Bite & Release 3: Riley

by CORY CYR

  “What do you propose, Shea?” Carrie asked with curiosity.

  “We can hash out the details later. Ryan and I need to talk to our son. I think it’s best he hears this news from us and not you, Gabriella. We’ll get back in touch after we hear what he has to say.”

  Carrie stood. “That sounds like a smart plan. He’ll need you both. He is very young. I know the pain of a broken heart, and this news will only add to it.”

  “Please tell Riley I love him.” Gabriella interrupted.

  “That will only mean something if it comes from you,” I pointed out with hostility.

  She acknowledged my words.

  I rested my arm around Ryan’s shoulder as we left, walking to the rental car.

  “Damn, I wish I was younger. I could use a joint and some shots,” my wife admitted.

  I opened the passenger-side door for her, then went to get in the driver’s side. My hand shook as I fisted it around the key. “I feel as though everything we built is on the verge of crumbling,” I whispered as I pulled off my cap. “We have a sanctuary, we made friends, and goddamn it, we earned this new life.” I began banging my head against the steering wheel.

  Ryan grabbed my head and brushed her hand against my stubble. “You know nothing is guaranteed. We can’t just bail on our son, let alone our grandchild. Riley needs us. He just doesn’t know how much yet. Shea, my love…” Oh crap, when she used that phrase, I was putty. “As long as we’re together, we can set up camp anywhere. We can create a sanctuary here. I don’t want to be that far away from our son and his baby. He’ll need us.”

  I started the car. “We could fly back and forth,” I protested.

  She shook her head as we began the drive home. “No, it’s not the same. Remember how insane you were when I was carrying Holly? Do you want your son to experience that without you? Besides, Gabriella will also need help.”

  “She likes to be called Gabe. And I guess this means Carrie is in our lives forever,” I mumbled.

  “You’re just going to have to bite the bullet when it comes to her. This is her grandchild, too. I know you dislike sharing, but you need to make an effort.”

  “You act as though I can just erase everything she’s ever done to us. That’s never going to happen. I can’t do it,” I whined.

  “I know I’m asking a lot. I know you dislike her and you’ll probably never be BFF grandparents. But do it for Riley and for me, who loves you madly.”

  “Okay, maybe, but I can only commit to trying,” I said, relenting as I stared at Ryan. My wife still loved me madly, and I would do anything for her.

  “That’s all I can ask, babe.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Ryan & Shea

  I t obviously had snowed recently. The front yard looked dead and the house quiet. I did not want to tell my son he was going to be a father. I was definitely more mature at his age. Besides, I had an issue with being called grandpa.

  I kept that information to myself because Ryan was beaming. I knew she had wanted more children, but we had pushed our luck with Riley and decided it wasn’t worth it to have more than two. I was never going through that ordeal again. Even at that age, I hadn’t been strong enough. But my wife now had an opportunity to be a grandma, and I knew she relished the idea.

  She had forgotten that having this grandchild meant the woman I despised the most would be in our life forever. I bristled at the thought. This entire scenario would take some juggling. We had bought a house in Florida and taken over a pit bull rescue. The serene life we both had managed to achieve was now disintegrating at my feet.

  I growled and sighed at the same time.

  Ryan’s hand grazed my cheek. “We’ll figure everything out. Please don’t let us be the center of your universe right now. Riley is not prepared for any of this. I’m worried he’ll break down, and seeing him in agony is something I’m not ready for. I need your courage, Shea.”

  I leaned over and kissed my wife. “I can endure… Only the good die young, which means that bitch is going to be eternal. She’s like a vampire, sucking the life out of everything.” I frowned.

  “Andrew Seamus Michaels,” Ryan stormed, slapping me on the shoulder. “No more scary movies for you, and Riley cannot hear you say such awful things about his girl’s mother. I’m sure your sister told him everything, so he’s already formed his own opinion. Having you agree with him is not going to help your son. Shea, that was a long time ago. You need to forgive her. I’m begging you. You’ll put Riley in a position where he has to choose. And if it were me, I’d pick Gabriella and my child. You’ll lose, so stop it.”

  “You’re asking me to ignore everything she’s done. Carrie almost got you killed. I never told you, but there have been many nights I still see Garrison and you bloodied.” I turned toward her. “When I saw her, it all came back. I remember how terrified I was.” I swallowed down the bile that was burning my throat.

  “You never told me about the dreams. I have them too sometimes. Shea, I’m not asking you to forget, but you need to forgive her. This is no longer about us, but our son and the woman he loves.”

  I snorted. “He doesn’t know the meaning. It appears he confused his first piece of ass with love.”

  She hit me again.

  “Quit that,” I demanded as I rubbed my sore arm.

  “I will when you start acting your age instead of twelve,” my wife insisted, getting out of the car.

  “You weren’t even around when I was that age. You had already deserted me,” I accused as I pushed out my bottom lip.

  We walked arm in arm to the door. “Now behave yourself,” Ryan instructed.

  Even though it was technically our home, we decided to knock because we had entrusted it to Riley.

  There was no answer, so we strolled in. The inside was neat and tidy, something we hadn’t expected. We looked at each other with a nod. Our son had been living with a woman. I could tell by the interior condition.

  Gray came barreling down the stairs. His tail was wagging a mile a minute as he jumped on us both.

  “Has my baby missed us? Oh, you’re such a sweet boy. I love those kisses,” Ryan gushed in baby talk. It was quite embarrassing.

  “How’s my little man?” I thundered, making sure Riley’s dog didn’t grow a vagina because of my wife’s need to treat all animals as infants.

  My son padded down the stairs slowly. He had a short beard and looked more like a man now.

  His mother ran past the dog and met him halfway, hugging him fiercely.

  “Okay, Mom, it’s only been a few months. If you squeeze me any harder, I’ll lose consciousness.”

  My son was avoiding eye contact with me.

  “We need to have a conversation,” I said as I gestured him to the couch.

  “I’m sorry, Dad. I’ve let you down. And, Mom, please don’t cry. I shouldn’t have fired Gabe. It wasn’t my place to punish the clinic just because our relationship didn’t work out.”

  Ryan put her arms around Riley as she sat next to him. “We’re here now. You’re my baby. I love you.”

  I sat in the recliner across from my son, trying my best not to allow disappointment to dictate my appearance. “Aside from business, do you love her?”

  “So intense I feel like I’m dying. But, Dad, it doesn’t matter how I feel. I’m in this by myself because she doesn’t feel that way about me.”

  My wife glared at me in an attempt to make me consider my next words.

  “Are you sure you love her? Because the woman that steals your virtue, that can confuse you. What you think is true love could just be a response to having sex.”

  Riley’s face went red. “Good God, Dad, I know the difference. It’s not as though I’d never done other things.” Humiliated, my son continued. “This is real. Please don’t try to diminish my feelings by thinking it’s all about the sex. I’m not you. I feel as though I should apologize for that. I must be a great disappointment.”

  My own son felt
embarrassed because of my past. Did I cause this, push too hard? I swallowed my pride. “Riley, I never expected you to become me. There were many reasons behind my promiscuity. I tried to shield you from my past. It’s true every father wants their son to follow their example. But I had a dysfunctional past with tons of issues. It was only your mom who saved me from myself. You already know things I would rather not have been shared. I swear to God I never wanted that for you.”

  I glanced at Ryan, and she was sobbing softly.

  “Mom, please don’t cry. It’s not the end of the world. I can find another vet for the clinic, and I’ll get over Gabe. I’m not the first person to get a broken heart. But I have to admit I didn’t expect it to fuck me up so much.”

  “There’s more, Riley,” she said softly. “We saw Carrie and Gabriella at their hotel.”

  My son stood and began to pace nervously. “What did Gabe say? I wasn’t very cordial when I threw her and her mother out and fired her.”

  If it had been me, it would have been worse. I stood before my son, holding him by his shoulders. “Riley, there is no easy way to say this, so I’m going to pretend it’s a Band-aid and rip it off quickly. Gabriella is going to have your kid.”

  My son blinked twice, stunned.

  I couldn’t stop the tears from forming in my eyes. I loathed becoming so emotional because that was Ryan’s job. But I couldn’t help it. My child was going to be a father. “We’ll be here to help you, whatever you need. We love you, son.”

  “Dad, she can’t be pregnant. Gabe told me she had an IUD, and besides, she doesn’t love me. We can’t be having a baby,” Riley stammered.

  I directed my son back to the sofa. Ryan had already gotten him a glass of water. “We’ll get through this. It’s not the end of the world.” She assured him as she handed him the drink. I knew my wife was trying to convince herself as much as Riley. Ryan masked her apprehensiveness well.

  He chugged the water and wiped his mouth. “I can’t deal with this right now. I’m so stupefied. I need to go.”

  “You can’t run away from this. No matter where you go, what’s happening now will still be happening when you come home,” I stated as Riley grabbed his coat.

  “Where are you going?” Ryan demanded, glaring at her son.

  I shook my head. Maybe he had to contemplate the situation. Riley was responsible. My son never withdrew from his problems. He’d always handled them head on.

  Somehow, I knew this time was different.

  Goddamn love.

  I guess he forgot about the sex and condom speech I’d given him when he was thirteen.

  Son of a bitch, my genes.

  Fucking Carrie, the bane of my fucking existence.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Gabriella

  I was broken.

  All this time, Riley feared I would crush his heart, when in fact, I had annihilated both of us. He could never hate me as much as I hated myself. The only thing that kept me from ending it all was the life I carried. His child. A part of us both. I only prayed his gene pool was stronger than mine.

  I never expected to love him. I always knew he’d love me, but I hadn’t planned to reciprocate those feelings. I assumed I could fake my way through our relationship and obtain what my mother never could achieve. I most certainly hadn’t planned on a baby. But I knew it could happen. I’d been fully aware when I hadn’t felt my IUD strings, and I had bad cramping with no period, yet I’d said nothing. What did I expect? Not to be expecting, that’s for sure.

  Every time we’d had sex, I’d betrayed him. Even though I warned him, I continued the affair. By the time I became aware of my attachment, it was too late.

  I wished I had told him I loved him. Maybe that would have made a difference. I needed him to know I wasn’t playing him. Maybe at first, but not after I’d gotten to know him. Or were these feelings ones of possessiveness because he no longer wanted me? He’d been hit all at once with who I was and what my mother had done so long ago. Now I didn’t know how to salvage any kind of relationship with Riley without sounding as crazy as her.

  I’d always known he’d find out who I was, and that alone would sever our connection. Now I didn’t know what to do because I cared for him, honestly and completely. I couldn’t see a future without him. If I left, would my mother be the one to help me foster my child? That scared the hell out of me because of her history with Shea.

  Riley would want to do the right thing. After all, he had not only parents, but extended family. There was a good chance he’d try to get full custody, and with all that had happened, the probability of him winning was high. The thought of him taking away my flesh and blood set me into flight mode.

  Riley would be a great father, and the child would be raised in an environment of love. If I truly cared about him, we would have a conversation, and hopefully he’d allow me to go back to California and raise our child without him.

  But that would never happen. Riley hated what my mother had done, which meant he hated me for deceiving him. He wouldn’t forget. Not right away, but eventually, I’d become just a horrible memory. I wasn’t even blood related to my mother, but it seemed as though I had mimicked her past.

  I’d be nefarious along with Carrie. Shea and Riley would commiserate in private about the woman their son had loved who fucked him over and separated him from his offspring. I’d see his eyes and smile in every glance I shared with my child. I’d never forget him. How could I when he’d carved his initials into my soul?

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Riley

  I slammed my truck door. Getting advice from Kai was stupid. There wasn’t a female on the planet that he’d ever cared about. The only thing he ever loved was sex. Hell, he was more like my dad than I was.

  Still, I dragged myself to his apartment.

  “Hey, dude, what do I owe for this visit? You never come over,” Kai quipped as he opened the door with a look of surprise.

  “There’s a reason. It’s always better when you come to my place since you’re always screwing someone. Having you as a friend is by appointment only. I needed some guidance, so I took a chance you’d be free.”

  “Take a seat, Mr. Grumpy. Ashley or Lindy—I forget which one—won’t be here until tonight, so I have a few hours free,” he bragged.

  “This was a mistake. I’m in serious trouble, and I need to talk,” I exclaimed with frustration.

  “Dude, chill. I can handle a serious conversation. I’m not just about fucking and fun. I can be that friend. True, I’m not known for having many pearls of wisdom, but I’ve got ears and I can listen.”

  I felt sad because my life was about to change forever. What if Gabe moved back to California and took my kid away? I felt a sudden possessiveness surge through my body. It was my child, too. I had rights.

  What? I’m losing my shit.

  “Gabe is pregnant,” I announced as I leaned back on Kai’s futon.

  “Who’s Gabe?” he asked nonchalantly.

  “My roommate. My boss. The fucking woman in the towel,” I barked.

  Kai looked shocked. At least I thought it was shock. It was hard to tell with him. “Wait. I told you to do her. Not knock her up. Ever hear of condoms, dude? I may be a manwhore, but I strongly believe in safe sex. I would never fuck without a rubber. That’s just crazy. Never mind a kid, you could get some disease.”

  It was the first time I heard my friend being passionate about something other than sex. Well, this actually pertained to sex. He did have principles, ones that included the use of condoms.

  He was right. Pregnancy wasn’t the only thing I should be worried about. I had asked Gabe about her sexual history. Of course, she could have lied. Surely, this was just one of her personality flaws. I never cared about hearing the truth. I’d been inside her too quick and too many times. Neither outcome had ever occurred to me because falling in love with her had clouded my judgment.

  “I always thought I was the smart one in our friendship. E
vidently, that’s not true. She told me she was using birth control.”

  Kai laughed. “Broads will tell you anything. The rule of thumb is rubbers. Now, if I plan to fuck her again, I make sure she shows proof she’s on something. That’s rare for me because if you do them twice, they get clingy. But regardless of their contraceptive choice, I always use raincoats as a backup. I went bareback when I was fourteen and got fucking crabs. Never again. Besides, if you’ve been there once, no need to revisit that receptacle again.”

  “Damn, Kai, you’ve never been in love?” I grimaced. “But she’s pregnant.”

  My best friend didn’t look convinced. “Are you sure, or is it some ploy? I’m telling you almost all females are conniving. They’ll say anything to get money. Make sure you get proof,” he remarked cynically.

  “My parents are here. Does that answer your question? It’s not as though she told me herself. I heard it from them.”

  “Still could be a deception. You can’t trust anything with a pussy.”

  I tried to laugh, but I couldn’t find the humor. “I do love her. I’m just sorry who she’s related to.”

  “Wait. What?” Kai inquired as he offered me a beer.

  I said no to the can. What I didn’t need was something that diminished my perception. Besides, I disliked the taste.

  I proceeded to give him the highlights. I knew by his expression he was concerned, and I rarely saw Kai worried. He was a carefree guy.

  “Dude, that is fucked up on so many levels. What are you going to do?”

  “I have to do the right thing, I guess. But what if she decides to move home to have the baby?”

  “Whoa, Riley, where are you hiding the crystal ball? You won’t really know what’s going on until you talk to her. If you do really love her, go get your woman.”

  His advice surprised me. He had always been a tuck tail and run kind of person. Of course, in this case, I couldn’t do that. And I never would. I loved Gabe but was still plagued with fear that she might use this pregnancy to hurt me.