Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 34025 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 170(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34025 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 170(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
Then that bald fucker—Martin, I think was his name—decided to find himself a better vantage point. He thought he was being stealthy, but I caught the ripples his underwater movements stirred up and saw how his arm trembled from all the frantic tugging. The red-faced piece of shit was jacking off to my kid right in front of me, eye-fucking her over the frames of his fogged-up glasses.
Never in my life had I come so close to inflicting serious bodily harm. I wanted to separate his pathetic organ from the rest of his body with my bare hands.
“Dad,” Willow said when I hadn’t answered her after a while. I shook my head to loosen the muscles in my neck, dispersing some of the tension.
“I saw a chance to get out and I took it,” I said. In the end, it was a blessing that Martin had decided to switch spots because it opened a safer pathway out of the pool. As much as I wanted to teach those fucks a lesson in hot-spring etiquette, removing Willow from the situation was priority number one.
And let’s be real, I wasn’t convinced that I could take all four of them on my own. Maybe if they’d been horny frat boys drunk on too much Fireball, I would’ve stood a chance. But these guys were predators. I wasn’t about to risk letting Willow become their next meal.
Christ, if they were shameless enough to harass her in front of me, who knew what other sick shit they were capable of.
About half a mile down the main trail, I motioned for us to stop. I needed to put my socks back on to avoid getting blisters and I figured I might as well put on a shirt.
“Drink some water,” I said to Willow, knowing she hadn’t had a drop since before we reached Mr. Bubbles. She didn’t argue. Her hands shook as she worked to unscrew the cap on her water bottle. I laid my hands on top of hers. “Hey, it’s over now. You’re safe.”
She glanced in the direction we’d just come from. “What if they come looking for us?”
“They don’t know which site we’re headed to or which direction we came from.” I smoothed the stray hairs around her face that had come loose from her ponytail. “Forget about those guys. Focus on moving forward.”
She nodded. “Yeah, okay. Sure.”
Gazing into my daughter’s sky-blue eyes, I could tell she was only pretending to be reassured. Still, even a forced smile was a good start.
I pressed my lips to her forehead. “That’s my brave girl.”
We set off at a brisk pace to get our blood pumping. I kept my eyes and ears tuned to the forest, scanning for threats and signs of pursuit while Willow chattered about the scenery and how much she was looking forward to cooking dinner over an open fire. She’d assumed the responsibility for preparing food for this trip all by herself, balancing healthy, heartier options with camping staples and sweet treats. I caught myself smiling as I recalled her tossing the bag of marshmallows into the grocery cart yesterday morning. She never ate marshmallows at home, preferring whipped cream and cinnamon with her hot cocoa. The only time she ate marshmallows was in front of an open fire with me.
Would she continue to avoid them at college, or would she keep a bag in her room to remind her of our nights spent by the fire?
Pain echoed like a shout in the hollow of my chest. I wanted to believe that we’d always maintain this summer camping tradition, but that was probably naïve of me. Willow was going away to college on the other side of the country, starting a new chapter in her life. Would she still want to rough it the wilderness with her old man when she had a summer job to focus on? Not to mention plans with friends. A boyfriend—
Just the thought of her being alone with a guy had my hackles rising. I’d gotten off easy for the most part. While she admitted to being attracted to boys, she hadn’t shown much interest in dating throughout high school. But my luck was destined to run out sooner or later. Of course I wanted her to experience love and pleasure. But those guys at the hot spring weren’t unique among men. There were going to be plenty of others who looked at her and saw nothing but a body to use as they pleased. What if she trusted the wrong person and wound up getting hurt?
I wouldn’t be there to protect her anymore.
But that was the natural way of things, wasn’t it? Whether I liked it or not, Willow was growing up. I could only hope that I’d raised her to be cautious and alert, though part of me feared that my overprotectiveness had left her too innocent. Would her inexperience render her more vulnerable to creeps and abusers?