by R. Linda
“We didn’t.” Linc hissed in a breath and held his side as he slid into the seat next to Indie, who was frowning at him.
“What happened?” Kenzie asked and began inspecting Ryder’s face.
“It’s fine. I stopped him before he could kill Chace,” Bailey answered because Ryder stood there with a smug look on his face, like it was no big deal, and he was probably right to give the guy a beating. I didn’t know what started it, but I knew Chace deserved everything he got.
“And that’s not stupid?” Indie nudged Linc in the side, causing him to jerk to the side in pain. “How is that not stupid? You know what he’s like with Chace. And what happened to you?”
“Standing right here, In,” Ryder growled while Linc shot a glare at Bailey.
She returned his look with a sweet smile and said, “I may have hit Linc. Just a little.”
“You what?”
“Someone had to stop Ryder, and he,” she pointed at Linc, “wouldn’t let me go.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head in disbelief.
Indie snorted. “Well, that was stupid.”
“I didn’t want her to get hurt,” Linc defended himself.
“She won’t. She’s the only one who can calm him down and get him to stop.”
“Yeah, kinda noticed that,” Linc muttered and rubbed his ribs.
“Poor baby.” Indie patted his cheek.
“Here, fix ya face.” Johnny approached with a cloth for Ryder’s bloody lip. It was amazing the guy still had any facial piercings left with the number of times he’d gotten into fights.
“Cheers.”
“And ice your ribs,” Johnny said to Linc, handing him some ice in a towel. “So, what the hell happened out there?”
Kenzie watched Cole thoughtfully, her eyes narrowing and a small frown on her face. “Nothing.”
“Julie,” Johnny called for his wife, “come give the little guy a tour.”
Julie grabbed Cole and took him to have a look at the kitchen. “Let’s go make something special for your mumma,” Julie said to Cole, making him jump up and down in excitement as they left, talking about chocolate, strawberries, and pancakes. It gave Kenzie the chance to explain.
“Now, spill it.” Johnny pointed at Kenzie and pulled out a seat. “Your punk brother is home for one day, and he’s already getting into fights. I thought we were past this.”
“I’m sorry, Johnny. Really. I didn’t want this to happen.” Kenzie dropped her head in her hands and slid into the booth beside Bailey and Ryder. “And I didn’t want you to fight him.” She looked up at Ryder.
“He deserved it,” Ryder said, wincing. The cut on his lip looked pretty bad.
“He, who?” Johnny asked.
“Chace.”
“The kid’s dad?”
Kenzie sighed in response. “He wants to get to know Cole. Bailed us up in the parking lot when we tried to come inside. Scared Cole and freaked me out. I told him no and to leave because I don’t even want Cole to know who he is. But we all know what Chace is like. He doesn’t take no for answer.”
“What’s he doing here? I thought he was still at uni. His parents have gone. There’s nothing in town for him anymore,” Indie said.
“There’s Cole,” Kenzie answered.
“And why did you think it was good idea to beat the daylights out of him?” Johnny asked Ryder, who just smirked.
“Because he’s a dick,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone and shrugged.
“No arguments there,” Bailey muttered.
“And you guys didn’t think to stop him?” Johnny looked at me and then Linc.
“Don’t look at me.” Linc held his hands up defensively. “I was holding him back. Nate told me to let him go. So I did.”
Ryder reached his fist out for me to bump in a show of solidarity.
“You’re all the bloody same. No more!” Johnny huffed, rubbing a hand over his tired face. “You gotta stop laying your fists into everyone who pisses you off,” he said to Ryder then turned to me and Linc. “You gotta stop encouraging him.” And finally to Kenzie, “You need to sort it out. Talk to him without Cole. Find out what he really wants, and if you still don’t want him near the kid, get legal advice or your brother’s going to end up charged with assault or worse.”
We were all silent, letting the weight of his words crash down on us. Reality was a bitch, but he was right. It was time we all grew up and acted like the adults we were supposed to be.
“You’re right,” Ryder sighed. “But I can’t make any promises when it comes to Chace and my family. Next time, I’ll try not to hit him so much.”
“Nex-next time?” Johnny leaped from his chair, knocking it over in the process. “There won’t be a next time. I’m not bailing you out again, kid. This is my final warning.”
Indie’s eyes widened in shock and she bit her lip, looking at Bailey, who was just as alarmed as she touched Ryder’s arm. His jaw clenched, his hands balled into fists, and he shot Johnny a warning glare that had Johnny backing up and cursing in apology.
“Okay. Okay. I get the last time. I do. But you nearly…you know what? Never mind. Just no more. Please,” he begged before turning and walking away. The last time? It had happened before?
“Someone care to explain what that was about?” Kenzie voiced the question that was swirling around in my head.
“Nothing. Forget it.” Ryder looked at Bailey and leaned in, pressing his head to hers. It was an intimate gesture, and I shuffled my feet and looked anywhere but at them.
“No, I want answers. What was he talking about?”
“Dammit, Kenzie!” He slammed a hand down on the table, rattling dishes and toppling the salt shaker. I’ll admit, I jumped a little at his outburst, but Bailey and Indie didn’t appear fazed, like they’d seen this reaction before. That was kind of unsettling that they were so used to it.
“Don’t ‘dammit, Kenzie’ me.” She had to poke the bear, didn’t she? She shoved her finger in his chest. “What was he talking about? You don’t keep shit from me.”
“One time. It was one time,” Ryder said through clenched teeth, gradually calming down as Bailey wrapped her hands around his fists. Indie was right. She was the only one who could calm him down. I didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
“Ryder?” Kenzie urged, tapping her fingernails impatiently on the table.
Ryder groaned, tilted his head back, and squeezed his eyes shut, “One time. A couple of years ago, I just lost control. Ended up arrested and locked up until Johnny bailed me out.”
“What?” Kenzie yelled. “How could you be so stupid? How could you not tell me?”
“It had nothing to do with you, Kenzie. And I’d do it again. He. Deserved. Everything. And more.”
“What the hell were you thinking?”
“That I could make him suffer just as much as—” He shook his head, cutting himself short. “I’m not talking about it anymore. Chace got what he deserved. I got arrested, charged, and completed my community service and anger management classes. It’s fine.”
“Anger management?” Kenzie reared back, her voice a high-pitched screech. “What the hell, Ryder?”
I knew the guy was protective of his sister and Cole and Bailey, but I dreaded to think what Chace could have done that provoked him so much he ended up charged with assault and forced to take anger management classes. One look at Linc and I knew he was as clueless as I was. Indie knew, though. I could see it in her eyes, the fear and the sadness. Whatever happened, it was bad.
“Kenz, leave it, please,” Bailey pleaded, her voice catching at the end. I was willing to bet it had everything to do with Bailey, judging by the look on her face. She was pale, her eyes wide with fright.
Taking a moment to think about it, Kenzie nodded and sighed in agreement. “I will find out one day.”
“Kenz,” Ryder growled, and she shut up, knowing not to push him further. I tilted my head and looked at Indie for an answer, but all I received
was a blank stare. She wasn’t going to say anything, at least not in front of Bailey and Ryder.
“Let’s go,” Ryder said to Bailey. “I need to get out of here.”
“Okay,” she replied softly, giving him a small smile.
“Sorry for ruining your first weekend home,” Kenzie said as she stood to allow them out of the booth.
“You don’t have to apologise for anything. Okay?” Ryder pulled her into a hug. “This is on me. And I’m working on it. But I better not see him around town again. I’m going to say bye to Cole.”
He tugged on Bailey’s hand and pulled her away with a wave to everyone.
“What—”
Indie held up her hand to stop me from asking the question we all wanted to know the answer to. “It’s not my story to tell. Just know I would have been right there getting arrested with him if I wasn’t with Bailey.”
Kenzie frowned and lowered her head to the table. “This is so messed up. I thought things were going to get better, not worse.”
“It will be okay. I promise,” Indie reassured her. “We spent the last three years dealing with his narcissistic ass. He’ll give up eventually and back off.”
“At what cost? Ryder getting arrested again and locked up for longer? No, I need to sort it out now.”
“Well, just remember you don’t have to do it alone.”
“Thanks, In.”
Brody and Harper walked through the front door, his hand on her back, gently guiding her over to the booth. My eyes narrowed, and my left one might have twitched too. They looked cosy. I wasn’t jealous. I had no reason to be. It wasn’t as if we were anything serious, and she ended things because it was the right thing to do. I’d be a pretty sucky cousin if I tried to move in on Brody’s ex-girlfriend.
“Where were you guys?” I asked when Brody slid into the seat beside me, leaving Harper no choice but to sit next to him or at the other table.
Brody looked over his shoulder and glanced around the room.
“He’s not here,” Kenzie said, taking a deep breath, knowing he was looking for Ryder. “I better go and find Cole.”
“Well?” I asked again. They’d been gone for a while.
“Dropped Chace off at the E.R. Ryder broke his nose.”
Indie barked out a laugh but tried to hide it with a fake cough, sputtering, “Sorry. It’s just he always breaks his nose.”
“Four times, Chace told me,” Harper said.
“Chace should have learned by now, particularly after la—” Indie snapped her mouth shut.
“After?” Harper asked.
“Nothing. The last three times Ryder has broken it.”
“Is he pressing charges?” Linc asked Brody.
“Don’t think so. He seemed…”
“Remorseful?” Harper offered.
Brody nodded.
“Remorseful. Ha. No. There’s not a remorseful bone in that guy’s body. He doesn’t deserve anyone’s sympathy. He needs to be lo—” Indie cut herself short again and groaned into her hands. “We need to go before I say something I’m not meant to.”
“Okay, Ace, let’s go.” Linc slid out of the booth and pulled Indie with him, saying goodbye as they left.
And then there were three. We sat silently side by side in the large booth. It was awkward. No one knew what to say. I wanted to talk to Harper but couldn’t with Brody there. Brody kept looking at me as though waiting for me to leave so he could have her all to himself.
“Well, it’s been eventful. I’m going to check on Kenzie and Cole and then go to bed,” Harper announced after a torturously long and uncomfortable silence.
“It’s only seven-thirty.” Brody glanced at his watch.
“I’m tired.” Harper faked a yawn and waved goodbye.
“Guess we should go too, then, huh?” I asked Brody, shoving him out of the booth as he reluctantly agreed. The night was over before it started, but I had a feeling things were going to get a whole lot more complicated over the next few weeks.
Chapter Six
Harper
Kenzie and Cole left minutes after everyone else. She was exhausted and freaking out, and it was making Cole anxious. I offered to let Cole stay with us for the night, and Johnny and Julie were happy to have him so Kenzie could calm down and have a break, but she refused, saying she didn’t trust Chace not to come back and didn’t want to let Cole out of her sight.
After everything I had heard about Chace over the years, I couldn’t understand why he would suddenly show up here again and demand to know Cole. He had blatantly refused to acknowledge him and had caused so much pain and heartache for that entire family, Bailey included. It didn’t make any sense. But Kenzie was smart and the strongest person I knew, so I was sure she’d get things under control sooner or later.
I walked Kenzie out to her car so she didn’t have to cross the parking lot alone—that was how much Chace had her riled up—and then went around the back of the roadhouse. It was still early, and even though I’d told Brody and Nate I was going to bed, I wasn’t. I couldn’t sleep, and I couldn’t have sat with them in silence any longer. Nate looked like he wanted to say something, or maybe even stay, which was a bad idea. I couldn’t be in his presence for too long alone because I didn’t trust myself or my stupid hormones. And I wasn’t willing to risk hurting Brody like that. Then I couldn’t spend too much time with Brody either because the guilt of those three months with Nate weighed heavily on my chest.
There was this rickety old water tower in the field behind the diner. It was no longer in use and probably wasn’t very stable, but the view from the top was incredible, so I ran through the field and the rain and climbed the ladder. I was soaked to the bone, but I didn’t care. There was something freeing and calming about being out there in the storm, even if it was ridiculously dangerous, both from the slippery ladder and tower, and the strong wind. The moment I saw a flash of lightning, I was out of there, but until then, I’d enjoy the quiet and the view.
I settled back against the water tower and looked up at the sky. On a clear night, you could see the Milky Way, but tonight it was just black. No moon. No stars. Complete darkness except for the lights at the back of the roadhouse casting a soft glow over the field.
“What the hell are you doing up there?” I heard a voice shout, the sound almost getting lost in the howling wind.
It was probably Johnny coming to tell me to get my ass inside, so I scooted forward and peered over the edge. Jumping back, my heart in my throat, I smacked Nate in the chest as he climbed onto the platform beside me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Me? You’re the lunatic sitting at the top of a water tower in the middle of the storm,” he said, settling beside me and throwing a blanket over us.
I raised an eyebrow. “Where’d the blanket come from?”
“Johnny. I came back because I forgot my jacket.” He wiggled around a little bit and fluffed the blanket.
“Doesn’t explain why you’re up here with a blanket.” I couldn’t help it. It was like my body acted on its own. I leaned in closer to Nate until we were shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip. Stupid girl.
“I asked where you were, and your uncle said you were out here. He threw the blanket at me and told me to take it to you so you didn’t catch a chill and die.”
“He’s a little dramatic.”
“He’s not wrong. It’s not exactly safe out here.” He nudged my leg with his knee, and my heart skipped a beat. It literally stuttered in my chest from a simple, casual, and friendly gesture. I was screwed.
“Yet you’re still here.” I wrapped the blanket tighter around me.
“Can’t have you freezing to death alone, now, can I? How would I live with myself?” Nate shifted slightly, his hand brushing my thigh.
“So, you’re only here to save yourself the guilt later?” I squinted to look at his face.
“Exactly.” He grinned, a big, wide, show-stopping smile, and wrapped an arm arou
nd my waist, causing a shiver to run up my spine.
I was so screwed.
Tearing my gaze from his lips, which were still smiling, I brought my knees up to my chest and thought of something to say, but I drew a blank
“You live here? At the roadhouse?” Nate asked.
“Yep, there’s an apartment above the diner.”
“And Johnny is your uncle?”
“He’s my dad’s brother.” I nodded and hoped Nate wouldn’t ask why I was living with my uncle and not my own parents. I didn’t want to get into the family drama. They weren’t worth my energy or my time.
“And you spend a lot of time up here?”
“Are you trying to bore me with small talk, or what?”
“Just making conversation.” Nate laughed softly.
“Why?”
“Because you won’t talk to me. But I figure if I talk to you long enough, I’ll wear you down, and maybe we can be friends,” he said thoughtfully. “Can we be friends, Harper?”
“Friends?” The word tasted funny in mouth. It didn’t roll off my tongue as naturally as it did when I applied it to…any of my other friends.
“Sure. We’re going to be seeing a lot of each other, I’d imagine, now that everyone is back. So, friends?”
“Okay,” I agreed, even though I knew it wouldn’t work. We could never be just friends. There would always be something more, something hanging in the background, lingering like the touch of his fingers on my skin.
Definitely screwed.
“Excellent. I’ve been in the market for a new friend since mine ditched me for my sister.” He said it with such a serious tone that for a moment I was worried he might not actually approve of Linc and Indie’s relationship, but then he laughed.
“You feeling lonely now?” I teased.
“Yeah, but you know, I’ve been keeping myself busy.”
I frowned and bit my lip to stop from saying anything because a snarky comment about all the girls he’d been bringing home to keep himself busy was on the tip of my tongue. I couldn’t let him know I was jealous, because I refused to acknowledge I was jealous. I had no reason to be. But when he smiled at me, and I imagined him looking at other girls that way, my heart hurt.
