walker hasn’t taken him far,” Layne said before kissing Kenna’s cheek.
Sienna looked unsure of herself as she stopped in front of Reagan. “I’m sorry I hit your dad. Please don’t hate me.”
All the steam went out of Reagan. If only she’d been braver and told the truth sooner, all of this could have been avoided. And now her cousin Ryan was also stuck in the middle. Stuck between his family and his own wife and in-laws. Sienna looked to her husband who stood in the middle of them as she reached for her father’s hand.
“I’m sorry, Uncle Cy, but I agree with my wife on this one.” Ryan turned and followed after his wife and in-laws.
“Sweet pea,” her father said softly, stopping Reagan in her tracks.
“No, Dad. This time you went too far.”
“Honey,” her mother called out. “Bring Carter for dinner this week. I promise your father will welcome him to our house.” By the death glare her mother gave her father, Reagan believed she’d certainly try. But she also felt that her father would never change.
“I can’t. I leave in two days for Ocala. Goodbye.” With a heavy heart, Reagan turned her back on her parents and walked quickly to catch up with the Ashtons. How would they ever accept her now? She’d been selfish during her relationship with Carter. She’d only thought about herself. She never thought about Carter or his parents. How was she ever going to face herself for causing such pain to those she loved? And she did love him. She had all along.
* * *
As they neared the back of the barn, Reagan could hear Walker and Carter talking. At least there wasn’t the sound of a fight. Reagan fell back, knowing Will and Kenna took precedent over her to reach their son. Reagan felt her heart breaking. She’d put Carter in this position. She’d hurt him and their relationship.
“Cool your jets. Reagan can handle herself. This is something she needs to do. You did your part, now let her do hers,” Reagan heard Walker say as they came around the corner of the barn. Walker’s back was to them and blocked Carter from her sight.
“Carter!” Kenna cried as she sent Walker a grateful smile. “Oh, look at your chin. Are you hurt?”
Reagan’s heart broke further at the sight of the nasty bruise forming on Carter’s square jaw. He wasn’t looking at his mother, though. He was looking right at her. His brown eyes were filled with worry. And that was when Reagan broke down. A sob ripped from her throat as Carter pushed past Walker and wrapped her in his arms.
“Shh. It’s okay, sweetie. I’m so sorry. I should have told you what I had planned. I knew your father wouldn’t handle it well. I thought in public he would have been a little better—”
Reagan shook her head. “No, it’s all my fault. I should have listened to you from the start and not hidden this.”
“Exactly how long has this been going on?” Sienna asked, pointing to the two of them.
“Sixteen months,” Reagan said shyly.
“Sixteen months!” Will said with shock. “You’re a better spy than your father.”
“I shouldn’t have left you to your father’s anger,” Carter whispered to her as he ignored his parents.
“Don’t worry. Your sister defended your honor.”
Carter looked to where Sienna stood serenely. “What did you do?”
“I put him in his place. No one picks on my baby brother,” Sienna said as she rubbed her belly.
“Your sister punched Cy in the nose,” Ryan said with pride.
“You did?” Carter asked with surprise.
“Yes. And I’d do it all over again too. But now I’m tired. And I’m sure you want to talk to Reagan alone. Call if you need anything,” Sienna told them before leaning forward and kissing them each on the cheek.
“Mrs. Ashton,” Reagan started, but Kenna cut her off.
“I know what you’re going to say. You only called me Mrs. Ashton when you did something wrong as a child. You’re not a child and you did nothing wrong. This is between your father and us, and you and your father, and we’ll handle it as such. You two go home. We’ll see you after you get back from Florida.”
Reagan fought the tears, but the tears won.
“It’ll be okay,” Kenna said as she cupped Reagan’s cheek with her hand. “Every relationship has hard times. It matters how you handle those times. Are you going to run away or are you going to fight? That will tell you more about what kind of relationship you have than anything else. We’ll love you either way.”
The music from the band picked up as people began to cheer in the distance. The party was back in full swing as Kenna, Will, Ryan, and Sienna left. “Come on. Let’s go home. We don’t have to hide anymore,” Carter said to her as he reached for her hand. With Kenna’s advice still ringing in her ears, Reagan looked back at the party briefly. Her heart ached. No matter what move she made, she’d be alienating a man she loved—her father or her boyfriend.
“I’m ready,” Reagan said, placing her hand in Carter’s.
9
Carter slipped from his bed, careful not to wake Reagan in the early morning darkness. They hadn’t had much opportunity to spend the night together, and this wasn’t the way he liked to spend these rare occasions.
Reagan had been quiet most of the night. He’d wrapped her in his arms and held her until she’d fallen asleep a couple hours ago. He didn’t know why she was surprised by her father’s reaction. Carter wasn’t. He had been expecting that type of reaction. Only now he realized his big mistake. He had thought coming out as a couple at the wedding would have prevented Cy’s overreaction. Even though Carter had apologized to Walker, he felt horrible for causing a scene at their wedding.
Carter slipped on his jeans and boots. He pulled a black polo shirt with the Ashton Farm emblem on the left chest over his head and hid his brown hair under a Thoroughbreds Football cap.
Normally in the mornings Carter would attend workouts for his horses at the practice track on the farm, but that morning he had a meeting with an old family friend. Suzanne Bristol, of the Bristol Oil fortune, had known his father since his days as a quarterback. Her husband had owned part of the football team Carter’s dad had played on until Bristol died five years ago. Suzanne had sold her share of the team and decided to get involved in horse racing.
Carter snuck quietly down the steps and out the front door of his house on the farm. The large white farmhouse had once been his parents’ home, but he inherited it after they moved into the house owned by his grandparents, William and Betsy, who moved to Florida.
“Still sneaking around, I see.”
Carter almost jumped at the threatening voice. He finished silently shutting the door and turned to face Cy. “How long have you been here?”