TWENTY-SIX
Nate
R ose grabs her wet bag from the grass and climbs in next to me as I wipe the dirt from my hands on a spare rag I keep in the center console. I’m completely soaked through from the rain now, and this was not how I planned my afternoon.
“Rose!” Kara squeals from the backseat. “Dad, did you know it was gonna be Rose?”
“No.” I start the engine and check my mirrors as I pull back onto the road and point us toward the city—the opposite direction from home.
“Rose, who was that man?” Kara inquires.
“No one,” Rose replies. “He used to be my friend, but not anymore.”
“Did you have a fight with him?” Kara asks. “I once had a fight with Jackie but we started playing together the next day and kinda forgot about it.”
In my peripheral, Rose turns to me. “It was nothing, I promise. My mom sent him to get me, and he was already headed back to the city. And his hand was—”
I raise my palm to interrupt her. “I don’t want to talk about this right now.” I nod inconspicuously backward at Kara. She doesn’t need to hear this. “We’ll discuss it later.”
Rose shuts her mouth and sinks further into her seat while Kara continues on, explaining the intricacies of the “fight” she and Jackie had last fall.
I’m doing my best to focus on the road, but all I can see is that asshole’s hand on her thigh. That thigh I’ve gripped and caressed and had wrapped around me so many times in the last month. I hate the sight of someone else touching it.
Especially him.
I saw the skid marks on the road half a mile back. He was pushing ninety . On a back road. In the rain. With my girlfriend in the car.
I wanted to shove him to the ground right there in that field. Get some mud on those precious Armani pants of his. But Kara would have seen. I’d never do that to her.
“Dad, when am I getting my MNI?” She asks from behind me.
“Your MRI is next Tuesday.” I grip the wheel tighter as rage continues to course through me.
Rose snaps her head in my direction. “Why does she need an MRI?”
I sigh. “The neurologist is concerned about the ringing in her ears. He said things like that should usually be gone by now, so he wants to run a few more tests.” The truth is, anxiety is eating away at me. The thought of Kara having any kind of permanent damage from her fall is terrifying.
Rose doesn’t say anything, and when I glance at her, I find all kinds of sympathy written on her face. It hurts to look at her right now because what she just did is making me question everything I know about her. Why did she agree to ride with him? Why was his hand on her leg? Why wasn’t she pushing him away? None of it adds up to an innocent explanation, and the suspicious part of me that usually lays low is starting to stir.
But I return my focus to the road and stay silent for the rest of the drive. Kara tells Rose all about the new skills she’s learning at soccer practice, but Rose doesn’t contribute much to the conversation. She just stares out her window. It’s only when we arrive at her building that she finally speaks up. “Can you drop me off in the parking garage?”
I pull into the entrance and punch in the code. The gate opens and Rose points to an empty spot next to the enclosed stairwell.
When I put the truck in park, she shoulders her bag and turns to me in her seat. “Can you get out, just for a moment?”
I start to shake my head because I’m still angry and need some time to sort through what I want to say to her, and also because Kara is tired and needs to get home.
“Please, I just want to explain.” There is an insistence in her expression I can’t deny.
So, I grit my teeth and open my door. “Kara, I’ll be right back.”
Rose climbs out and crosses to the stairwell, where she opens the door and steps inside. I hesitantly follow her, making sure I can see the truck right outside the door’s window.
Rose reaches the first step and turns around to face me. “My mom was supposed to pick me up today, but she got stuck in a meeting, so she sent Malcolm without telling me. He showed up and insisted on taking me home—”
“No one forced you into his car,” I interject. She’s told me all of this already, and I’m tired of hearing it.
She holds her hand up. “Please, let me finish.”
I close my mouth.
“I tried to get an Uber but they were all way too far out. I’d either have to sit alone with him waiting for a driver for an hour or just ride home with him.” She frowns. “I thought about calling you, but I knew you were stressed about this appointment and you needed to focus on the doctor. And I’m really glad you did, now knowing Kara needs more tests.”
“You could have texted me,” I suggest flatly.
“That would have distracted you just the same,” she points out like it’s a valid explanation. But it’s not. Nothing would have convinced me to let her get in that car with him.
“You knew he was a reckless driver.”
Her eyes fall to my chest. “I know. It was stupid. I just…it seemed like more of a task to wait for an Uber.”
I set my jaw. “Why was he touching you?”
She shakes her head and runs her hand down her face. “He’d just put his hand there. I was about to push him away. He seriously won’t leave me alone, Nate.”
I pull my brows together and regard her warily. If he won’t leave her alone, it’s my job to step in. But for some reason, she won’t let me. “Do you understand how this looks? You had lunch with him the other week, chose not to tell me, and I had to find out from your mom. Were you going to tell me about today?”
“Yes!” Rose exclaims, flinging her hands to her sides. “Yes, I was going to tell you right away once you got home.”
I narrow my eyes as her shoulders drop. For the first time, I don’t know if I can trust her.
She stares at me for a long moment, grief spreading onto her face. “You don’t believe me, do you?”
I wipe my hand across my forehead and glance out at the truck. “I don’t know, Rose. You aren’t giving me a lot of reasons to. You told me you’d say no to him next time he tried to spend time with you.” I meet her gaze again. “I’d hoped you’d call me to get you out of it if something like this happened again. Why’d you give in?”
Rose drops her eyes to the ground, searching as if the answers are written there. “I was just trying to save you the headache, really.”
I take a step back and scoff. “Yeah, well this is more of a headache than that would have been.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispers.
I let my gaze fall to her feet, which fill a pair of pristine black heels. The red from their soles reflects on the shiny grey concrete beneath. This girl comes from a different world. Maybe Malcolm is the piece of that world she can’t quite let go. Maybe she doesn’t want to.
“You know,” I say. “If you prefer the risk, the thrill, and the expensive BMW over my dull, predictable pickup,” I gesture toward my truck, “just say it. I understand.” My comment has nothing to do with the cars, and she knows it too. It’s a low blow, but it slips from my lips before I can stop it.
“Nate,” she rebukes loudly, but there’s sadness laced in her voice. “You know that’s not why.”
I stare pointedly at her for a beat. “I actually don’t.”
Her shoulders sag. “Why don’t you trust me?
I squeeze my eyes shut. “It’s as simple as the fact that you told me you’d refuse him if he ever pulled this act again.” I open my eyes and set my jaw. “If it was any other guy, I really wouldn’t care. But he’s your ex, Rose. I have to draw the line there.”
“Draw the line?” She narrows her eyes. “You’re going to draw the line on who I can and cannot see?”
I exhale loudly and stand up taller. “I’m not going to tell you what you can and can’t do, but I’m also not going to sit back and let someone put you in danger and then put their hands on you like that when you could have just called me and gotten out of the whole thing.”
“It’s not my fault he put his hands on me!” Rose raises her voice.
“No.” I shake my head. “No, he’s a prick who has zero respect for you. But you knew he was a problem.” I point at her. “You knew I was uncomfortable with you spending time alone with him. And yet, you did it anyway.” She tries to protest, but I stop her. “And yes, I know you were trying to protect me, or whatever, but this one’s going to take me a minute.” I grasp the handle on the door that leads back into the parking garage. “This should have been a simple one, Rose. And if you don’t understand that, then we both have some thinking to do.”
Her mouth drops open and her expression fades to sharp remorse. “Nate, I…”
“I’ve gotta go.” I turn the handle and open the door. “I need to take the weekend and think about this.”
“Wait, what?” Her shocked voice echoes in the empty stairwell.
Facing the door, I squeeze my eyes shut. I’m angry with her and I’m terrified for Kara. “I can’t solve this right now. I have too much on my mind.”
“But…the wedding…” she breathes.
Shit.
I completely forgot.
Spending the weekend with a bunch of people who think I’m dumb and poor doesn’t sound like fun at all. I turn incrementally toward her to find an expression of grief morphing into irritation.
“You’re not going to come, are you?” she says through slightly clenched teeth.
I look past her shoulder, avoiding her gaze. “It’s clear I’m not wanted there, anyway.”
She forces out a loud exhale. “Fine, Nate, don’t come.”
It stings. But it only fuels the fire. “Fine. I’ll call you on Monday.” I catch her shocked gaze for just a second more before I slip through the door and leave her alone in the stairwell.