He had rented a room in Jamestown, since both of them knew their relationship was going to change that night. Sutton wasn’t going to walk out of that hotel the virgin she was when she went inside. He wanted to give her a taste of what the other girls at school would have with their dates renting limos. However, even with working part-time at the grocery store, he didn’t have the extra money to pay for one, so he got sloppy selling a few bags of pot to several of the boys from school who wanted it for prom night.
He was driving home from work when the sheriff pulled him over. Tate hated the old bastard, but he had been smart enough to step out of his car when told to. The evil gleam in the sheriff’s eye showed he was waiting for Tate to argue. It didn’t take him five minutes to find the pot hidden in his car; as a result, Tate knew someone had snitched on him. He was handcuffed and taken to the sheriff’s office five minutes later.
He hadn’t known who to call to get him out of jail. With his parents dead, he had no relatives to turn to for help. He had called Sutton, only to have her father pick up the phone. He had been humiliated as he haltingly explained he needed to talk to Sutton. Her father had never been overly friendly with him, but he hadn’t been rude, either. When the judge had told him Sutton was out shopping, Tate had become desperate, not wanting to leave his brothers and sister home alone for the night, and had told the judge he was in jail then asked for help.
Surprisingly, the judge showed up at the jail and had him released. Tate’s mouth twisted bitterly at the memory. He was sickeningly grateful as they walked outside together, the sheriff watching impassively after handing him his car keys as they went out the door.
“Thank you, sir. I promise I won’t do—”
“Don’t make promises you aren’t going to keep. You want to thank me? Stay away from Sutton,” the judge had ordered.
Tate stopped walking to stare at the judge. “I can’t, sir. I care about her.”
“A Porter never cared about anything more than how much weed they’re selling and not getting caught. Are you going to drag Sutton down like your father dragged down your mother? Is that what you want?”
“No, sir. I’m not going to sell it anymore. I just needed the money for—”
“I don’t care why you needed the money this time. Every time you need it, you’ll pull out your bag and sell it again. It’s how you were raised. I’ve never known a Porter to make a living legally. It’s why most of your kin’s in the pen or dead. You will be, too, and I’ll be damned if I’m doing to watch my daughter being dragged through the dirt with you.”
Tate’s hands clenched at his sides. “Sir, I appreciate your help, but I won’t stop seeing Sutton.”
The judge’s lips tightened. “Then I guess we have nothing further to say to each other, do we?”
“No, we don’t.”
The judge gave him a sharp nod then got in his expensive car and drove away, leaving Tate standing in the parking lot. Tate drove home, and not wanting to get Sutton in trouble with her father, he didn’t call her that night. Instead, he searched for her the next day at school when he dropped Greer and Dustin off.
Usually, she waited for him at the entrance of the school, and they would share a quick kiss before she went inside. Tate waited as long as he could before he went to work without being late.
That day went from bad to worse. When she didn’t meet him after school, he knew she was mad at him. Thinking her father had told her to stay away from him, he decided he was going to drive by her house after picking Greer up from football practice. However, when he walked into the locker room, it went silent, his friends avoiding his eyes. Greer, who was changing out of his uniform, gave him a curious look.
“Did Sutton tell you she ate lunch with Cash?”
“No.” Tate kept his voice low so no one could hear his reaction.
Greer nodded. “It made me fucking sick. She couldn’t keep her hands off him. I sit behind him in biology, and I heard him tell Miller that Sutton asked him to the prom.”
Tate slammed his fist against Gree’s locker, immediately going toward Cash who was standing with his friends.
Greer tried to hold him back, but he shoved him away.
“What’s up with you and my girl?” Tate snarled at Cash.
“Sutton’s not your girl. She told me so herself last night.”
Tate’s gut churned in anger. “She’s mine, so stay the fuck away from her.”