I glanced back to see what Dad would say.
“Your daughter is finished with college. She’s left to find her path. She’ doing something. Achieving something. She has goals. Ambition,” he argued.
I was still stuck on the Lila Kate being gone bit. Where did she go? When did she leave? That didn’t sound like Lila Kate at all. She was always up her parents’ ass, doing what they wanted. I probably wouldn’t have even fucked Chanel in that clubhouse and gotten caught on video if I hadn’t been fighting off my attraction to Lila Kate. She messed with my head.
“She’s a girl,” was Grant’s argument.
“That’s not a good excuse,” Rush added. “Phoenix is giving me hell. Girls aren’t easy because they’re girls. You just got fucking lucky because Lila Kate is exactly like her mother.”
She had left town? And Grant was okay with this?
“Who went with her?” I asked trying to get back to what was important here.
“No one,” was Grant’s response.
“You just let her take off on her own?” I asked wondering if he’d lost his goddamn mind. He’d always been so overprotective.
“She’s a grown woman. She’ smart,” was his defense
“She’s at Nate and Bliss’s right now,” Rush added.
She was in Sea Breeze. She hadn’t gotten far. “Where she going next?”
“She’s not making sex videos in the clubhouse that’s for damn sure,” Dad drawled.
No. She’d never do that. Lila Kate wasn’t that kind of girl. She also wasn’t the kind to run off like this. Alone. But then she’d only gotten as far as Alabama. There was a good chance she’d come back home. Probably would. But . . . what if she didn’t?
Lila Kate
BLISS HAD NICE friends. But I didn’t expect anything less. Today was fun. Enjoyable. I was glad I went. Now I needed to focus and decide where I would head next. Bliss had gone to the library where she worked to check on some things. I had decided to stay behind do some planning.
With the warm breeze, a towel to sit on, a notepad, and my iPhone for research, I sat down on the sand facing the water. My sunglasses shaded the sun, and it was peaceful. It felt like home. The part I loved. The warmth, sound of the waves, sand between my toes—things I had grown up with, and they’d always be a part of me. Wherever I ended up.
Making notes I was torn between going through Birmingham and visiting my friend or to keep going until I reached Nashville. Enjoy the city some then head on to the Smokey Mountains. It was either that or head west to Louisiana. I’d never been to New Orleans. That could be exciting. Traveling alone might not be very smart though.
“Mind if I interrupt?” the voice startled me, and I lifted my gaze to see Eli. I didn’t think he’d come around again after this morning. At least I had hoped he wouldn’t.
I wanted to say, “Yes, I do mind,” but my manners wouldn’t allow that. “I guess not.”