by K. J. Dahlen
Sam stared at her for a moment. “You wanted to see me?”
“I did.” Carla was suddenly nervous. Wringing her hands together, she began to pace. Now that she was here with him, she wasn’t sure this was such a good idea.
The younger man with him glanced over at the little girl. Leaning closer to Sam, he whispered, “Is this another kid you forgot to tell us about?”
~* * * *~
Sam frowned and searched the little girl’s face. He saw the same resemblance Deke had but then he looked at her mother. He didn’t know this woman but she did remind him of someone, he just couldn’t think of who. “No, I don’t think so.”
“Excuse me but who the hell are you and what do you want of my father?” Deke finally asked.
“Sam is your dad?” the woman asked.
“He is,” Deke answered.
She nodded. Taking a deep breath, she looked at Sam and blurted out, “You may not want to know this but we have something in common.”
Sam crossed his huge arms over his chest and glared at her, his skull tatt on his forearm showing under the lights off the room. “And just what would that be?”
“Nicholas Tory,” Carla whispered.
Sam halted for a long moment then he looked enraged. He stalked over toward her until she was up against the wall then he stepped in front of her. His hand wrapped around her throat.
It all happened so fast, Deke and the little girl didn’t have a chance to move until it was too late.
Sam’s fingers tightened on her throat. “Don’t you ever mention that asshole’s name again, in my presence. If you came here to claim the girl is his kid, it won’t fly. I don’t give a shit about you or her. I suggest you leave now, while I’m still giving you a choice.”
Deke wrapped his arms around his father shoulders attempting to pull him off
“Let my mother go you butthead!” The little girl attempted to aid her mother as she screamed at Sam and tried to pull his hands away from her mother’s throat. “Let her go, nutcase!”
Sam ignored both the girl and his son, instead he stared at the woman in front of him. He then let her go and stumbled back a step. “Who the hell are you lady?”
Grabbing her neck, she stated, “My name is Carla Benson and Nicholas Tory is my father. I’m your sister, Carla—Sam.”
“The fuck you are!” Sam growled. “I only ever had a brother and he died a long time ago.”
Carla shook her head “We had different mothers, but we shared the same father.”
Sam ran his fingers through his long hair as he stepped away from both Carla and the little girl. He was muttering under his breath but he wouldn’t look at her.
Deke stepped forward and searched Carla’s face. “Are you okay? He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
Carla glanced over at Deke and shook her head. “No he didn’t hurt me. I expected some anger but I had to tell him.”
Sam snapped his head around and glared at her. “Why? Why did you have to tell me you were my sister? Why did you have to bring me this news?” He stalked over to stand in front of her. “What the hell do you want? Money?” He laughed. “Honey, I don’t have any money. So if that’s what you’re after, you came to the wrong place.”
Carla shook her head. “I didn’t come here for money. I came here to meet my brother.”
Sam’s gaze narrowed as he glared at her. “I’m not your brother, sweetheart.”
“Tell him the rest Mom, so we can get the hell out of here,” the little girl swore as she glared at Sam and Deke. “I don’t like him. He sucks.”
Deke chuckled softly.
Sam turned to glare at him. Turning back to the young girl, he spat, “I do not suck young lady and watch your mouth.”
She glared back and crossed her arms across her chest. “Make me, Uncle Sam.”
Sam’s lips narrowed and his glare was flinty. “I am not your uncle, little girl.”
She snorted. “Oh yes you are, whether you want to be or not. Grandpa looks enough like you to be your dad and he…” She jerked her thumb toward Deke. “…reminds me of pictures of Grandpa when he was a lot younger.” She stuck her tongue out at Sam. “So there, you big bully.”
Sam inhaled deeply and exhaled. He turned to Carla. “What the hell did you come here to say? Tell me, so I can boot your dumb ass out of here.”
“I only wanted you to know we existed,” Carla explained. “Dad wanted us to know you. I’ve always known about you and Benny, but you never knew about me. Dad wanted to see you one more time before he died. He wants to know if you can ever forgive him for the past.”
“Fuck you and fuck that old man,” Sam replied. He didn’t scream and he didn’t yell. His voice was flat and his words were hard.
Deke knew his tone but Carla didn’t.
Sam turned and walked toward the door. Before he went through it, he turned and stared at Carla. “Don’t come back here, don’t call me or send a letter. You are not my sister and I don’t give a damn about Nick Tory. He stopped being my old man the night Benny died. I thought he was dead all these years too, and I was fine with that.” Then he went through the door and slammed it behind him.
~* * * *~
Carla jumped when the door boomed and tears began rolling down her face. She knew her daughter’s arm wrapped around her shoulders but she couldn’t feel it. She couldn’t feel anything. She hadn’t known Sam would be so cruel. This reunion hadn’t happened the way she’d always envisioned it would and right now, she felt lost. She had come here to find her brother and maybe bring him home to see their father. Nick wasn’t well. She had failed and she could feel her heart breaking into tiny pieces. She curled into her daughter’s embrace and let the tears fall.
Caitlyn rocked her mother and just let her cry.
Deke watched them for a moment, then motioned toward the sofa. “Why don’t you sit down and tell me your story,” he said quietly.
Caitlyn glared at him. “It isn’t a story, it’s the truth.”
~* * * *~
Deke ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head. “Sam has a lot of demons in his past. His brother’s death is one of the bigger ones. His parents are another one.”
Carla nodded. “I can understand that. I’ve met his mother a time or two. She’s not a nice person. I can imagine what growing up with her would be like.”
Deke sat down on the other end of the sofa and stared at her for a moment. “So you really are Sam’s sister?”
Carla smiled. “Yeah, I really am Sam’s sister.” She laughed slightly. “I’ve known all my life that Sam Tory was my brother but he never knew about me. I would watch him and Benny but I could never say anything about being related. I used to see them walking down the streets of Quincy and I so wanted to just go up to them and tell them my secret but I couldn’t. I had to keep the secret of who and what I was. Sam’s mother had spies all over that town. She was an evil bitch all the way.”
Deke frowned. “Where did you grow up?”
“My mom and I were in a little town called Randolph, about nine miles away from Quincy. We were never supposed to come see Sam or Benny.”
“Why not?”
“It wasn’t safe. Sam’s mom was crazy and it wasn’t in any way considered good. She didn’t care about anybody but her. She used drugs and ran with an unsavory group of thugs. Nick told us once that he was worried if she found out about me, she would hurt me or my mom. He told us she didn’t want him but she wouldn’t let anyone else have him either.”
“Sam told me once that he took care of Benny, that his parents never gave a damn about either of them,” Deke told her.
Carla shook her head. “That might have been true about their mother but Nick cared. He just couldn’t show it or she would have turned it against him. Yeah, he drank, probably more than he should have but he never did drugs. He did the best he could for his sons but she wouldn’t let him do much.” Shrugging she continued, “Nick once told me that not being able to show the b
oys that he loved them was the hardest thing he ever did.” She gazed at Deke. “And he did love them.”
Deke snorted. “He doesn’t sound like much of a man if he let his woman rule him.”
Carla shook her head. “You just don’t understand. She was vindictive and used threats to get her way. Threats she usually made good on. And it wasn’t only her ruling that household. It was the thugs she ran with and she would get them to beat up or hurt anyone she wished. They truly were outlaws. The only reason Nick allowed them to come and go when they wanted is the fact they threatened Sam and Benny’s lives. Nick was caught in the crossfire. Estelle, Sam’s mother was hooked up with the leader of this group and he told her he wouldn’t let her go. The night Benny died he was the one Benny was going to shoot. He was the one who shot and killed Sam’s brother and he was the one Sam killed.”
“What ever happened to Sam’s mother?” Deke asked.
“Estelle died the same night as Benny. The brother of the man Sam killed, murdered her the same way his brother died. He told her that she had to pay for his brother’s blood spilling. After Sam left town, Nick buried his young son and then he left Quincy too. He came over to Randolph and moved in with me and my mom.”
“Does Sam know any of this?” Deke asked.
Carla shook her head. “When Sam left town that night, he never looked back. Nick never heard from him again.”
Deke stared at her for a moment then asked, “Why do I hear a ‘but’ in there somewhere?”
Carla shrugged. “But Nick kept track of Sam all these years. He has watched over him since the night Sam left Quincy. He still had friends in the clubs. He might not have seen his son but he kept track of him all the same.”
“Did Sam ever know his dad was looking after him?”
Carla shrugged. “I doubt it. If he did, I think he would have put a stop to it a long time ago, judging by his reaction just now. Nick had no illusions where Sam was concerned.”
Deke sighed. “So why make contact now? I mean it’s been a long time.”
Carla began worrying her hands. “Nick is getting old. He wants to have the chance to make peace with his son before he dies. He doesn’t know I’m here either.” She looked up at Deke and grinned. “You Tory men can be stubborn bastards when you think you’re right all the time, you know?”
Deke snorted. “Yeah, you got that right. Sam was always a bastard when it came to these kind of things.”
Carla shook her head. “No, he wasn’t always mean, not from what I saw when I was young. I think that happened the night he watched his brother die right there in front of him. It changed the man he became. He really loved Benny, even I could see that and I didn’t get to see either of them very much.”
“Then how do you know he loved his brother?” Deke raised a brow at her.
Carla looked up at him and her eyes were sad. “My Dad told me. He said when Sam brought Benny home that night, he carried him in the house and laid him carefully on the couch. He said he knelt down next to his brother’s body and prayed over Benny. He told the boy how much he cared about him and that from that day on, he would always hold a special place in his heart. Dad said it broke his own heart to hear the vows Sam took that night.”
Deke had wondered all these years about what happened to Bones back then, now he was finally hearing it.
Taking a deep breath, she went on with her story in a rush of expelled air, “Sam told Dad, ‘He deserved more than he ever got with you as his father but I expect you to be there for him now. Take care of the funeral and bury him under a tree on top of a hill. If I ever came back and find him anywhere but there, I’ll hunt you down and fucking kill you.’ ” Carla shuddered. “Dad buried him on top of a hill under a tree just like Sam said.”
“Was Estelle buried next to him?”
Carla glared at him. “Hell no, that bitch was not buried next to her son. She was buried in an unmarked grave as far as I know. Nick didn’t want her anywhere near his kid. She was the one behind Benny getting shot in the first place.”
“How so?” Deke frowned. This is the part he never heard about before. Gator had told him something different as he’d been with Sam since the military days.
“The stupid bitch was finally leaving them behind. She was pregnant again and this time, she was leaving Nick and the boys behind to take up with her biker lover. She was in her late thirties already and knew the baby she carried would probably be her last. Nick didn’t care if she left him or not, he figured things would be better if she was gone anyway, and I don’t think Sam cared one way or the other either, but Benny still had hope in his heart that she could change and finally be the mother he always wanted her to be. When he confronted them that night the biker she was with laughed at him. He told Benny that his mother was nothing more than a good fuck and he almost felt sorry for the boy, if he expected her to be any kind of mother to him.”
Deke shook his head at this.
Carla shrugged. “I guess Estelle hadn’t told the dummy she was pregnant with his kid yet and when she did that night the biker was furious. He told her he didn’t want any kid she might have in her belly and that if she was pregnant, it wasn’t his. They got into a big fight and things were said that no fourteen year old kid needs to hear about his mother. Benny got mad as hell and picked up a gun. The biker shot him before he realized what was going on. Then when Sam saw his brother fall, he grabbed the gun and shot the biker.”
“How do you know what happened that night?” Deke asked. “Where you there?”
Carla shook her head. “No I wasn’t there but Nick was. He followed his boys and was close enough to see and hear everything. When Sam picked up Benny’s body Nick walked behind him all the way back to the house.”
“What did Sam do when he saw his dad?”
Carla shrugged. “I don’t know if Sam ever knew his dad was even there. Sam can be very stubborn when he wants to be. He was only looking out for Benny that night. I don’t know if he saw anybody but his brother. It broke Nick’s’ heart that night to look into Sam’s eyes and see nothing but hate for him. He told me he lost both of his sons right then.”
Deke stared at the woman sitting next to him. “And did Nick expect you to make it all right again, by coming here and blindsiding Sam with this story?”
The little girl got to her feet and faced Deke. Her small hands were curled into fists and the rage on her face rivaled the same type of rage that filled Sam. “My grandfather never asked Mom to come here and he doesn’t know we’re here now. He’d be pissed off if he did. This was something Mom wanted to do. She wanted the chance to know her brother after all these years. Having met the man in question, I’m not impressed. I think Sam Tory is a douchebag and the meanest man I’ve ever met. He’s also the stupidest man alive.”
Deke almost laughed at the little girl’s attitude. When he stood up to his full height he towered over her but she didn’t back down. He quirked his eyebrow at her defiance but she didn’t even flinch. He turned to Carla. “I think for now, you two better leave. I’m not sure Sam will ever want to talk to you or Nick but that’s his choice.”
Carla got to her feet. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out an envelope and handed it to Deke. “Would you give him this? I want him to have it.”
Deke took it from her and nodded. “I can’t guarantee he’ll open it but I will give it to him.” He watched as they walked to the door and went through it. He followed them all the way to the front door and stood there while they got into their car and left the compound. Then he turned and went back inside.
He found his father sitting alone at one of the tables with a bottle of Black Velvet in front of him. Deke went over and sat down next to him. Carefully placing the letter on the table he didn’t say anything. Instead, he got up again and walked away, noting his father’s eyes never left the letter on the table in front of him.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Sam stared at the letter and downed a couple more shots. The whiskey war
med his belly but never took the edge off. The writing on the outside of the envelope was his father’s. He knew it the moment Deke set the letter down. He hadn’t seen his father’s handwriting in years but he knew. Sam just wasn’t sure he wanted to read it. He hadn’t spoken to the man since the night Benny died and he wasn’t sure he wanted to ever again.
His father had let him down most of his life and he couldn’t wait to leave home. He’d done just that after his brother was gone. He couldn’t even stay to see him buried and had only come back one time. He cried when he saw Benny’s grave on that one visit. He felt he let him down somehow, as if he were responsible for Benny being where he was. He tried to tell Benny this, the very night he died, but he couldn’t get the words out.
Sam poured and drank another round and as he placed the glass on the table, he reached for the letter. Tearing it open, he read the words his father wrote,
Sam,
I know you have no interest in whatever I have to say and maybe I should have told you this a long time ago but I think you need to hear the truth at long last. I know I never seemed like much of a father to you or Benny and maybe I wasn’t there when I should have been but that’s on me. I have to live with that fact the rest of my miserable life.
I made a mistake when I got hooked up with your mother, a mistake I compounded when I stayed. I never should have gotten mixed up with the crazy woman you called Mom. She wasn’t much of a mother to you or your brother either. The only reason I stayed was because she threatened violence against you if I left. She once told me she brought you into this world and she would take you out if I left her high and dry, but she wouldn’t have been left high or dry. She had other men in her life, Benny’s father being one of them.
I knew I wasn’t his dad as soon as she told me she was pregnant. I hadn’t been with her in years the day she told me she was pregnant but I knew I couldn’t leave. I tried to look after you boys but I wasn’t always there and for that I’m sorry. I was a selfish bastard and found me a real woman with a heart in another town. I know there is no excuse for what I did but there it is. I know I made mistakes and you probably hate me but I always loved you. You are my son and I truly wish we had a second chance to discover each other.
