CHAPTER 39
HARRY’S POV
We drove to the shop where the owner knows me pretty well because I’ve given him a lot of business in recent times, but he was surprised to see me in there with Skylar. I showed him the design that I created and he looked at all the details and even the inscription on it.
“Wow. You never disappoint.” The man said admiring the sketch I had done.
“Well, this is a special piece. Do you think you can do it?” I asked.
“Harry. Who do you think you’re talking to? Of course I can do it.” He said. And I chuckled. He was right. I should know him better than that by now. He’s the best blacksmith I’ve ever seen. And I’d been through a few of them before I found him.
“So, is this for someone special?” He asked, looking at Skylar.
I put my arm around her and I nodded my head. But just as we were getting in to talking about the piece I got a text message on my phone.
LUCAS - Get home now. Dad’s here.
“Excuse me for a second.” I said.
ME - What’s so urgent?
LUCAS - I don’t know. He wants to talk to all of us and he’s waiting at the house until you’re here.
ME - What about Skylar? I’m not dumping her off anywhere so he doesn’t see her.
I looked over and Skylar was eagerly talking to the shop owner, listening to him explain how he made these pieces of work for us and the whole process involved in doing something like this. She was really interested in it. But I’m not sure why that surprised me so much.
Her focus and curiosity in something like knife-making has just made me realize how much more there was to her that I didn’t know about and how much more respect I had for her. Not only was she willing to go camping with me, but now she’s showing an interest in my interests.
I thought this is something that would bore her. But she was really interested in learning how he made these knives and daggers for us.
Although, watching them two with their heads together, interacting with each other made me feel a twinge of possessiveness over her.
Seeing her talking with another man, no matter how old he is, it made me really uncomfortable. But I had to push those feelings down and suppress them.
I didn’t need to blow up at the shop owner just to scare Skylar and make her want to be with the others instead of me again.
LUCAS - Bring her. I don’t care if he sees her. Just so long as he knows to keep his damn hands to himself.
“Is everything alright?” Skylar asked.
“Yeah. It’s alright. We need to get going though. Something important has just come up at home.” I said, putting my phone back in my pocket.
“Alright. Well, don’t worry about this piece of art. I will have it ready for you in no time.” The blacksmith said.
“Thank you very much. I’ll talk to you soon.” I said, pulling out my wallet and paying for the item in advance like I always did. I grabbed Skylar’s hand as we walked out of the shop and we got in the car.
I could see and feel the tension coming off of Skylar. She obviously knew that something was up but I pulled out of the park and started driving down the road.
I was thinking about Lucas’ father before I could really say anything. We hadn’t heard from him in a little while and now there’s something that he urgently had to talk about.
I looked over at Skylar and she had a concerned look on her face as she was looking back at me.
“Lucas’ dad is at the house. He needs to talk to us. But he doesn’t know about you yet. At least, we don’t think so.” I said.
“And is that going to be a problem?” She asked. And I honestly didn’t know how to answer that.
“No. Of course not.” I lied.
I know how fragile she can be and right now, I don’t want her thinking that she’s intruding in our house. Especially not because of Lucas’ father. There’s no way I was going to let him make her feel like that. And I know the others won’t either.
Skylar still had a copy of the design in her hand and I saw that while I was on the phone, she’d made another little alteration of her own. I looked at the design and I saw that she had put a name on the other side of the handle. But I didn’t recognise the name.
“Addison. It’s my mother’s name. A sort of tribute and remembrance. She’s the only one who ever told me that I was worth something. Before I met you guys. And I have never forgotten that.” Skylar said.
“You don’t talk about your mother much.” I said.
“There’s not much to say. One day she was there and the next she wasn’t.” She said.
“She just left?” I asked, surprised. How could anyone just leave their child with a man like her father? And why would Skylar want to remember someone like that.
“No. She never left me. All of her stuff was still in the house. Dad tried to tell me that she left. But I snuck downstairs that night and saw him burning all of her things. Clothes, books, everything. I know she didn’t leave me.” Skylar said, looking so sad as she looked out the window.
Okay. I feel like an ass for what I just thought about her mother. She didn’t leave Skylar.
That son of a bitch murdered her mother and made her believe that her mother abandoned her.
I’m so glad that Skylar is smarter than people give her credit for. He probably thought she would believe him because she was so young. But obviously, she has never believed what he said.
“So, is there anything I need to know about Lucas’ dad?” Skylar asked.
“Well, just try not to piss him off. It would be best if we do the talking.” I said. So she nodded as she looked out the window.
I could tell that she was nervous. I’m not sure if she believed me when I lied to her before about her being at the house. His dad was going to see it as a problem, but I didn’t want her to know that.
He just better not be an asshole to her. That’s the last thing she needs.
I know she is stronger than people think and what they give her credit for, but her past can’t be ignored. She’s been abused her whole life by her father and his friends.
But even with all of that, she has never lost that gentle and kind heart that she wears on her sleeve. Some people think of that as a weakness, but to me, it’s what makes her who she is. And I’m not going to let anyone change who she is.
I wasn’t sure how she was going to react to William.