I scoff at him. “You lost everything, Asher. Not me. Your wife’s in a coma because you let her fall off a fucking cliff.” I lean in close to his face. “I never would have let her fall. And now you’ve lost your daughter and your best friend. Congratulations.”

His eyes go dark with contempt. “Don’t talk to me about Ember. Ever. And I want you to stay the fuck away from my daughter.”

I shake my head, refusing to back down. “That’ll never happen. I’ll never let her go, Ash. I love you like a brother, man, and I want to fix this shit with us. But I’ll never give her up. I love her too much.”

“Fix this?” he repeats. “Fix this? You think you can fix the fact that you betrayed me? Lied to me? Put your hands on my little girl? I have no idea who you even are. She’s a kid, Tor.”

“She’s not. Open your fucking eyes, Ash. She’s just like you. She knows exactly what she wants. She always has. She’s not some giddy, stupid-ass teen.”

He’s not hearing any of it. “No. You’ve messed with her head. Why, Tor? Sydni wasn’t good enough? Or Lisa? Or any other girl in this fucking town? You had to seduce a innocent little girl who looked up to you, adored you, and trusted you? How the hell do you even sleep at night? You’re a fucking psycho just like your fucked-up sicko of a brother. At least he has the decency to hide.”

His words snap my brain and I can’t control myself any more as I ram my fist into the side of his face. “Don’t talk about my family, Ash. I’ll fuckin’ bury you.” I grab his throat and push him up against the wall, effortlessly lifting him off his feet and choking him. “I love you man, but I’ll choke the shit out of you right now if you push me.”

His hands close around mine and I watch his eyes start to bulge and redden before I let him go and he steps away, gasping and glaring at me with even more repulsion

“I love her. She loves me. I’m going to marry her someday when she’s ready. I know you’re pissed, man. I would be too. And I’m really fuckin’ sorry. But maybe try to think about the fact that you picked me to care for her and love her, and I did just that. Our feelings grew with us and nothing and no one can change that. Not even you. I will never, ever hurt her.” I take a deep breath, pain tearing through my chest and ribs, and I soften my tone, hoping he’ll hear my words and believe them. I need him to accept us or it’s going to break Kenzi’s heart. “I know you can’t see it now, man. But your daughter has someone in her life who loves her and cares about her just as much as you do. I’ll never cheat on her or treat her bad. She’s safe with me. Always. And maybe someday you’ll be glad your best friend has someone to love him, too.”

His expression stays hard. “You’re out of your fucking mind. I’ll never forgive you for this. After everything I’ve done for you, you stabbed me right in the back and in my heart,” he spits a mouthful of blood onto my carpet. “You’re fucking dead to me, Tor. I don’t ever want to see your lying, deceitful face again. And you can bet your ass I’m going to do whatever I can in my power to keep Kenzi away from you and try to undo the damage you’ve done to her head. Do yourself a favor; stay the fuck away from her. Let her be a kid and grow up and date and have fun.”

“She doesn’t want that.”

“You don’t want that. Don’t be a selfish prick. Let her grow up and make adult choices.”

“Like you did with Ember?” I throw back. “She was fourteen when she got pregnant. You going to stand there and tell me either one of you ever regretted being together and having Kenzi?”

“No, we didn’t. But we were both kids and we were dumb and in love. You’re a fucking adult, you’ve had your chance to have fun and sleep with all sorts of women and make mistakes and figure out what and who you want in life. Kenzi’s lived in a bubble. I don’t want her strapped down to you.”

“Like I’m so fucking bad?”

“Well, you couldn’t keep Sydni happy, could ya?” He reminds me with a smirk.

I don’t even let that comment bother me. “Sydni think she’s a fucking bag of potato chips that needs to be passed around. That’s got nothing to do with me, man. Kenzi is in an entirely different league than Sydni.”