Rage

Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Calder

Three Days Later

P arker slammed the screen door shut as he left for work. It took every ounce of strength inside of me not to chase after him and pummel him to death. He’d been an asshole since he learned about the baby, and I was sick of it. Our feelings didn’t matter when Thea was in bed grieving, or when Paisley needed us to pick up the slack.

I gritted my teeth, tossing dishes into the sink.

“He needs time,” Hendrix said, pouring himself a thermal of coffee. He was dressed in his usual work gear–jeans, gray Henley, and grungy brown work boots. Like me and Shane, he sported dirty fingers that seemed never to be clean. Paisley sat at the table eating a bowl of cereal. Her chin tilted toward us, which made me sure she was eavesdropping, even though she kept her head down and toward her food.

“Three days. It’s time to get out of this sulking shit. Thea needs us. All of us.”

Hendrix nodded. “She does. And I’m dealing with Parker. Just… just make sure Thea’s good while I do.”

I huffed, washing dishes while Paisley finished her breakfast.

“I’m done,” she said after a few moments of silence. She was standing beside me now, a younger version of her mother. She was taller than Thea, a trait she definitely didn’t get from her short father.

Kyle was only about 5’7, a full inch shorter than Thea. Paisley was growing at full speed, and I couldn’t believe how much she’d grown since the first time we met when she was only seven. Now she was probably close to 5’11.

Paisley glanced at me with her mother’s chocolate brown eyes, and my heart banged in my chest. It’d only been three days, but I worried when Thea’s eyes would sparkle in that same way. Or if they ever would again. How long would the life be missing from her eyes?

“I’ll take you to school,” I said, rinsing off the dish she handed me and tossing it in the dishwasher. Usually, Thea took her, but she wasn’t in any condition to leave bed.

“Okay,” Paisley whispered. “You gonna tell me what happened?”

I inhaled. Thea wanted to be the one to tell Paisley, but she refused to leave her room, even to see her daughter. I wasn’t sure how long we were supposed to keep Paisley in the dark, and it made me uncomfortable lying to my stepdaughter.

“Your mom wants to speak with you, Paze.”

Paisley grabbed her bookbag and followed me out of the house. “Maybe, but I’m not a kid anymore, you know? I know when something’s wrong. You’re all okay, I’m okay. I spoke with my dad. He’s fine. So it has to be her. Something’s wrong with Mom and you guys aren’t telling me.”

I sighed, taking the steps off the porch two at a time and heading for my truck. Paisley stood in front of the truck, arms crossed. She wasn’t going to budge until I told her.

“Get in the car, Paze. You’re gonna be late for school.”

A flash of defiance flickered in her eyes. “Tell me what’s going on, Calder.”

I forced myself not to be angry with her. Reminded myself what it was like to be in a similar situation as a teenager, not liking being left in the dark about adult situations. She deserved the truth, and as much as Thea wanted us to keep her out of it, I had to draw the line somewhere.

We weren’t her biological fathers, but we’d been there more than Kyle ever was. I loved Paisley, and blood or not, she was my daughter. I taught her how to ride a bike. She grilled with me every Sunday evening out on the back patio, brought me beer bottles with the top screwed off and told me about the day she’d been having. She even spent hours under the hood of cars, learning how to restore the old school ones Shane and I brought into the shop for fun.

I knew about her disdain for brushing her teeth in the morning before eating breakfast and about every crush she’d had since she was ten. I knew she hated ketchup on her fries, but loved dipping them in milkshakes, that her upper lip crinkled when she was telling a lie, and that her favorite color fluctuated between yellow, blue and black, depending on her mood.

Paisley deserved the truth.

I sighed, my decision made. “Come on. I’ll tell you on the way.”

When she was settled in the passenger seat beside me, I pulled the car into reverse and we headed toward school. “Your mom lost the baby, Paze. She’s okay, physically. But she’s grieving. We all are.”

Paisley nodded, chewing on her bottom lip. “I’m sorry, Calder. That really sucks.”

“How do you feel about it?”

Paisley shrugged, glancing out of the window. She remained silent for a bit before turning to me again. “I’m sad for Mom. And for you, and the rest of the guys. But I’m glad mom is okay.”

“I am, too.”

I glanced between the road and Paisley. She continued that damn lip chewing, staring out the window with a blank stare. There was more on her mind. I just couldn’t tell what.

“You know, we’ve never really talked about how our relationship with your mom affected you. You were just a kid when we met. And I know sometimes kids gave you shit for having all of us around,” I said.

Her head whipped around to look at me, wide eyes in place. “Mom’s talked to me about it.”

I scrunched my nose. Thea never mentioned that to any of us that I knew of. Though, I supposed it made sense. Our relationship was far from conventional, and Paisley had to have known that. It wasn’t considered normal what we did. Especially not in a small town like ours.

“She has?” I asked.

“I mean not directly.” A shade of pink dusted her cheeks. “We’ve talked about expectations of relationships. About how I should treat others and how they should treat me. I know my dad wasn’t good to her. I have memories of it, you know?”

My jaw tightened at that statement. Kyle may be her father, but I hated him with pure passion. I saw firsthand how horrible he was to Thea. The only thing keeping him six feet above the ground was Paisley. If it weren’t for her, I’d have gone to jail by now.

He berated Thea every chance he got. But he was Paisley’s dad. And if I loved Thea, that meant keeping my mouth shut and my hands to myself where Kyle was concerned. I hated even Paisley knew her dad wasn’t the best example of how a man should treat a woman.

She cleared her throat. “Mom never had anyone that treated her the way she deserved. She deserves the love you give her. The love that all of you give her. It doesn’t bother me. I just like that she can be happy.”

My chest constricted. “God, Paze. You have no idea how much that means to us.”

She smirks, looking my way again. “I am curious, though.”

“What about?”

“How you all don’t care that she’s with all of you? Isn’t it weird for you?”

“I won’t speak for the other guys. But for me, no. It doesn’t bother me one bit. What we have works. There’s always someone to take care of you and your mom.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

I pulled into the parking lot of the school, clipping our conversation short. “I’ll pick you up after soccer practice.”

“It’s a game tonight. Will you be there?”

Shit. Thea always reminded us of when Paisley’s games were. I’d have to leave work at the shop to get here for her. Parker usually was the one who came to games whenever Thea couldn’t. His schedule was the most flexible. Even though Shane and me owned the garage, we worked on custom cars with customers that demanded fast labor. It wasn’t fair to put the load on Shane.

“One of us will make it,” I promised.

She nodded, leaning over the console to press a kiss to my cheek. “Thanks, Calder. Tell Mom I love her.”

“I will,” I said, watching her hop out of the truck and slam the door.