Chapter 21
“Someone needs to give Maya’s parents a lesson and I just volunteered for the job.” ~ Caleb
Caleb
W here are you?
I shouldn’t ignore Maya’s text. But I can’t tell her where I am. She’ll lose her mind and come after me. And I refuse to allow her to breathe the same air as her parents any longer.
If I could kick them off this island, I would. Hell, if this doesn’t work, I’ll get all of Maya’s friends and boyfriends together and we’ll throw a ‘kick the Jenkins off the island’-party. I wouldn’t be surprised if all the smugglers on the island joined in.
Caleb. I’m worried.
Damnit. I can’t ignore her being worried. Not after I nearly lost my mind with worry over where she was yesterday.
I’m safe.
I hit send on the message and switch my phone off. I can’t have it beeping and distracting me. My task is too important .
I watch as Maya’s dad drives into the garage of her parents’ home. I don’t wait for the garage door to shut before I step out of my truck and make my way to the front door.
I ignore the doorbell in favor of pounding on the door.
“What’s your hurry?” A woman – Maya’s mom I assume – shouts from inside the house.
I pound on the door again.
“I’m coming. I’m coming. Hold your freaking horses.”
The door opens to reveal an older version of Maya. She has the same honey-blonde hair and pink, pouty lips Maya does. But her face is lined with wrinkles and her eyes are hard. Maya’s eyes are warm and sparkle. But her mom’s eyes are full of a lifetime of regret.
I understand how regret can eat away at you. But I also understand taking responsibility for your life and your decisions.
“Who are you?”
“Invite me in,” I order.
“I’m not inviting someone I don’t know into my house.” She rakes her gaze over me. “Hold on. Are you Caleb?” Her eyes light with recognition. “You sure grew up well.”
“Invite me in,” I insist between grit teeth.
She sweeps a hand toward the interior of the house. “Come in. Come in.”
I enter and follow her into the living room. I take a moment to study the home Maya grew up in. The furniture appears expensive with its classic design and leather fabrics, but it also looks brand new as if it’s never been used .
The entire room reminds me of a display in a furniture store. Everything is perfect. There are no depressions from people sitting on the couch, no drinks left out, no blankets to cuddle under. It’s cold and clinical.
“Geraldine,” Maya’s father bellows as he enters the house from the garage.
Geraldine startles and I scowl. She’s obviously afraid of her own husband. Why the hell doesn’t she leave him?
“We have a visitor, Roger.”
Roger walks into the living room and smiles at me. His smile is fake as shit. “Who’s our visitor, Geraldine?”
He moves to his wife and wraps an arm around her to pull her near. She winces when he touches her hip. I nearly lose my hold on my temper but I reign it in. I have a message to send to these people. Ranting and screaming won’t help.
“This is Caleb,” Geraldine says. “Caleb, this is my husband, Roger.”
Roger holds out his hand but I cross my arms over my chest. No way am I shaking the hand of the man who tortured the woman I love throughout her childhood.
“Ah, yes, I remember you,” he says as he drops his hand. “What can we do for you today?”
“You can stop harassing Maya.”
He chuckles. “She’s our child. We don’t harass her.”
“I was being kind using the word harass. You will stop torturing your daughter. ”
His eyes narrow. I know the look. I’ve seen enough evil men in my time in the Army to recognize evil when I come across it. This man is rotten through and through.
“It’s none of your business.”
I snort. “You tried to make it none of my business. You convinced me I wasn’t good enough for your daughter. But you didn’t give a shit if I was good enough for her or not. You just didn’t want her to be happy. You want her to be miserable the same way you are.”
“What is he talking about?” Geraldine asks Roger. “You convinced Caleb he wasn’t good enough for Maya?”
Apparently, she doesn’t know about the ‘talk’ her husband had with me.
Roger shrugs. “It’s true, isn’t it? He’s a soldier. He’s not even an officer.”
He doesn’t have the first clue what he’s talking about. I could be an officer if I wanted to. I got my degree a few years back. But I’m not letting him derail this conversation. This discussion is not about me. It never was.
“You are the ones who aren’t good enough for Maya,” I grumble. “You’re the ones who shouldn’t breathe the same air as her.”
“I don’t know who you think you are but—”
I hold up my hand to stop his tantrum. This isn’t a discussion.
“From now on, Maya doesn’t exist for you. You don’t call her. You don’t speak to her. You leave her the hell alone.”
Geraldine rolls her eyes. “We live in a small town on a small island, we can’t help but run into our daughter once in a while. ”
Their daughter? How dare she! They never treated Maya like a daughter. They didn’t love her and cherish her the way they should have. They didn’t nurture her the way a child needs. Their mistreatment of Maya stops now.
“You bump into Maya at the grocery store, you walk away. You bump into her at a restaurant, you turn around. And you sure as shit don’t search for her anywhere.”
Roger prowls toward me. A muscle ticks in his jaw and his eyes are full of fire. If he’s trying to intimidate me, he’s going to have to try a fuck of a lot harder.
“You!” He shakes his finger at me. “You don’t tell me what to do. Who the hell do you think you are? Do you know who I am?”
“I know exactly the kind of man you are. The kind that isn’t a man at all. The kind that thinks hitting a woman makes him strong. The kind that thinks putting other people down makes him bigger. Clue in – you aren’t the big man. You’re a small man in a big man’s clothes who doesn’t know how to wear them.”
“How dare you?” He raises his fist.
I lift my eyebrow. “Gonna hit me? Go ahead. This should be fun.”
His nostrils flare as he shakes his fist in the air. “Get out of here!” Spit flies from his mouth as he yells. “Get out of here! And don’t ever come back!”
“Trust me. I don’t ever want to come back to this emotionless mausoleum. But I will if you don’t heed my warning. Stay the hell away from Maya. She’s no longer your daughter. She’s nothing to you.”
“Get out! Get out!” Roger’s eyes are bulging. I wouldn’t be surprised if he pops a blood vessel in his eye.
I glance over my shoulder at Maya’s mom as I make my way to the door. Roger is going to lose it on her once I’m gone.
Shit. I can’t abandon her here with him but there’s no way she’ll go anywhere with me. She refused to accept the helping hand Maya offered her. She sure as hell isn’t accepting help from me.
I’ll phone the cops. It’s the only recourse I have.
When I open the door, I realize I don’t have to contact anyone since there’s a cop waiting on the porch.
I hold up my hands. “I didn’t touch him.”
He smirks. “I wouldn’t blame you if you did.”
My brow wrinkles. “What?”
He chuckles and holds out his hand. “I’m Weston. I’m Sophia’s brother.”
Now I understand why he appears familiar. Weston and I had a few interactions when he was a rookie cop and I was a shithead teenager. Although, he’s changed over the decade I’ve been gone. But, then, so have I.
“I’m doing a welfare check.” He winks before knocking on the door.
“Go away!” Roger shouts from inside the house.
“Go on.” Weston nods to my truck. “Get out of here. I’ve got this.”
“How did you know I was here? ”
He taps his nose. “A little bunny told me.”
Crap. Maya knows I’m here. She’s probably losing her mind.
“Thanks, man. I didn’t consider Maya’s mom’s safety.”
“Don’t you dare feel guilty. Maya’s been carrying that guilt around for years. It’s not her guilt to carry and it’s certainly not yours. You did right by her. It’s about damn time.”
“Yes, it is,” I mutter.
I climb into my truck and switch on my phone. It immediately starts beeping with message after message from Maya. I scroll to the last one.
Don’t do anything stupid.
She probably won’t agree with me, but I didn’t do anything stupid. I did what needed to be done. And if her parents ignore my warnings, I’ll do what I need to do to get my point across. Maya’s life will no longer be poisoned by her egg and sperm donor.
They are not her family.
I am.