“I know what a pinky promise is, Carson. But why on god’s green earth would I kiss you?”
“Ouch! I’ll have you know I’m a great kisser.” I rub at my chest to feign hurt. “But that’s not what this is,friend. It’s just like a pinky promise, except you kiss your own hand to make it an extra-important promise. Kind of like an unbreakable vow fromHarry Potter. Look, if Cadence can already do it, so can you.”
Dakota reluctantly holds out her hand for me to link our pinky fingers. Once I do, the same rush of electricity engulfs me like every other time we’ve touched. I lean across her bed and kiss my fist just as she leans in slightly to kiss hers. Our eyes lock as we seal our promise. Except I’m not just promising to keep her secret from her brother. No, this is me promising far more than that.
I’ll take care of you.
You are safe with me.
I’m never going to let him touch you ever again.
Not long after Dakota and I hang up with her brother—that’s right, I got to chat with Brody fucking Meyer—my dad walks into the hospital room.
“Knock, knock,” he says as he enters.
Theodore Wilder, or Teddy as most of my friends call him, is a six-foot-four brute of a man. His once light brown hair is now filled with salt and pepper, giving him more of a silver fox vibe. No matter the time of year, he always seems to have tanned skin, and even in his early fifties, he’s still in pretty good shape. To others, he probably looks intimidating in his three-piece suit, with polished shoes and his clean-shaven face. To me, he looks like the most supportive dad, who has become one of my best friends as I’ve gotten older.
I get up and give him a big hug, needing to absorb his strength in this moment.
As soon as Dakota sees my dad, she looks like she wants to turn in on herself.
“Good morning, Dakota. It’s nice to see you again, though I wish the circumstances were different.”
“Hello, Mr. Wilder,” she says, her tone laced with nerves.
Okay, I don’t like that.I’m supposed to be Mr. Wilder, just like Mr. Darcy.
“You can call him Teddy or Theo if you’d like,” I offer. Dakota nods her head, but I don’t miss the heat of her cheeks.
“I brought some brunch for the two of you from that cafe down the street your mother loves. I figured you’d probably had enough of the hospital food,” he says as he holds up two takeout bags before handing them over to me.
“That was very kind of you, thank you, Mr. uh, I mean, Theo.”
“May I?” my dad asks as he points to one of the chairs beside Dakota’s bed.
“Yes, of course,” Dakota replies with a quick nod.
My dad undoes the button of his suit jacket, and once he’s seated, he doesn’t hesitate to get to the matter at hand. “Dakota, as I’m sure you know, my son has filled me in on the events that led to your hospitalization. I want to assure you that my partners and I have taken swift action and terminated Aaron’s employment at the firm. We have a morality clause that Mr. Ackerman has certainly not abided by. I do not take his actions lightly, and we will not stand to have an employee who assaults his wife representing our firm. With that said, I want you to know that, should you agree, I would like to represent you. My services would be pro bono, of course.”
Dakota is quick to shake her head. “Oh, no. Theo, I couldn’t. You and your family have already done so much for me. I couldn’t ask you to do that. Besides, the only attorney I’m hiring is a divorce attorney.”
I busy myself with setting out the food on her bedside tray before taking a seat beside her on the edge of her bed.
She’s still shaking her head when my dad says, “Alright, it’s settled. I’ll be representing Mrs. Ackerman in the matter of her divorce from Mr. Ackerman.”
Biting her lip, Dakota nods in acceptance before adding, “I’d like to get my name changed back to Dakota Meyer, if that isn’t too much trouble.”
I like the sound of that much more than Dakota Ackerman. Not a single piece of her should have to remain attached to that piece of shit.
“Dakota, I’d like to move forward today with filing an order of protection against Mr. Ackerman. If you’re okay with it, I can also begin the divorce filing by stating the marriage has been irretrievably broken. I’ll also file a request for your name change when I return to my office. As for the assault charges, the prosecutors have moved forward with filing charges against Mr. Ackerman for assault in the first and third degree. If he is found guilty for either of those charges, he will be sentenced to prison.”
I pray to god that the motherfucker gets prison time.
“Yes, I would like the order of protection and divorce to be filed.” Dakota tries to take a deep breath but winces in pain. Every second she feels pain is another year that should be tacked on to his sentence.
“What do you need from your house? We can have an officer escort you and be sure Mr. Ackerman is not on the premises,” my dad suggests.
“Nothing. I kept pretty much everything that I needed or was sentimental in the trunk of my car. I had been planning to leave him for a while—I was just saving up enough money so I could file for divorce and afford other housing.”
