Chapter Twenty-Three
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
I STUMBLED INTO the kitchen, the walls of the clubhouse closing in around me. My vision was blurred with tears, and every breath felt like I was sucking in shards of glass. I needed air, space, needed to be anywhere but here.
I leaned against the counter, my hands gripping the edge until my knuckles turned white. The room was spinning, my mind replaying the image of Bolt and Jenny over and over again, like a sick, twisted loop I couldn’t escape from. How could I have been so stupid to trust him? To think that he was different?
A sob bubbled up in my throat, but I choked it back, squeezing my eyes shut as I tried to force the tears away. I didn’t want to fall apart. But it was too late. I was shattered, and there was no putting the pieces back together.
“Fiona?”
I jumped at the sound of Brenda’s voice, my eyes snapping open as I turned to see her standing in the doorway. She took one look at me, her sharp eyes narrowing with concern, and I knew I couldn’t hide this from her.
“Sweetheart, what happened?” Brenda asked, her voice gentle as she walked toward me, her hand reaching out to touch my arm.
I shook my head, biting down on my lip as I fought to keep the tears at bay. “I... I can’t talk about it.”
But Brenda wasn’t having it. She guided me to the small table in the corner, pushing me down into a chair before taking a seat across from me. “Talk young lady!”
Her kindness, her steady presence, was enough to break the dam inside me. The tears spilled over, hot and uncontrollable, and I buried my face in my hands as the sobs wracked my body.
“He was with her,” I choked out between sobs, my voice barely above a whisper. “I went to his room, and he was with Jenny. In bed.”
Brenda’s eyes darkened, her expression hardening as she listened. “I don’t believe it. Bolt screwin’ around,” she replied, her face filled with disbelief before muttering, “That no good piece of trash, I knew she was trouble. Tell me exactly what you saw.”
I sniffed, recounting the encounter, trying to catch my breath as I finished. “I thought... he cared about me.”
Brenda reached across the table, her hand covering mine, her grip warm and firm. “Men can be idiots, sweetheart. They can make mistakes. But sometimes, things aren’t always what they seem.”
I shook my head, the image of Bolt and Jenny burned into my mind. “But I saw them, Brenda. He was there with her and there were... remnants of what they had done. How am I supposed to believe anything else?”
She squeezed my hand, her gaze never leaving mine. “Listen to me, Fiona. I’ve been around this club long enough to know when something’s off. And that sweet butt, Jenny... she’s been after Bolt and his patch since the day she walked into this clubhouse. I wouldn’t put it past her to pull somethin’ like this.”
I stared at her, trying to make sense of what she was saying. “You think she... what? Set him up?”
Brenda nodded slowly, her eyes searching mine. “It’s possible. I’m not saying that’s what happened, but I’m saying you need to be sure before you jump to conclusions. Bolt doesn’t strike me as the kind of man who’d throw away somethin’ good for a roll in the sheets with a sweet butt. Hell, I’ve never once seen him take a woman to his room, except you.”
My heart ached, torn between the image I’d seen and the hope that maybe, just maybe, there was another explanation. But it was hard to believe. Hard to let myself hope that this was anything but what it seemed.
“I don’t know what to think,” I whispered, my voice shaking. “I feel so stupid.”
Brenda’s grip tightened on my hand, her expression softening. “You’re not stupid, Fiona. You’ve been through hell and back, and you deserve someone who’ll treat you right. But you also deserve the truth, whatever that is. Don’t let anger make up your mind for you.”
I nodded, wiping at my eyes with the back of my hand. “I don’t think it’ll matter, Brenda,” I whispered. “The vision of them together in that bed, set up or not, he still slept with her. I saw the used condom.”
“Oh honey,” she murmured, stroking my hair. “You’re so much like your momma, so pretty and sweet, you love with your whole heart and hurt the same. That’s why Horse loved Caroline so much and why it about killed him when she died. You were the only thing keeping him on this earth, and Bolt looks at you the very same way your daddy looked at your momma.” Brenda paused; her eyes thoughtful as she remembered.
“He looked at Caroline like she was the very air he needed to breathe. I was always so jealous of that, having a man love you that much. And Bolt was a man in love and this whole thing ain’t passing the smell test. It stinks to high heaven.”
“I wish I could believe that,” I replied, the tears flowing down my face freely as I took a shaky breath. “Brenda, I love you and the fact you want to make me feel better, but my eyes don’t lie, the image imprinted in my mind. I can’t forgive him, and I need to pull myself together to start my life over— without him .”
“Does your daddy know?”
“Yeah, he saw them too, and he went after Bolt. I left so I’m not sure if he hurt him,” I confessed, for the first time wondering what happened after I walked away.
“Oh Lord,” Brenda muttered, standing. “I better go calm Horse down and make sure he didn’t kill Bolt.” She bent down to kiss my cheek. “Everything is going to be okay; you’ll see. Don’t hold anything inside that head of yours. You come find me and we’ll talk.” She looked back over her shoulder before walking out the door. “And Fiona, if Bolt really did screw around on you, he better find a hole to hide in, a deep one.”
I nodded again; my throat was too tight to speak. Brenda’s strength, her unwavering support, was a godsend, and for now, it was enough to keep me from running out the door.
But even as I sat there, my fingers twisting the chain he had given me, trying to breathe through the pain, a part of me couldn’t shake the image of Bolt with Jenny. The way he looked, half-awake and groggy, like he didn’t even know where he was. It didn’t make sense, and that was the hardest part. But in the end, none of that mattered since they had slept together. That was unforgivable. So, with a hand that seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, I removed the chain and stuck it in my pocket.