Love Against the Odds: Rogue in Love | Open Wounds Read online

  Moaning, he pulled away, allowing the warm liquid to land on her stomach. Feeling as if he’d just run a race, Trent nearly fell on top of her but caught his fall as he tried to catch his breath. She opened her eyes and there were no trace of tears. He could feel her heart beating rapidly in her ribcage and her chest rose and fell.

  “I love you, Harper.” The words had bubbled out with no restraint. “I’m sorry you didn’t come. I’ll try even harder next time.”

  She kissed his lips, his nose and cheeks. “Oh, dear Lord and heaven. That whole experience felt like one, gigantic orgasm.” She giggled.

  “You in this with me a hundred percent?” he asked with a smile. Trent knew the answer, but hearing was something different.

  “I love you, too. And, yes . . . I’m in, all the way.”

  Chapter 4

  Trent wasn’t a romantic, or at least he had never planned to be. He just wanted to spend time with Harper and since he had to do it alone, the only place he knew to bring her on the Fourth of July was to his favorite spot. It was located in the middle of two old farms and up on a hill. He’d laid out a blanket and brought some food. A warm breeze drifted about, bringing the scent of magnolias from the branches above. A few white petals fell around them as Harper held him close.

  Sam had told him he was too young to be in love. First loves never work out. He promised Trent that things would fall apart as soon as her father found out she was “slumming” it. But no matter the warnings, he couldn’t believe feelings this strong could be anything but the truth. He loved Harper and how she made him feel important and needed.

  At times, he feared if things didn’t work out he’d never find a relationship like this again. He looked up to the sky as some fireworks lit the darkness around them, filling it with bright colors. He’d never tell Harper about his fear. He couldn’t put too much pressure on her. She had choices to make that he would never experience. She could go to any college she wanted, but they’d spoken about her staying in Kentucky instead of going out of state to college. She hadn’t seemed overly excited about that part, but Trent promised her he’d make it up to her no matter what it took.

  A feather soft touch caressed his face, drawing his attention back to Harper.

  “What are you thinking about?” she asked. “Why aren’t you here in this moment with me?” She pulled his hand in her lap.

  “Oh, I’m here.”

  She eyed him, waiting for the truth no doubt. Her nose wrinkled when she smiled and her brow rose in question.

  “Fine.” He chuckled. “I was thinking about the future,” he admitted. “Our future.” Her soft smile highlighted her face in the night. Trent had always come up here to get away. He never cared about fireworks or picnics in this place, but now it had new meaning. It was no longer his place to be alone, but his place with her.

  “What exactly are you thinking?” She placed a tender kiss on his neck, then his lips.

  It was hard to think when she touched him, let alone with her lips. “I was thinking about moving in together.” It wasn’t exactly the truth, but Trent had thought about it a lot recently. Her smile fell and she looked away. “What?” he asked.

  She turned to him. “Nothing, I—I’m just thinking about . . .” she trailed off, looking away again. Panic bubbled inside Trent as he listened. “You know, my daddy wants me to apply to MIT and CAL Tech, but I told him I was thinking of staying here.”

  “What’d he say?” he asked casually, though his heart was racing.

  She gave him a you-don’t-want-to-know look, but he did want to know. He needed to know what they would be up against. “He was angry. Trent, sometimes I wonder if—”

  “Don’t worry about it,” he cut in. The worry was there in her eyes, but Trent wanted to relieve her of it. He wanted her to focus on the good in their future. How ironic it was the Trent was the one with a hopeful outlook on their future and it was sweet and sunny Harper who sat in front of him in fear of what the future would hold.

  She smiled, but the brightness he’d been used to seeing was gone. For the first time since Trent had been with her, her smile wasn’t genuine. He felt her fear and worry, but believed he could soothe it.

  “Look.” He pointed to the sky as red and blue lights burst in the air. “Let’s not worry about the future. Let’s just focus on the here and now.” He wrapped his arm around her and laid her back on the blanket. Her concern was noted, but Trent wasn’t worried. He’d make this right, no matter how hard he had to try.

  Fourth of July had come and gone and Trent and Harper spent many more days making love under the tree in their favorite spot and he’d finally made her come. He knew his baby’s body and spent damn near every night memorizing it. Never in his life had being with a woman felt so right. He enjoyed the ways she let him touch her and he damned sure enjoyed the way she used her mouth to touch him. So right and skillful, sometimes he had to wonder if she’d done it before him; though, he’d never ask. He couldn’t take an answer other than by some miracle she was just great at it, but mostly, he didn’t want her questioning his past in return.

  Trent sat down on a bench at the back of Sam’s shop and lit his cigarette. He was consumed with not wanting to fuck their relationship up, and he constantly found himself working harder to be right for Harper, to earn a place in her life. He knew her father could make their lives hell, so Trent was bent on getting his shit straight. Third on the list after graduating and getting a decent job, was getting his own place.

  The plan was to tell Harper about his renting an apartment, but she’d come down with a nasty stomach bug and was still laid up a few days later. Trent had never gone more than a day without speaking to her. The past forty-eight hours had been brutal without hearing her voice.

  The back door opened and Sam came out, throwing a cigarette in his mouth. “You got a lot of work done today,” he said as he plopped down into a chair. “You tryin’ to get off early?”

  Trent nodded. “I got some shit to do today.” He trusted Sam and had finally told him about his relationship with Harper.

  “Your girl still sick?” Sam eyed him with interest.

  Trent had learned when Sam asked a question and gave you a sideways glance, there was something more on his mind. Like when he’d asked Trent if he started smoking, the question had really been asked to suss out the cigarette burns his stepfather had given him on his arm. However this time, Trent didn’t like the knowing look because it involved Harper, and Sam had been warning him about what would happen when the world found out.

  “Stomach bug,” he said, not offering more.

  Sam laughed as if he’d told a joke.

  Leaning back, Trent cracked his neck and sighed as the stiffness dissipated. Sam’s constant nagging about Harper’s skin color and money was pissing him right off. He knew where they stood and the obstacles they faced. He was more than ready to face the world head on. As long as he had Harper buy his side, he could handle anything.

  Five days. Five fucking days.

  Never in the time they’d been dating had she ever gone this long without at least calling him. She had her own private line in her bedroom, so he should have had no problems getting a hold of her. Trent had bought her a secret pager months ago and he’d even paged her their special code, but nothing. Why wasn’t she answering? Was she that sick? Hopefully she wasn’t in the hospital.

  Trent called the number again. Voicemail. Something isn’t right. Grabbing his keys and cell phone, he headed to the car. Something could be seriously wrong and he’d never know. No one knew to call him and even if they did know, he doubted they’d rush to the phone to fill him in on his girl.

  Not even twenty minutes later he was parked down the street from Harper’s house. Cars filled the driveway and Trent nearly turned his car around and went back home. The thought of Harper sick without him by her side stopped him cold. He opened the door and got out. There was nothing left to do now but head down the street and knock on the door.


  His stomach churned and his palms were sweaty, but he strode up the driveway to the three-story brick home as if he belonged there. In his eyes, he did. Trent belonged wherever Harper was, and he prayed he was just overreacting.

  Ringing the doorbell, he listened as it sounded throughout the house. A shadow appeared and then a small, wiry black woman stood before him. Her hair was pulled up in and neat bun, a pair of thin-framed glasses rimmed her eyes and her lips seemed stuck in a permanent frown.

  “May I help you?” The woman kept the door cracked and her body wedged inside. Trent was tempted to look past her, but her gaze was trained on his.

  “Yes, is Harper home?”

  The woman’s eyes narrowed and her lips thinned. “She is not taking visitors. Who are you?”

  He was about to ask her who the hell she was when he remembered what he was here for. “My name is Trent.” Her eyes widened in shock and a hand flew to her mouth. He tried to ignore her reaction as he spoke. “I go—went to school with her at Lincoln High.” Trent wasn’t sure what part of his speech offended the woman, but he knew an angry woman when he saw one. Which is why it was so shocking when she moved to the side and opened the door further.

  “Come on in. Mr. Hannock was just on his way to see you.”

  He swallowed hard. So that was why she hadn’t reached out to him in so long. Her father knew about them. Trent couldn’t figure out how, but then again, Sam had guessed it, and they had been seeing each other for over a year. Someone else was bound to find out.

  Chapter 5

  Harper’s living room felt like a dentist’s office with its bland interior, large fish tank, and impersonal feel. He didn’t see her living here. She was wild and bright, not muted and dull. He’d always envisioned her room in gold with glitter, or some sequin shit.

  Seated on an uncomfortable, pale blue loveseat the woman had called it, he waited impatiently with his leg bouncing. The last thing he wanted to do was give her father the wrong impression, so he sat up straight and tried to act the part of a worthy male.

  The large man finally made his way into the room and Trent started to stand.

  “No need. This won’t take long.” His voice was hard and unkind.

  Trent knew he was in trouble, but he and Harper could handle this. She was his rock, and with her they could get through anything. As if summoned by his thoughts Harper appeared in the doorway, arms across her middle and head down as she walked through the door to stand beside her father. Even though Trent felt the heavy weight of the situation on his shoulders, the sight of Harper made his heart rate spike and his head swim.

  “My daughter is pregnant.” Her dad said with no preamble. Just a quick sucker punch to the kidneys.

  Trent’s gaze swung to Harper who was still eyeing the ground. They’d been so careful and used protection every time except once. Just one time. And he’d pulled out! Panic filled his chest and his plans for a life with Harper seemed to come crashing to the floor.

  His words jumbled in his throat as he tried to speak. “Sir, I—I didn’t think . . .” Trent had never felt so stupid in his life. He shoved his hands through his hair. Though he’d expected anger and yelling, Harper’s dad did nothing of the sort.

  “I will tell you how this is going to work out.” Crossing his arms over his chest, he leaned back on the chair behind him.

  The smirk on his face told Trent all he needed to know. But Trent wouldn’t be pushed away. He wasn’t ready for a kid, but he’d still be in Harper’s life.

  “My daughter is going to have this kid, and her aunt or grandmother is going to take care of it while she is in college upstate—”

  “Wait, what?” Trent considered himself a smart person. He knew her father would be pissed about their relationship, and with Harper being pregnant things had gotten even further out of control. But Trent had never expected Harper to be moved out of the state. Maybe he should have, but with Harper’s eighteenth birthday just next year, Trent settled just a bit. She would be in control of her future and not her father. But that was so long away, what about his kid?

  The man took a step forward. “Harper applied for MIT and was accepted.”

  Trent’s gaze moved to Harper, but still, she didn’t meet his gaze. He didn’t know how far Massachusetts was from Kentucky, but he knew it was a hell of a lot farther than she’d ever told him she was going.

  “Harper?” Trent called and finally she looked up at him. Her eyes were red from crying and he felt damned close to breaking down. She’d probably just been too nervous to tell him about the college, or maybe her father had forced her to apply; either way, he wanted to be with her. If that meant being apart for a few months until he could raise the money to get to her and his kid, he’d do just that.

  She took a small step forward. “Trent—”

  Her father stopped her by putting out his hand. Looking at Trent, he said, “I’m sorry, but there is no easy way to say this. You clearly don’t belong here. And my daughter certainly deserves better than you. You understand me?”

  Trent almost chuckled. He’d heard that so many times, it no longer made him angry. Everyone thought he didn’t belong, but none of those people mattered. When he had needed someone most, Harper appeared out of the darkness and healed old wounds and loneliness. He’d given her every piece of himself without fear.

  “Sir, I know I don’t—”

  “Well, I’m glad we agree on something,” he spoke over Trent.

  Trent shook his head, looking to Harper for help, but she only stood silently staring out the window. He knew this could be the last time he was able to see her, but he didn’t want to believe they would be dismantled so easily.

  “Now, if you come near Harper again, I will go to the police and explain how my daughter was raped in my own home . . .”

  Trent was so shocked he jumped to his feet. It wasn’t even the words that had him stunned the most, but how casually he threw around false claims of rape. And to top it off, his girlfriend just stood idly by, seemingly not affected by the words. Was this some bad dream gone wrong?

  “And, as you know,” he continued, “I am a judge, who is friends with all the other judges in the area. Harper tells me the night you took advantage of her was on your birthday, and you are what now?” He didn’t wait for Trent to answer. “Eighteen. Eighteen makes you a legal adult. Do you know what kind of time you’d be looking at as an adult?”

  “I didn’t rape anyone!” He turned to Harper. “Tell him. Tell him what happened that night!” Trent moved until he stood directly in front of her. “Tell him that you took me there. You wanted to be with me.” Trent ran his hands through his hair. He didn’t understand what was happening. Her silence was killing him. Her father’s indifference to his words only made matters worse.

  “Harper, tell the young man what you told me,” her father asked in a soft voice.

  Trent looked to Harper and waited. His heart stuttered in his chest when she looked at him.

  “I didn’t want to go there that night. You’d pressured me over the past year, so I finally gave in.” Her words sounded rehearsed—staged.

  It was as if the magical string holding Trent up for the past year had been cut with her sharp words. He stumbled back, nearly collapsing on the floor.

  It wasn’t that he thought she believed the words coming out of her mouth. No, what he couldn’t believe was the empty girl standing in front of him. The fight had been completely erased and she was no longer Harper. The outspoken, lively, and bright woman he’d known was gone.

  “Did he tell you to say that?” he spat.

  Harper paused, looking up to her father before looking back. Tears fled her eyes and he wanted to reach for her. He wanted to hold her and take her away, but he didn’t. If she wasn’t going to fight for him, how would they ever win? Her father did have connections, but Trent needed Harper on his side because he couldn’t do this without her.

  She shook her head. “It’s not even that.”
r />   Confused, he asked, “Then what?” He knew he sounded broken, but he just couldn’t bring himself to care.

  She sighed. “You can’t take care of this kid, and I can’t either. I want to go to college. I don’t want my kid to have the life you did.”

  Hearing those words pass her lips sobered him up. What was she saying? Trent would be like his father and walk out on her? He thought she knew him better than that.

  “I mean, if we stay together, I’d have to sacrifice more than you would.”

  Appalled at the idea, Trent said, “And why is that? Why would you have to give anything up?” She could go to college. He’d follow her. Yes, it’d be hard and stressful, but Trent believed Harper was worth it. He was just now realizing Harper didn’t feel the same about his worth.

  She moved next to him. Trent glanced at her father to gauge his reaction. “I’d end up like your mother,” she continued. “At home raising a kid, while you worked all day. You wouldn’t want to come home to the stress of a wife and kid after a long, hard day. This just wouldn’t work, Trent. We have to realize that.”

  His heartache transformed to anger. “You actually believe that pile of shit, or are you just parroting your dad’s words?” He nodded over at her father who happily sat by, watching his daughter crush what was left of Trent’s heart and dreams.

  She tried to take his hand but Trent pulled back. “I’m just telling the truth. You know I am.”

  Trent stood. It was clear she wasn’t going to fight for them, and even if he got her alone he wasn’t sure he could change her mind. Fear was a great motivator. And the thought she’d become like his mother must have overpowered any love she harbored for him.

  “Imagine what people would say if they found out my bloodline, my own flesh and blood, was sullied with some white trash nobody?” Her father chuckled. “They would lose all respect for our family, and I’d see you in jail before I let that happen.”