40. Isla
40
ISLA
The doorbell rang and I rushed forward to answer it, disappointed that it wasn’t IKE. Logically speaking, I knew it wasn’t him. He wouldn’t ring the doorbell. He’d just sneak in the back or walk through the front door. No, it was my parents. I tried to get them to come at another time, but that wasn’t going to happen, not after they heard about all the shit Shawn pulled. I couldn’t hide it from them any longer.
I swung the door open and practically fell into my dad’s arms, embracing the warm hug he wrapped me in. Whenever he held me in his arms, I felt like a little kid again when he would promise to take care of me forever.
“Dad,” I whispered.
“Hey, Isles. It’s good to see you.”
“Alright, well, don’t make the rest of us stand in the cold,” my mother griped. “I have to pee like a racehorse.”
She shoved her way inside and followed the direction Riley pointed to the downstairs bathroom while Dad brought in the suitcases.
“So, where do you want us to put our stuff?”
“You’ll be staying downstairs. There’s a room at the back of the house. It’s not much, but?—”
“Nonsense. We’ll be fine.”
I really hoped so. Riley and I had to throw together the room at the last minute, and the only thing that helped motivate me was when Knox called and said he was coming home. My stomach still swirled with nausea since I had to find a way to tell my parents that he was basically living with me, although we hadn’t worked out the details yet.
“I can’t believe you didn’t call me when your husband tried to blow you up. You would think that’s something a daughter would tell her mother.”
“I was going to, but other things happened.”
“Other things?” she asked, giving me that mother look. “Other things more important than telling me your husband wanted you dead? I would love to hear this.” She sat down and crossed her arms, waiting to hear what I had to say.
“Well…I saw Kavanaugh. And…we had to go grocery shopping…” I looked at Riley pleadingly.
“There was that winter craft fair.”
“Right!”
“Where you beat up that woman.”
“I didn’t beat her up,” I huffed. “She fell on me!”
“Sounds like you get into more trouble here than you did when you were growing up,” my mother said, rolling her eyes heavenward. “I will never understand what it is about you two that God decided to let you make such horrible decisions.” She sighed, slapping her legs as she got up. “Well, at least you’re with Bradford. He is such a dear boy.”
I winced, wishing I had broken the news to her over the phone, but I just didn’t have the heart to tell her. “Um…actually, I’m not with him.”
Her eyebrows climbed her forehead, making it look like she had two caterpillars laying across her skin. I always tried to get her to trim and shape them, but she never listened to me.
“I’m sorry, did you just say you’re not with him?”
“Not exactly.”
“Then what exactly are you saying?”
“Here we go,” my father sighed. “I told you we should have just stayed home.”
I twisted my hands, trying to find the best way to tell her without throwing Kavanaugh under the bus. I didn’t want her to hate him. “It just didn’t work out.”
“It didn’t work out.”
“Not really.”
“Not really?”
“We’re different people.”
“You’re different people?”
“For the love of all that’s holy, Sharon,” Dad cut in. “If you’re just gonna repeat everything she says, we might as well just have her record the message and then you can listen to it as many times as you want.”
“Hush, Tom.” She turned to me and narrowed her eyes. “Now, you will tell me exactly why you moved across the country for this man when you had no intention of marrying him. And I don’t want any excuses or complicated tales. I want the truth.”
I opened my mouth, hoping something would come to mind, but there was nothing. Luckily, the doorbell rang, saving my ass from an uncomfortable situation. I rushed to the door, grateful for the interruption, but when I saw who was on the other side, I knew things were about to get a hell of a lot worse.
“Kavanaugh,” I breathed out.
“Hey, are you busy?”
“Actually—”
“Bradford Kavanaugh? Oh my gosh, look at you!” my mother squealed, pushing me aside to get to him. She hadn’t seen him in years, but she opened the door and wrapped him in a hug. I didn’t even get a hug, but for him, she would do anything. She always did like him more than me.
“Mrs. McKenna, it’s so good to see you.”
“Oh, nonsense. You call me Sharon. Or Mom!” She turned to me and gave me a dirty look. “Well, are you going to just stand there or let him in?”
I stepped aside, smiling awkwardly at Kavanaugh as he passed. He stomped his boots on the rug, then kicked them off. As he took off his coat, he leaned in to whisper in my ear.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know they would be here.”
“It’s okay. But you should know, my mom was about to grill me about why we’re not together.”
“I’d like an answer to that as well,” he murmured right before he hung up his coat and turned away.
“Awkward,” Riley said in a sing-song voice. “How about some drinks? I know I could use one!”
I snatched my phone out of my back pocket and shot off a text to Bowie. If I was going down with the ship, I was taking Riley with me.
“I just can’t believe how you’ve filled out,” my mom gushed. “And look at those muscles. My, you’re so handsome. Isn’t he handsome, Isla?”
“Mom—”
“I can’t understand why the two of you aren’t together anymore. Then again, Isla never did make good decisions. I know you’ve heard about her husband, Shawn. He was a real winner. Did you know he tried to blow her up? Of course, you did,” she rambled on. “I bet you were the one who saved her. And that shooting, the drug overdose…I just couldn’t believe all the things that man put her through. And she didn’t even bother to tell us!”
“Sharon,” Dad sighed. “Maybe let the boy breathe.”
Kavanaugh scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably, glancing my way. “Actually, Mrs. McKenna, I can’t take credit for any of that. For saving her life, I mean. Another man had that honor.” His head swung my way and a sadness filled his eyes that nearly broke my heart.
“Well, you’re here now and?—”
“You see, I never really was worthy of your daughter. She’s something special.”
“That she is,” my dad said proudly.
“But you came to get her back, right? Surely you came?—”
“Only to say goodbye,” Kavanaugh said with a smile. He pushed to his feet and held out his hand to my dad. “I’m sorry, I can’t stay. I wish I could.”
“But you just got here,” Mom said, baffled that he was leaving.
He turned to me then and my heart nearly stopped. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
I wasn’t sure I took a single breath as I slipped on my boots and grabbed a coat. Once we were outside with no ears pressed to the windows, Kavanaugh shoved his hands in his pockets and dropped his head, blowing out a harsh breath.
“I hope I cleared that up for your mother.”
“God, I’m sorry, Kavanaugh. I never wanted things to be like this. I never intended for any of this to happen when I moved out here.”
He smiled at me, making me feel better when I knew he was hurting. “It was never your fault, Isla. That rests solely on my shoulders.”
“I wanted this to be right, but…”
“Something was holding you back,” he finished. “Yeah, I felt it, too.”
“Then why did you come here?”
He chuckled at that. “Good question. Because you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Because I wanted it to be you.” He sighed heavily. “I guess I was holding onto a dream.”
Tears swelled in my eyes and I wiped my nose on my sleeve. “So, what happens to us now?”
“Well, I definitely can’t hang around you,” he teased. “Not only would that not be good for my ego, but I’m pretty sure IKE would kick my ass.”
Relief flooded me that I could say IKE definitely would. Maybe that was wrong, but that was all I felt at the moment. So, I laughed. “Yes, he would.”
His face turned serious as he brushed his thumb across my cheek. “You love him, don’t you.” He dipped his head, shaking it slightly. “Don’t answer that.”
“Will I ever see you around?”
“I’m sure you’ll see me at the grocery store, probably dragging Fox out of the Funyuns aisle and preventing him from staging another protest.” He shot me a grin, but it looked so painful that I pulled him in for a hug. He buried his face in my hair, and I knew he was inhaling my scent. He’d done that before. I was going to miss him. He was my childhood friend and that was something I didn’t want to walk away from, but this wasn’t meant to be.
“I’m gonna miss you,” he whispered. “And you tell me if that asshole doesn’t treat you right. I’ll be over here to kick his ass.”
I chuckled and stepped back. “Thank you for not hating me.”
“I could never hate you.” He wiped the tears from my eyes, giving me that fake smile he gave to the press when he worked with the senator. “I’m happy for you.”
“You’re just saying that.”
He nodded. “Yeah, but I will be with time.”
I didn’t leave the porch until he got in his car and drove away. Something in my heart mended, knowing he would be alright, even if right now it really sucked.
The moment I walked back into the house, I prepared myself for the onslaught of questions. Mom had a tissue in her hand and refused to look at me and Dad was holding her hand like she just received terrible news. It was so strange.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Dad answered. “She’s just a little emotional right now.”
“She saw you and Kavanaugh saying goodbye,” Riley answered.
I groaned, flopping down in a chair. “Mom, you’re gonna have to get over it. I’m not in love with Kavanaugh. In fact…” I might as well go for it. Knox was coming home and they were going to meet him either way. It was best to just rip off the bandaid. “I’m actually living with someone.”
Their heads jerked up, but it was Mom who shrieked at me. “You’re what?”
“I’m living with a man.”
“I couldn’t have heard you right. Because no daughter of mine could be married and living with another man.”
“Oh, but you thought it was okay for me to be with Kavanaugh.”
“That’s different! He’s a perfectly fine young man?—”
“And Knox is the love of my life,” I retorted. “He is the man I chose. And I’m no longer married. The divorce went through. I got the news this morning. And before you criticize me for living with a man out of wedlock, I have been married already, I’ve nearly died a bazillion times this year, and I want to live my damn life however I choose. Are we clear?”
Mom’s jaw dropped to the ground and Dad snorted in amusement.
“And while we’re at it, Riley is practically engaged.”
Riley gasped, turning to me with an accusing glare. “You bitch!”
The front door opened and the man of the hour walked in. “Hey, what did I miss?”
“Mom, Dad. Meet Bowie, Riley’s fiancé.”
He frowned. “Her what?”
“My what?” Riley shouted.
I chuckled and took a step back as that all played out. For once, none of it was about me, and I was perfectly happy with that. While they all argued, I took the opportunity to step outside and get a little fresh air. I was so excited to see Knox, and without updates on when he would be back, I was going out of my mind.
I sat on the porch swing, regretting that I hadn’t brought my coat outside, but I wasn’t going back into battle until I absolutely had to. When it got too cold to sit outside any longer, I sighed and started to head inside, but then a car turned the corner and hope sparked inside me.
I held my breath as it slowed in front of my house, coming to a stop just in front of the walk. And then he was there, getting out and walking toward me all battered and beaten. He was favoring one side of his body and his face was all bruised and swelling, but he was here.
As soon as he got to the top step, I was in his arms, crushing my lips to his. A groan of pain slipped from his lips, but he held me tighter, refusing to let go. Everything around us stilled, and for just this one minute, it was only the two of us, reunited and surrounded in our own spark that would burn bright forever.
“I never thought I would get to do that again.”
“Neither did I,” I whispered against his lips.
“I’m sorry, Isla. It’ll never happen again.”
“Promise me. Swear it.”
“I swear.”
“You can get a job as a mechanic or a seamstress.”
“I’m fucking shit with a needle.”
“Then you can learn to be a barber.”
He snorted. “Like anyone would let me near scissors.”
I grinned and kissed him again. “My parents are inside. They’re probably watching through the window.”
“Shit. Do I look presentable?”
I stepped back and straightened his crooked tie. “You have a little blood on your collar.”
“I’ll say I cut myself shaving.”
“Then I think you’re perfect.”
He blew out a steadying breath. “Okay, time to meet the parents.”
“Just shake hands and whatever you do, don’t shoot them.”
“I make no promises.”