The air is tinged with a floral aroma from the cherry blossoms that are starting to bloom. There’s still a thin layer of dew on the grass.
It takes me a good ten minutes to make it to the tee box for hole ten. It’s up a hill, and I forgot how difficult it is to cart around a bag of clubs. I’m slightly embarrassed by how labored my breathing is by the time I get to the top of it.
When I do, I spot a golf cart to the side of the tee box, and then my blood turns to pointed ice shards.
There’s a guy I don’t recognize with his body plastered against Mallory’s. He’s pressing her against the side of the cart, and at first, I think she knows him, and this is some sort of rendezvous. But then he shifts, and I catch a glimpse of the terror on her face and the way her hands are pressing into his chest, trying to get him off of her.
I drop my golf bag and charge. I make it to the golf cart as the man, who’s dressed in shorts, a golf polo, and a baseball cap, reaches his hand around to Mallory’s butt and attempts to squeeze it.
I see every shade of red on the color wheel as I wrench him away from her and fling him to the ground. “Get your hands off of her!”
“Whoa, man. Easy!” The guy wears a smarmy grin, and his eyes bulge when he gets a good look at me. “Holland Bradley? I’m a big fan.”
He stands and holds out his hand as if to shake mine. I ignore him and turn to Mallory. I reach my hands up but keep them hovering. I’m not sure if she wants to be touched right now. “Are you okay?”
She doesn’t meet my eye. Her chest is heaving, and she’s shaking. When she speaks, her voice is small. “I’m fine.”
I spin around, and the man is standing directly in front of me. I ball up my fists at my sides. “You need to get out of here.”
“Aw, come on. We were having a little fun. She wanted it, didn’t you?” He makes a move, as if he’s trying to reach for Mallory, but I cut him off. He rolls his eyes at me. “I mean, look at her. You wear clothes like that out here, what do you expect a guy to do? I’m guessing you’ve had your fun with that.”
Mallory gasps behind me, and I lose the last fingertip hold I had on my self-control. I cock my arm back and punch him square in the cheek. He sprawls on the ground with a satisfying thud.
For a moment, his eyes are wide, and then they narrow at me as he scrambles to his feet. “Where do you get off, man? That’s assault.” He takes a step toward me, but when I step forward too, he cowers. Like the weasel he is.
He puffs up his chest, a trickle of blood visible under his nose. “I could press charges.”
“Go ahead,” I spit. I’d like to see him try. “For now, get off this golf course, and stay the hell away from her.”
For a second, I think he might try to say something to Mallory. He seems like enough of a dude-bro to not understand that there’s literally no way I’m letting him speak to her or get close to her again…today or ever.
“This won’t be the last you hear from me.” He lifts his chin and saunters off but not before casting a glance over his shoulder and sniffing in Mallory’s direction. “You’re not as fun as you look.”
I point toward his golf cart parked on the opposite side of the green, my voice steely. “Go.”
27
Always On Your Side
Holland
Ikeep an eye on him until he’s out of sight, chugging off down the cart path back toward the clubhouse, and then I spin around.
Mallory’s usually creamy skin is a sickly gray. She’s got a dazed look in her eyes as she stares at the retreating golf cart.
I take a step toward her, still unsure what to do with my hands.
She closes her eyes, visibly swallows, and then blinks to look at me. “Thank you, Holland.” Her voice comes out low and controlled. If I wasn’t looking at her and seeing the physical signs of the encounter, I’d say she sounds pretty normal. But nothing about this is normal. Nothing about this is okay.
“Do you want to sit down?”
“I’ll be fine.” She folds her arms over herself. “I just—“ She shakes her head as if shaking off a bad thought. “I just need a minute.”
She slumps down into the seat, and I grab her bottle of water. I hold it out to her, and she takes it, but she fumbles with the cap, so I take it back and unscrew it before handing it back.
When she pulls it away from her lips, she still looks dazed. “I can’t believe this happened again.”
At first, I think she’s talking about how I helped her take her medicine and a drink of water the other night when she wasn’t feeling well. But then…
