Blind Faith (26 page)

Serena realized he’d picked up on her tension and was attempting to keep her from the source.

“What I’m telling you,” Will said evenly, “is that McKinley tends to…place her own needs above anyone else’s, which makes me wonder why she
is
so anxious to get me out of here.  At first, she tried to convince me it was concern for Serena, and when that didn’t work, she tried to manipulate me into having se…an intimate relationship with her.  When I made it clear I wasn’t interested, McKinley targeted Serena, taking every opportunity to convince her I couldn’t be trusted.”

“I don’t believe you,” Tony’s voice was venomous.  “McKinley was in tears tonight.  She said it was
you
who tried to seduce
her.”

“That’s a lie!  It was the other way around.”

“I know my daughter, and she would never lie about something like that.  She was crying and shaking like a leaf because she was afraid you
would
try the same thing on Serena.”

“This is insane.  How can
you
claim to know McKinley and
still
be so oblivious to her devious nature?  She
would
say
anything
to get her own way and not suffer a moment’s guilt for doing it.  I didn’t want anything to do with her in high school and want even less to do with her now.  She’s a
cold-hearted
…”

“
That’s enough
,” Tony growled.

Several minutes
went
by without a word being spoken.  Serena imagined them standing there, glaring at each other, neither of them willing to back down.  It tore her heart out to think of the two men she loved most in the world arguing like this, the dissension between them growing more intense with each passing second.  She knew she should do something, but what?  How could she side with Will and hurt her father?  By the same token, how could she turn on Will without losing him?

“Listen,” she heard her father say, “we’re not going to solve anything by going at each other like a couple of
jackals
.  I think it would be best if you left.  Please…hear me out,” he said when Will replied with an emphatic
no
.  “I don’t want to upset Serena, but I can’t just ignore the things McKinley told me tonight either.  Tomorrow we can all get together at my house and discuss it like civilized people.”

“You can’t honestly believe I
would
do anything to harm Serena?”

“No…no, I don’t.  My gut feeling is that you sincerely care about her.  But I won’t take the chance that I’m wrong.  You can understand that, can’t you?”

“Yes, I suppose I can.”

“Good, then it’s settled,” Tony sounded much more amicable.  “I’ll wait here while you pack what you need for a few nights.  And there’s no reason to wake Serena.  I’ll call her in the morning and explain everything.”

“That’s very generous of yo
u,” Will said without a hint of insincerity
.

Serena clamped her hand over her mouth to muffle the harsh sob that was wrenched from her throat. 
Will was leaving?
  She shook her head in denial, tears splashing over her cheeks.  Why was he giving up so easily?  If he loved her,
really
loved her the way she loved him, nothing her father said could ever have persuaded him to just pack up and go.  Pain
speared through
her chest as the jagged edge of a memory reached out to taunt her.  Something Randy Porter said as he coaxed her into the darkened cave…the same words
Will
had whispered to her before they’d made love earlier.

“You can trust me, Serena.  You know I
would
never do anything to hurt you…”

Chapter 13

Will didn’t move.  He refused to budge one single inch.  Sizing up the opposition, he quickly concluded that being thirty years younger than Tony Cross gave him no advantage; the man was built like a brick outhouse and had a good twenty pounds on him.  He had no intention of inviting a physical brawl with Serena’s father, but he wasn’t going to be chased off by Tony’s intimidating tactics either.  Their eyes locked; mutiny clashed with murderous, but Will held his ground.  If he so much as batted an eyelash, it would be taken as a sign of weakness.  Tony might not like Will’s defiance, but he
would
grudgingly respect it.

“I’m waiting,” Tony broke the tense silence.

“And you’ll keep on waiting,” Will replied, his steely gaze unwavering.  “When and
if

Serena asks me to leave, I’ll go, but not before then.”

Thunder brewed behind Tony’s dark eyes.  “You said you understood why I want
ed
you out of here.”

“And I do.  But
you
need to understand why I feel just as strongly about staying,” Will continued before Tony could lay down any more objections.  “You never asked why I went after the boys who hurt Serena, or why I damn near killed Randy Porter instead of letting the authorities handle it.  I guess I always assumed it was enough for you to know
that
I
did exactly
what
you
would have done if I hadn’t gotten to them first.”

“I wanted to kill them all,” Tony’s eyes blazed with hatred.

“Because you love Serena,” Will replied pointedly.  “Maybe it wasn’t clear to me back then, but I loved her too.  That’s why seeing her so…broken triggered such a violent reaction.  It felt as if my own heart had been ripped out, and I…” his voice cracked and it took a few minutes to wrestle his emotions back.  “I don’t know why McKinley is dead set against me being here, but I swear on my life Serena is safe with me.  I’m in love with her, Mr. Cross, and she’s in love with me.  It took forever to get here, and there
is
nothing you or anyone else can say or do that will convince me I don’t belong with Serena.”

It was little more than a whisper, but both men heard it and turned towards the hallway.  Will didn’t think, he simply reacted to the sound of distress and bolted for the hallway.  Light from the foyer didn’t quite dispel the darkness
,
but it was sufficient enough to see Serena’s slender form sagging against the wall.  He nearly tripped over Rufus, whose black and brown fur blended in with the shadows.  It didn’t occur to him until after the dog skirted off that Rufus had been blocking Serena’s path.  Yet another male determined to protect the woman he loved.

The moment Will’s hand touched Serena’s shoulder, she let out a harsh sob and fell into his arms.
 
“I th-thought you were going to l-leave me,” she cried.

Will hugged her trembling body, alarmed by the stark
anguish
in her voice.   “
Never
, sweetheart,” he promised.  “I’ll never leave you.”

“But you acted like you didn’t c-care when Dad said to go p-pack your th-things.”

Puzzled, Will asked, “How could have you heard that part but not what I told him afterwards?”

“I covered my ears,” she sniffed.  “I didn’t want to hear anymore and didn’t think I could keep from falling apart if I had to hear the
door
close behind you.”

“Is that what you plan on doing whenever we have a disagreement, cover your ears?”

“Stop teasing me,” she admonished, though her tone had lost much of the heartbreaking sadness.

“I
am
sorry you overheard the argument with your father, but I wish you would have listened for a few minutes longer.”

Serena tilted her head back, the shimmer of tears on her cheeks visible even in the dim light.  “I’m listening now, Will.  Tell me…please.”

“I’ll tell you,” Tony said as he stepped into the hallway.

Will squinted against the harsh light when Tony flipped the switch.  Judging by the grave look on his face, he wasn’t very pleased to find his daughter locked in an intimate embrace with the man he
had
accused of trying to seduce her.  Tony’s gaze moved to Serena, his expression softening briefly before his focus shifted back to Will.

“I will
not
have my family torn apart over this,” Tony said.  “Serena, are you aware of the animosity between Will and McKinley?”

“Yes, but…”

“And you heard what McKinley said about him trying to seduce her?”

“I heard.  But Will would never…”

“Then you also heard me say McKinley is worried sick he
will
do the same thing to you.”

Serena drew away from Will, but not before he felt her back stiffen.  He ground his teeth together to keep from shouting at her father to stop badgering her because, as much as he hated to admit it, this was a test of Serena’s faith in him, in their love for one another. 
Whether Tony meant it to be or not didn’t matter.  Loyalty to family was important, and he didn’t discount how difficult it would be for her stand up to her father, but if she couldn’t do it here and now, she never would. 

Some battles, he was forced to admit, had to be fought on your own.  And this battle belonged to Serena and her father.

                      
                                        
***

“Yes, I was listening,” Serena told her father. 

She stopped and pressed her lips together, annoyed by the wobble in her voice.  It made her sound uncertain and she couldn’t afford to have either man think she was unsure of her feelings.  She took a step towards her father, purposely moving away from the security of Will’s arms so she could prove to herself, and them, that she was capable of making her own decisions.  Inside, she was shaking like a straw house in a strong wind, but they didn’t need to know that. 

“You’re worried about me and I can understand why.  After the performance McKinley put on for you and Mom, I’m surprised you gave Will a chance to say anything at all.”

“What did you expect me to do,” Tony’s voice was gruff, “throw the boy out without giving him the opportunity to leave on his own?  I’m not as unreasonable as you seem to think I am.”

Serena aimed a knowing smile in his direction. 
Great set up
, she congratulated herself,
and now for the spike
.  “No, you weren’t
entirely
unreasonable, but you
would
have been if you believed even half the things McKinley told you.  You would have charged in here like a crazed bull and given Will the sharp end of your horns if you thought for a minute there was any truth to her story.”

“Okay, okay, I might have been a little suspicious…”

“
A little
?”  Serena crossed her arms, determined to get a full confession from her father.
 

“Admit it.  You came over here because McKinley worked Mom up into worry fit and the only way you could keep peace at
your
house was to come and raise hell at mine!”

“All right, you got me,” he folded.  “I wasn’t convinced McKinley was telling the whole truth when I left the house, but on the drive over I wonder if I
had
brushed it off too easily.  By the time I got here, I’d talked myself into believing I was too smart to be played by my own daughter
,
so it followed that her claims had to be legitimate.”

She understood only too well how easy it was to fall for McKinley’s lies; her sister was exceptionally skillful at her craft.  But that didn’t mean Serena was going to let her father off the hook altogether. 

“I guess I can’t beat you up too bad
ly
when I’m guilty of the same thing.  I’m not even sure if McKinley knows the difference between the truth and her fabrications anymore.  Regardless, I think you owe Will an apology.  It’s bad enough that McKinley has been sharpening her claws on him since the day he moved in, but to have you accuse him of taking advantage of me is just horrible.”