“Rock brought a Sweetbutt home one night, and it gutted me.” She moved to look out the window, lost in the memory. “You asked me what Leah and Rock would feel like had they seen what your mom did, well, I don’t have to ask them. I know what it feels like.
“We were separated, but I still felt like I was dying inside, so I got back at him using your father. It was only the one time, it meant nothing.” She turned to look at me, tears were clouding her eyes.
“It meant nothing to you and my father, but it meant something to my Mom.”
“I swear I didn’t know. After she came in, I found out he was married and I left. I went home. A couple days later, Rock and I sat down and talked; we decided to work things out. Despite what you think, Will, I love my husband and my daughter, and I never meant to hurt anyone.”
“Not true. You meant to hurt your husband.” It was true, she had meant to hurt her husband, but she never meant any harm to anyone else. It was my asshole father that knew what was wrong.
“Your secret is safe, Mrs. Slate.” I leaned back and closed my eyes, letting go of all the hate for her I held over the years. I could guilt her by telling her what happened to Mom that night, but that guilt wasn’t hers to carry – that rested solely on my father.
“And my daughter?”
“Honestly,” I sighed, took my glasses off and squeezed the bridge of my nose, “I don’t know.”
“She doesn’t deserve to be hurt for my mistake.” Her voice was pleading and hoarse.
“No, she doesn’t.” If she did, then as my father’s son, I would be accountable for his part in it. How the hell did life get so fucking complicated? I couldn’t be with the daughter of the woman who cheated with Dad, even if she was doing so unknowingly. That would make for awkward fucking holidays, but Leah being with anyone else pissed me the hell off.
I wanted her. I needed her. But could I be with her? This was a situation that I never intended to be in. The girl of my dreams being the daughter of the other woman. What the hell was I supposed to do with that?
Mrs. Slate was headed for the door when I stopped her. “Let me ask you a question?”
She turned one hand on the door. “Yes.”
“I’m not saying things would work out this way with Leah, but I don’t go into things blindly.” I paused, gathering my thoughts. “If things worked out for us, Leah and I do the whole white dress/monkey suit thing, how would holidays and grandchildren work? Could you be around my parents with this secret? How would you feel seeing your husband talk with my dad, with my mom? There’s a lot to consider here Mrs. Slate, a lot you still don’t know.”
She moved back toward the desk and sat down in the chair across from me. Her knuckles were white as she clutched her purse tightly to her chest. “I won’t go into a relationship without considering every possible ramification. This relationship has a lot of them.”
“It does,” she said quietly, her eyes studying me carefully. “If you can make my daughter happy, Will, then make her happy. I’ll deal with what comes at me when it gets here.”
A part of me was stunned that she was giving me the option of still being with her daughter. Granted, she didn’t have much say in the matter, but she also could’ve gone to Leah immediately. Instead, she came to me.
“Don’t break my daughter’s heart. That’s all I ask. Everything else, I can deal with. Seeing her unhappy and hurting, I can’t.”
“I thought Leah was like her dad, but she’s more like you.”
Her mom smiled. “She’s like her daddy too. I wouldn’t come home with my knuckles cracked and bleeding every night. That’s all her daddy.”
“Why’s she doing that?”
“If I had to guess, Will, I’d say you.” She got up and left, leaving me with that parting thought.
Chapter Seventeen
Leah
“Are you ready to go?” I had made a promise and I was going to keep it, no matter what.
“Yes. Thank you for taking me to your mom’s salon.” Will’s mom looked excited to have a girl’s day out.
“Don’t worry about it. I told my mom I’d be bringing a friend with me today, so she has us both down on the schedule.”
“How much money should I bring?”
“None. My treat.” I smiled even though she couldn’t see me. Will’s mom was the sweetest, and despite the fact that I hadn’t heard from him in days, I was hoping I’d catch a glimpse of him here today.
“Thank you for doing this. I know the boys hate going. Truthfully, Will always draws the short stick and takes me.”
“I don’t mind at all, Mrs. Carver.”
“Please, call me Janine.”
“Sure.” I walked beside her in case she needed guidance other than her white cane.
She didn’t. Surprisingly, we kept up easy conversation. She talked about Will growing up, telling me funny anecdotes of his childhood.
I laughed so hard at the stories; my favorite had to be the one when he was about four. He’d found 3D stickers in the bathroom and they turned out to be his mom’s pads. Will had them stuck to the window in his room. She’d laughed until tears were rolling down her face.
It wasn’t a long drive before we got to Mom’s place. I walked in with Janine by my side, and smiled at Vanessa. She was working the front desk today.
“Hey, V.”
“Leah, what are you up to?”
“Not much, Mom said she put us on the schedule.” She looked down at the calendar.
“Yep, you’re good to go. Five and six are empty; go on back.”
“Great, thanks.” Janine put her arm through mine, and I guided her through to the back. The pedicure chairs had a few people, but as V had said there were two waiting for us.
I looked up and smiled at my mom, but she was white as a ghost and looking at Janine. “Mom?” I asked, trying to get her attention.
“Oh, is she here?” Janine asked, smiling. Her vacant eyes not seeing my mom standing a few feet away.
“Yeah. Let me get you settled. She’s going to grab something from the back.” I’d watched Mom turn and walk away, going to the back office. She looked like she had seen a ghost.
“Can I get you something to drink? Water, juice, soda, wine?” Mom kept the place stocked, so I knew we’d have something on hand for clients.
“Water’s great. Thank you.”
“Ok. Here, sit back, and I’ll turn the massage on for you.” She smiled and sighed when I turned on the chair. Her eyes sliding closed as she enjoyed the pampering.
I went back to Mom’s office and she was standing there holding her stomach as she threw up into the trash can. “Mom, are you ok?” I rushed to her and held her hair as she retched again. What the hell?
There were tears in her eyes, and my worry went soaring. This wasn’t like Mom. She may have been a beauty queen, but she was one of the toughest women I knew, she had to be, putting up with my dad and a bunch of stubborn ass bikers all these years. She was known for giving as good as she got.
“Mom, you’re scaring me, what’s going on – what’s wrong?” I asked when she stood up and sat down in her chair.
“Nothing honey, I’m just not feeling well.” She dismissed my concern, but I knew it was more than that. “V can take care of you and your friend. I’m going to go home to rest.”
I nodded. “Alright. I’ll come check on you later, Mama.”
I grabbed the water for Janine and one for myself before heading back to the chairs. “Here you go. Sorry. My mom must have caught something, so she’s heading home.”
As Mom promised, V came back and took care of Janine, while I sat in the chair next to her. Since they were busy, I just had V take care of her and I’d get my shit later. I never got my nails done. Because of the gym I kept them short and unpainted, but my toes were my girly splurge.
We talked and laughed as she was taken care of. “What color do you want on your toes?” I got up and went to the rack of colors.
She lau
ghed. “Honey, you could put shit brown on my toes and I’d never know. You choose.”
The words coming out of her prim and proper mouth were funny, and I laughed. She was just like her son; full of surprises.
I grinned and palmed my favorite polish. All the polishes by Inappropriate Polish, had names that ranged from suggestive to over the top raunchy; they had Blue Balls, Cum Shot White, Lick My Pussy Pink, Mother Nature’s Gift – a blood red color. Every name was more offensive than the last, but I loved the colors and the names just topped off my love for the polishes. I palmed Lick My Pussy Pink, and took it over to V. She grinned and shook her head.
“I got you a pink color. If you come in again, you’ll have to ask for Lick My Pussy Pink.” Her head swiveled around, and I waited a heartbeat, hoping I hadn’t gone too far, but Janine threw her head back, laughing. Tears filled her eyes, and I couldn’t help my own laughter.
“Oh my god, you’re kidding me? It’s not really named that?” she said, wiping her eyes.
“Yes, it is,” I confirmed. I looked to V, and she backed me up.
“That’s hysterical. Since when do they name nail polishes that?”
“Oh, they have a whole line of names; Blue Balls and Cunt Lovin’ Coral, Unicorn Spunk… anything you can think of, they probably have it. It’s one of our best sellers because people just love the names,” V said around her own laughter.
We finished out her pedicure, all of us laughing and enjoying the conversation. V and I go way back, and Janine joined in easily, as if she was used to hanging out with the daughter of an MC president and her friends instead of debutants.
I drove her back home. Will’s car was in the open garage, and he was outside waiting. He was dressed in a suit, but the shirt had the arms rolled up and the jacket was missing. His tie was undone, and his hair had the normal fingers run through it look.
When I pulled into the driveway, he made his way toward the car, opening his mom’s door. “Hey, Mom.”
She smiled at him, and got out. I wasn’t sure if I’d be welcome so I just said goodbye to Janine, preparing to leave. Will stayed by my door while his mom went toward the house.
He bent down and drilled me with a hot look. “Don’t leave.” Then went to catch up with his mom. Again, I wondered about his illusive dad. I never saw the man and they never talked about him.
Will didn’t come back for a few minutes, so I got out of the car and hopped up on the hood. He was just coming back out when a sleek black Mercedes pulled into the drive.
I watched as the man who looked like an older, harder, version of Will got out of the car. His eyes were on me, and they were filled with anger. I raised a brow and hopped off my car, facing him head on.
“Why is she here?” he barked furiously at Will.
“Not your concern.”
“The devil it’s not,” he said, his eyes cutting away from me to his son who was almost by my side. “What game are you playing, boy?”
Will’s dad stalked toward us angrily, and Will stepped in front of me as if to block me from his path. I nudged him in the back and moved back around him. His dad didn’t bother me. It would take a lot more than money and anger to intimidate a Slate.
“Why don’t you tell me what the hell you are so upset about, and then I will tell you why the hell I am here?” I gave him a haughty look of indifference, but I was curious as to how he thought he knew me and where from.
William Carver II. gave me a scathing look of disdain. “Get her out of here, and don’t ever bring her back.” His eyes raked over me, his hatred was palpable. “You aren’t welcome here – ever.”
He stormed off toward the house, leaving me and Will outside. “Damn, and I thought he would approve of the daughter of a president, guess he wasn’t thinking MC president.” I moved to get back in my car, but Will stopped me by catching my arm.
“It’s not you, Leah. There’s more at play than you know about.”
“I guessed that, but it certainly seemed personal.” I nodded at the house. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
“No,” he said, then pushed me up against the side of my car, cupped my chin, and kissed the breath out of me. Will pulled back just a bit. He lightly dragged his lips against mine. I moaned as desire punched me in the gut. “I have some things to figure out, Leah,” his breath feathered against my cheek, “but when I do, I want to see you in that outfit again, so I can peel you out of it.” I smiled at the promise and the longing in his voice.
Chapter Eighteen
Will
I watched her drive away before heading back to the house. Before I could come clean with Leah, I needed to come clean with Mom. If she couldn’t handle being around Leah, then I would have to compartmentalize my life, separating the two aspects of it. I was letting go of getting revenge, but there was no way I was letting go of Leah.
Dad was waiting for me to come in the house. The minute I walked through the door, he had his arm across my throat and backing me up against the wall.
“What the fuck kind of game are you playing, boy?” he whispered angrily. Hatred and disdain evident in his eyes. I hoped when I left this house, Mom would come with me. I would give her the out; I just hoped she would take it.
“What’s wrong, Dad, you don’t like your fuckups coming home with you? Guess you should have thought of that before you started dicking around.” The surprise on his face was comical. Did he really think I didn’t know that he was still fucking around on Mom? Leah’s mom may have been his first affair – that we know of – and the one with the most destructive outcome, but Dad couldn’t keep his shit in his pants. I may look like him, but I never wanted to turn into the man my father was.
He deserved my revenge, nobody else but William Atwood Carver II. I fucking hated that I carried his name. Even more, I hated that I almost became the very thing I loathed. I was a liar, just like him. I was going to tear Leah’s family apart like I felt her mom had torn mine apart, but I couldn’t put all that anger and hatred on anyone but the man in front of me.
“Does your mother know?”
“Yes, she does.” I heard Mom’s voice from behind Dad. “I may be blind, William, but I can still smell perfume on your shirts when I wash them.”
Dad let me go. “Fine. I guess there’s no reason for me even to hide it anymore.” His arrogance knew no bounds.
Mom just laughed. “If you were trying to hide it, you failed miserably. Your last ‘business trip’, you butt dialed me. I guess you get off on the women screaming at the top of their lungs like a porn star.” She shook her head. “I’ve had you; you aren’t that good.”
He smirked coldly at her. “Or you are just a cold, dead fish that doesn’t know a good fuck when she has one?”
Mom didn’t even look fazed by his insult, but I was furious. If I hit him, I had no doubt he would press assault charges, even against his own son. Instead, I took the only road I knew I could.
“Why don’t you go grab your latest piece of ass and go out for a night on the town? Hell, I’ll even pay for it myself, so I don’t have to look at you.” I grabbed my wallet and pushed five hundred into his chest.
He rolled his eyes and stomped upstairs. I hoped to hell he would leave soon. “How long have you known?”
“After the first one, he never stopped.”
“Why did you stay?” I asked with disbelief. I only found out a few months ago he was still having affairs, but it seems Mom knew all along.
“Follow me.” She trailed her hand back along the back of the couch and headed toward the kitchen. Mom knew this house like the back of her hand; any deviation of furniture, she would know it.
“I’m blind, Will. I didn’t want to be a burden on you, so I stayed. Your dad is hardly ever home, and he never touches me when he is. We don’t talk; nothing. We are two strangers passing in the night, and I’m ok with that.”
We heard the front door slam before Dad’s car started in the driveway. He was gone.
&n
bsp; “Mom, there’s something I need to tell you, and I need to know what to do.”
Concern knitted her brow; she was the greatest mom. Her loving warmth countered Dad’s cold hardness. “What’s going on, Will?”
“It’s about Leah,” I said, trying to figure out how the hell I was going to tell her this.
“I like her. She took me to her mom’s salon. That’s where we were today.” Since Mom didn’t seem out of sorts, I didn’t think she knew who Leah’s mom was.
“About that.” I took a deep breath, not sure how Mom was going to react to what I said. “There’s something you need to know about Leah.” Dammit, I didn’t want to hurt Mom. I damn sure didn’t want to hurt Leah, or even her mom at this point. The only person I wanted to hurt was Dad, and I would; soon enough he’d be floundering when I finally got through with him.
“Are you going to ask her to marry you?” she asked, a beaming smile on her face, and giddy excitement showing in her eyes.
I chuckled. “Maybe someday if she will ever forgive me. There are some things she and I need to work out first. One of them is what I’m about to tell you.”
She sensed my hesitation and her hand reached blindly for mine. “What is it? You’re scaring me.”
“Mom, there’s something you need to know about Leah’s family, specifically her mom.” I took a deep breath and squeezed her hand, hoping like hell I wasn’t going to open wounds any worse than had already been opened tonight.
I didn’t know how to say it, so I just kind of went with it. “Leah’s mom is the woman Dad was sleeping with the night of your accident.”
She drew in a sharp breath and sat back. I could see the wheels in her head turning as she tried to process what I just said; while she tried to put the puzzle pieces together.
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