Chapter 18
Walking into the closet, I start tossing clothes looking for my most favorite pair of yoga pants and tank top. I need some destressing and since I don’t like to be a couch potato with junk food, I usually go for a long run to help clear my head.
Kane has no idea how much his words in the shower meant to me. I knew we cared about each other, but I think after all of this, it confirms that I’m hopelessly in love with him. He definitely isn’t a hearts and flowers kind of guy, but hearing him say that I’m his ride or die, solidified it for me.
As I walk out to the living room, I already see Sutton waiting by the kitchen counter.
My heart squeezes realizing that she’s remembered me talking about how running clears my mind and helps relieve my stress.
I miss Ivy so much but Sutton is filling her absent shoes.
She’s standing bent over tying her shoes with two bottles of water and our earbuds ready to go.
I’m not sure what I would do without her here right now.
She sees me from the hall and straightens.
“Ready?” I nod and we gear up for our journey.
Sutton and I have the same mindset that fresh air and pushing your body to the max helps give us comfort in tense times.
She’s told me that when she was growing up that dallying around was not allowed and was given more to do to fill your time.
If your eyes are open then chores must be done, she said.
Some of the stories are horrible of what she was made to do, and I wish I’d paid more attention back in high school and befriended her.
Ivy hates that I don’t act like most girls who sit on the couch and eat my weight in chips or ice cream, but she’s always been a trooper when I’m upset. Of course, when the tables are turned we have our arms filled full of shopping bags when she’s had a meltdown or dire day.
As we walk out the front door, I see Trick on his phone pacing back and forth. Once he sees us, he drops the call and comes over.
“Hey, ladies, off somewhere?” he asks.
Kane mentioned that the club has got some major deal going down in the next few days so he’ll have his hands busy with that and not to expect to see him a lot.
He’s also mentioned that Trick was going to be watching over me until things die down a bit.
I’m not happy to have a babysitter, but I knew that after what happened today and yesterday with Dennis, there wasn’t any room to argue.
And honestly I don’t have it in me right now to put up a fight.
“Just going for a run,” I tell him knowing that he’ll be with us every step of the way.
“Oh, shit, can’t we just go get some ice cream and a rom-com movie?” he pleads, if I was in the mood I’d laugh. I raise an eyebrow at him letting him know that we’re not changing our minds. “Oh, yeah umm, where are you running so I can ride along for the most part?”
Taking into account the heat and that Trick is going to be our sidekick, I tell him that we’ll stay in the neighborhood, hitting every street then counter back. That should give me a good three to four miles to clear my head.
An hour later, Sutton and I throw our sweaty selves on the couch and finish off our bottled waters. I slowed my pace at the end when she fell behind, but it was a good run.
“Let’s get cleaned up and order a pizza,” she pants, sucking in air like it might be her last. “I’m so out of shape.”
“Sounds good, I’ll go see what Trick likes then order it.”
We slowly get back up and after getting his order and a fresh pair of clothes for Sutton, I make my way to the shower for the second time today. As I close the bedroom door my phone goes off, and I smile seeing who it is.
“Hi, Dad!” I cheerfully say. We talk a couple of times a week, but I haven’t heard from him in a while since meeting Kane.
“Don’t Dad me, Raegan Nicole!” Shit, not him too. “What is this that your mother is telling me that you’re seeing the leader of a dangerous gang?”
So, Mommy Dearest called in the big guns. I was wondering if she would stoop that low. After the divorce, she stopped all contact with him, and it was me who made the phone calls to speak with her.
“Dad—”
“At first I didn’t believe a word coming out of the snake’s mouth, but why would she call me after all these years?
Raegan, you need to come back home right this minute.
I’ll book you a one-way flight for tomorrow morning.
How in the world did you get involved in a gang, Raegan?
Your mother wailed that you almost got arrested yesterday, but that Dennis stepped in for you. ”
I was going to let him keep rambling on until he got everything out of his system, but the mention of Dennis made my skin prickle.
That asshole. I have a good mind to hack his bank accounts and drain all the money and donate it to the women’s shelter in town.
“DAD!” I cut him off. “I am seeing someone, but he’s isn’t in a gang. Carly is lying and after yesterday and what happened this morning, you shouldn’t believe a word out of her rancid mouth.”
I refuse to call her Mom or Mother ever again after what happened. She’d be lucky if I would spit on her if she caught on fire at this point.
“Then tell me what the hell is going on down there,” he demands.
“Well, yesterday I was helping at one of Carly’s charity carnivals when a group of men circled my friend, Sutton, and me. We told them to back off, but the guy grabbed my shoulders and wouldn’t let go. Kane and his brothers were close by and a fight broke out.”
There was a pause over the phone and for a minute I think we might’ve gotten disconnected.
“I see,” he finally offers. “And what happened this morning?”
I debate on what I should tell him. Knowing my dad, he’d be on the next plane here to put Dennis six feet under.
“Well, I was giving back Dennis and Carly’s the keys to the pool house when we got into a huge fight.”
“I can always tell when you’re lying or leaving something out, Raegan,” he chastises me. “Tell me all of it.”
“Fine, but you have to promise not to come here,” I concede.
“Why would I need to come there if you aren’t in any type of trouble?”
“Promise me, Dad.”
He gives an exhausted sigh, “Okay, fine, I promise. Now tell me.”
“The fight was over Dennis not liking my boyfriend. He called me a turncoat because I stuck up for Kane and his brothers, who have a motorcycle club. I’ll tell you more about that later,” I quickly add.
“Then Dennis called me a whore. I called him on some of his shit and then he hit me across the face. All the while Carly sat on a sofa and did nothing but glare at me like I was the problem.”
I hear heavy breathing into the phone and hope his blood pressure doesn’t get too high. At his last doctor’s appointment they discussed possible medication if the number didn’t improve by the following visit.
“Dad?” I’m met with more silence and start to worry about him. I can still hear his breathing so I know that he’s still alive at the moment. “Dad?” I try again.
“I’m going to kill that motherfucker!” he fumes. “Claire! Claire! Get me a ticket to Texas!” Dad orders and I hear glass shattering in the background.
“Dad, you promised...”
“That was before you just told me that HE put his hands on my daughter!”
“I have it under control, Dad. Please just trust me and don’t come here, I can handle that asshat.”
“Raegan, until you become a parent you don’t know what it’s like to feel the way I do right now. It doesn’t matter how old you are, you’ll always be my baby, and I’ll always want to protect you.”
“I know, but I can deal with Dennis, please let me. When I need you then you’re more than welcome to come down here and chop him into little pieces.”
He lets out a long deep breath, and I can just imagine that he’s squeezing a stress ball in his hand.
“I swear to god, if he does one more thing I want to know about it, immediately. Then I’m going down there to strangle the bastard.”
“Deal.”
“Raegan?”
“Yeah?”
“Why were you giving the keys to your home back to them?” He pauses for a second like he’s thinking something over. “Are you moving in with this boyfriend?”
Well, shit! I was hoping to avoid this conversation.
“Umm, well, I’m kinda staying with him right now.” My tone is one from when I was a small girl getting caught with a box full of frogs under my bed.
“Christ!” he yells and then I hear another shatter in the background.
If he doesn’t stop, Claire won’t have any dishes to plate food on. Or decorations for the house.
A knock on the door gets my attention.
“Dad, can you hold on for a sec?” I ask and open the door.
“Hey, pizza’s here,” Sutton announces with a towel wrapped around her head.
I point to the phone and give her a thumbs up before shutting the door.
“Food’s here, Dad, and Sutton and I have a movie waiting for us in the living room.”
“Okay, baby girl, but I want to hear more about this boy you’re living with.”
“Sure, Dad, maybe we can Skype and you and he can talk,” I offer and then regret it. What if Kane doesn’t want to speak with my dad? Would he refuse?
“Sounds good. Talk to you soon, love you.”
“Love you too.”
We hang up, and I blow out a breath I’d been holding onto since Dad found out I was living with Kane.
Dodged a bullet on that one so far.