For Once In My Life (Stevens Book 2)

Chapter 12

"So what happened?" he asked touching the bruise on her arm.

"Nothing, I was hit by a door." She insisted as she sipped her wine her hand shaking at his nearness and the feel of his touch.

"Dana..." he warned.

She knew he wouldn't give up until she told the truth.

"Marcus felt the need to say 'hi' during intermission. It seems he's upset that I never dressed this way for him. I told him it was his fault that he was the one that dressed me." She shrugged looking at her wine, too depressed to really care that Marcus had hurt her again.

"How did you know where I was staying?" she asked after a moment of tense silence, curious who had told him where to find her yesterday.

Quinn sipped his beer watching her. "Bryce told me."

Dana nodded, and Quinn remained silent as she tried to guess what he was thinking. She felt his eyes travel up her body, blazing a trail as they went. It was true she wouldn't have dressed this way for Marcus even if he had allowed her to pick out her own clothes. If she was honest, Quinn was the one for whom she had dressed. Secretly, deep down, she was hoping he would see her tonight, and that he would be so awed by her beauty, he would declare his undying love for her and sweep her off of her feet and back to the ranch in Texas.

And it seemed that he did, at least, appreciate her appearance if his heated glance was anything to go by as they sat in silence and the heat between them built.

"Ask me up, Dana." His voice was hoarse as if the request was pulled from deep within him.

Her heart soared, and she didn't even have to think about it. "Please come up Quinn.?

He nodded turning to pay for their drinks, and they were silent as they rode the elevator up to her floor. He hadn't touched her or kissed her yet, but her heart was racing just at the thought. When she pushed open her door, Quinn was right behind her, and they both stopped suddenly.

Dana gasped, she had not been expecting to see her father sitting, waiting, and she felt like she was sixteen all over again. She took a step back but Quinn was blocking her, and his arm wrapped around her waist.

"Daddy," Dana said, her voice sounding like a little girl's.

"So this is him? This is the man that you left your husband for?" He wasn't yelling, but the censure in his voice was evident.

"No, I didn't leave-,"

"Yes, you did. Marcus told me the whole story." Her father's eyes looked at her as if she was trash.

"Well, that's that then." Dana rubbed her forehead with a shaking hand.

"Look at you, how you're dressed. You look like a slut."

Dana who had thought she looked so pretty earlier suddenly felt ugly.

She felt every muscle in Quinn tense, and he was holding deathly still. It reminded her of a cat that was waiting for just the right moment to attack.

"Yes, Daddy." It was all she could think to say. Even with Quinn's broad back behind her, she didn't have the strength to fight her father.

"You dressed like that for him, didn't you?" He motioned to Quinn.

"Yes, Daddy."

Quinn stepped around her, but Dana put a gentle hand on his arm and looked into his eyes, pleading with him to back off.

"Young man, I want you to leave now. I need to talk to my daughter."

"No sir, I will not leave." Quinn's voice was quiet but firm as his eyes held hers.

"Dana." Her father looked at her, demanding that she tell him to leave.

Even if Dana had had the strength to stand up to her father, she didn't want to put Quinn in a position that put him at risk.

"It's fine Quinn. Please leave." He must have seen something in her eyes that convinced him. Neither she nor her father noticed Quinn pick up her key card as he left.

She moved towards the bench in front of the vanity and sunk onto it. She didn't bother to look at her father she just stared at her feet in, what she now viewed as, ridiculously high heels. Dana heard the door close behind Quinn and her heart sunk. She had told him to leave, what did she expect?

She barely heard her father as he laid into her. Calling her names and telling her she didn't deserve Marcus, and that she had been lucky to have a man like him willing to take her. It was the same as it had been when she was sixteen, right before he had locked her in her room.

All she could think to say was Yes Daddy, and you're right Daddy.

Where had all of her spunk and self-assurance that she had worked so hard to build gone. She thought of all of the Stevenses who had taken her in, kept her safe and defended her. What would Elizabeth, Lizzy, and Cassandra do in this situation?

A small smile came to her lips as she thought of Lizzy and Elizabeth teaching her to shoot a gun. She did not doubt that they would look at her father as if he was crazy then show him the door, and if they could do it so could she. After all, they had thought she was worth fighting for.

Dana rose towering over her father. Funny she had never realized that she was taller than her him. He was a very short man. She thought of her mother and tried to remember her, but all she could remember was a soft-spoken woman who only spoke when spoken to.

"What happen to Momma, Daddy?" Dana asked, wanting to know for the first time what had happened to her mother. She had been so young when she had died.

"What?" Her father's tirade came to an end, and he looked taken aback by the question.

"Did you hit her like you hit me? You never hit me when I was a little girl, but I always obeyed you as a little girl. You only hit me after I disobeyed you when you wanted me to marry Marcus." She watched her father turn red, and she was starting to find her power in her calmness as he grew flustered.

"You did hit her didn't you?"

"She deserved all of the reprimands that I gave her. She was just like you, thinking that she knew what was best when she had no clue."

"How did Momma die daddy?"

"It doesn't matter, all that matters is that she was weak and chose to die."

Dana nodded at this understanding a little bit better now. Her mother had been trapped like she had and there had been times when Dana had wished that she were dead. "There is one difference between Momma and me. I am not weak. Instead of choosing to die, I chose to live and even escape from my life." Dana smiled, realizing that it was true.

"And where did you run? Right into the arms of another man, several to hear Marcus tell it." He started to turn nasty again.

"You have no say in my life anymore. I will sleep with as many damn men as I choose, and there is nothing you can do about it."

She heard the crack as his hand as it connected with her face before she felt it. She couldn't decide if he hit her because of the smile or the comment.

"You should be congratulating Marcus on his narrow escape." Dana reached up to touch her cheek and busted lip. "That's the last time you'll hit me, and this is the last time you will see me. If you have anything to say to me, you can talk to my lawyer. I'm sure Marcus knows how to contact him." She reached for the phone behind her. "You can leave now on your own or I can call security, and I promise that if I call for security, there will be an official police report and a scene."

Her father's complexion paled then grew ruddy again as he picked up his coat. "This isn't finished."

"For me it is." Dana waited until her father had left then sunk to the bed trembling. She had never before talked to her father that way. She had tried when she was seventeen, but she had lacked the conviction then. Silently, she thanked the Stevens women for teaching her that women could be strong.

Eventually, the reality of what had just happened, and what could have happened, set in, and she was suddenly freezing so she kicked off her shoes and crawled under the covers, turning off the light above her and leaving only the bathroom light on for a little illumination.