Three Southern Beaches: A Summer Beach Read Box Set Read Online Free PDF Page A

went rigid as Taylor’s eyes filled with anger and fear. Her mother wrapped her arms around Taylor and started sobbing. “My baby, my baby,” she sobbed over and over as she clutched Taylor. Taylor, on the other hand, had a blank expression as she stood frozen in place while her mother bawled. Trey hurried over to her and pried her mother off her. The man she identified as her father slowly looked around the room as if he were casing the place for a robbery. He hadn’t said anything to Taylor or Trey. Instead he stopped in front of Taylor’s Oscar and stared.
    “Get off me, you brute!” her mother screamed as she flailed in Trey’s arms.
    “Taylor?” He didn’t know what to do. He knew what her parents had done to her, but she was just standing there. What was he supposed to do?
    “Look here, honey. It’s the Oscar we won for our ungrateful daughter,” Taylor’s father said as calmly as if he were pointing out a tourist attraction.
     
    Taylor’s mouth went dry at the sight of her parents. She hadn’t seen them since that horrible day at the studio when she was seventeen years old. They looked like her parents, but a little more wrinkled and worn down. She didn’t really know what to do or think. Her mind literally froze with fear when her mother raced to her and gripped her in a tight hug.
    But when her father held her Oscar and called her ungrateful, she finally managed to flinch. No matter what—the yelling, the degrading, or the verbal and physical abuse—Taylor still felt like a bad daughter when her father said these things. She knew in her mind she wasn’t, but that didn’t stop the guilt.
    “That’s it!” Trey roared, silencing the room.
    Taylor watched as her mother stomped toward him and let her hand fly. Trey caught her wrist before her hand connected with his face and Taylor saw his square jaw tighten in anger. Flashbacks from her past threatened to overcome her, but it was Trey’s powerful voice that brought her back to the present.
    “You may do that to a defenseless child, but I’m neither a child nor defenseless. And neither is Taylor anymore. You’re not welcome here. If you’re not out of this house in five seconds, then I’m calling the police.”
    Taylor blinked and the room came back into focus. Trey was right. She wasn’t alone anymore. She wasn’t a child anymore. And she certainly wasn’t defenseless anymore. “Why are you here? I told you I never wanted to see you again.” Her voice was soft, but it held a tone of authority she was proud of.
    “We’re here for you, baby. To help you relaunch your career. We’re your managers after all, baby,” her mother cooed.
    Her father put down the Oscar and wrapped his arm around his wife. “That’s right. And we’re here to save you from this dumb jock. Running backs only have an average of three years in the NFL. His time is up. He’ll be living off your money for the rest of his life. He’s only holding you back. We saw you with Grant Elliott today. Now he’s going places with his life. You would be a Hollywood power couple just like Brad and Angelina. You could be Graylor.”
    Her eyes shot to Trey. She hadn’t told him yet about the show Grant put on this morning, but the quirk of his lips relaxed her. They’d always had trust in their relationship and she knew better than to think he’d fall for her parents’ tricks.
    “Graylor,” Trey repeated. “They’re right, Taylor. It sounds so much better than T2, T-Squared, Double T’s and the other nicknames we have.”
    Taylor rolled her eyes and felt her confidence rise. She was not the person she was all those years ago. And one thing she knew for sure, there was no one she’d rather spend the rest of her life with, money or not, than Trey Everett. He made her stronger just with that little quirk of his lips.
    “That’s true. You were my managers. Ten percent, right?” Taylor asked as if she was trying to remember.
    “That’s right, baby,” her mother