Chapter Fourteen
Lucas
I drive back to the club. It’s drizzling so I turn on my wipers, but not even the rain can ruin my mood. Despite the friendship agreement I made with Rainey, we’re good for each other. I know it, and so does she.
As I pull into my parking spot, I notice a bulky man with long hair, his hands in his jeans pockets, wearing a T-shirt, loitering at the entrance.
There’s something familiar about him but as I exit my vehicle and walk his way, I don’t recognize the black tattoo sleeves on his arms, and I’m sure I’m mistaken. I’ve never met him before.
I tap my key fob and lock the door, then approach him. “Excuse me. Can I help you?”
He turns and I stop short. “Trick?” My stomach twists with memories best forgotten.
His familiar gray eyes meet mine. “Here he is. Mr. I’ve Moved Up in the World.” He extends his arm and steps forward.
Next thing I know, he pulls me in for a brotherly hug and slaps me on the back. I work out. I’m solid, but he’s pure muscle, no doubt from lack of anything else to do but exercise.
I return the gesture with a slap of my own, wondering if he’s being genuine or setting me up in some way.
He backs up and looks me over.
I do the same.
“It’s been a while,” he says, calmer than I’ve ever seen him. The Trick I knew was a teenage drug user and an addict, always on edge and impulsive in the worst ways.
“Sure has. I heard you were out.” Might as well deal with the elephant in the room.
“It’s been a couple of weeks.” He looks around, then up at the sky. “The world’s changed but the great outdoors hasn’t.” He takes a full breath of fresh air. “Feels good, man.”
“I bet.”
“You going to invite me in? Show me what you’ve done with the place.” He tips his head toward the club and despite my agitation, I decide to let him inside.
I pull the door and it swings open. Since it’s unlocked, either Tristan or my managers are here. The thought gives me comfort.
We walk into the club, and I know what Trick sees. A high-end establishment that tells him I’ve made it. I’ve got money. My nerves ratchet up and I’m relieved to see Mak doing her thing behind the bar, and Tristan sitting on the other side, his laptop open.
At the sound of our entrance, Tristan lifts his head. “Morning.”
“Hey.”
Trick follows me toward where Tristan is sitting.
Drawing a deep breath, I begin introductions. “Tristan, this is Trick Henderson, Trick, one of my partners, Tristan Hayes.”
Tristan’s eyes flare for a moment, obviously recognizing the name, before he reins in any emotion and extends his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Trick steps around me and shakes his hand. “Same.”
I’d introduce Mak, but I don’t want to draw his attention to the pretty woman behind the bar.
Trick turns toward me. “Can we talk?” he asks.
I give Tristan a subtle nod.
He closes his laptop and rises to his feet. “I have a few things to do in the back,” he says, and I know he’ll be nearby if I need him.
Mak meets my gaze, then follows Tristan away from the bar.
I don’t offer Trick a drink. One, I doubt his parole officer would like it, and two, I’m better off getting him out of here as soon as possible. “You wanted to talk?” I ask him.
Trick shoves his hands back in the front pockets of his jeans. “I just wanted to check in. Tell you no hard feelings.”
I narrow my gaze. It can’t be that easy.
“Hey, I see you’re not buying it but, I swear, man, it’s true.
For years, I held on to my anger, but I started going to NA while I was inside.
Never thought the old make amends thing was for me but…
” He lifts his shoulders. “It works. I was older and you looked up to me. I liked the feeling, you know? But I led you down a shitty road. And I’m sorry. ”
I’m floored. Never thought I’d hear those words come out of Trick’s mouth. Watching him now, his chill behavior, his sincerity, I want to believe him. “I’m happy for you. Glad the program is working.”
He nods. “I got a job at a gas station. I’m living in a halfway house for now. I knew better than to go back to where I came from.”
“I hope things work out for you,” I say. “I never wanted to turn you in,” I tell him. My mind goes back to the day Matthew Carras told me I had no choice if I wanted to stay with them, and my stomach churns the same way now as it did then.
“But you landed with good people,” Trick says. “You got lucky and you got out. Ain’t nothing wrong with that.” He pauses, then says, “I’m going to make it, too.”
And damn if I don’t believe him.
We part ways and I doubt I’ll see Trick again, but my heart is lighter having talked to him.
Over time, I know his visit will help me come to terms with my role in his imprisonment and the guilt I’ve lived with, despite him ending up where he belonged.
He has a second chance, and I hope he takes it.
Tristan walks back to the bar and pulls up a seat beside me. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. He came to make amends.”
My friend raises an eyebrow. “Seriously?”
I laugh. “Your expression mirrors what I was thinking when he said it, but apparently he’s working the program.”
“You believe him?” Tristan asks.
I nod. “Until I have a reason not to.”
He braces a hand on my shoulder. “I’m here if you need me.”
“Appreciate it,” I tell him. “I’m going to take off for the afternoon.
” I decide to visit with my dad and fill him in on my visitor.
I think he’ll want to know Trick showed his face, but as a retired judge, he’ll also appreciate that Trick is trying to do right with his freedom. “I’ll be back before we open tonight.”
“Take your time.”
I head back to my car, buckle up, and pull out of the parking spot. I call my mom, who answers on the first ring.
“Hi, honey. How are you?”
I smile at the sound of her happy voice. “I’m good. You?”
“Just fine. I was just about to go out and run some errands.”
“Oh. Then is Dad around? I wanted to stop by and talk.” It’s been a while since I’d seen them face to face. We speak often and I know they’ll be at the gala but after seeing Trick, I feel the need for family.
“Your timing is perfect. He just got back from a morning round of golf. I’ll let him know you’re coming. And I’ll wait to leave so I can give you a hug before I go.”
“That sounds great,” I tell her as I turn onto the turnpike and drive to the place they bought after Dad retired.
They downsized to a still large house in Coral Gables.
Which is why I was so shocked when I walked into their mansion after my biological parents passed away.
The enormity of the house compared to the shack I’d lived in had floored me.
I never thought people with money would want kids from a shit neighborhood to dirty their floors. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Jacinda had been unable to have kids and they’d fostered, children rotating in and out.
Until me. For reasons I’ve yet to understand, I came, stayed, and they adopted me.
I’m certain I was the biggest pain in the ass they’d dealt with, but we clicked.
Matthew was the first man I learned to respect.
And Jacinda’s were the first arms to hug me with love.
I pull into the driveaway, careful not to block my mother’s side of the garage so she can do her errands, and cut the engine. I’d stopped on the way to pick up her favorite coconut patty candies. I grab the bag, exit my car, and stride up the walkway, passing the pink hibiscus my mother favors.
Before I can ring the bell, she opens the door.
Her short blonde hair is pulled back in a low clip and she’s wearing a floral dress and sandals, looking as attractive as ever.
In my eyes, she outshone all the other moms when she picked me up from school because she didn’t trust me to come straight home.
Greeting me at the door, she pulls me into the hug I’ve been craving, and I return the gesture, before stepping back and leading me inside.
I’m happy to get out of the oppressive heat. “I brought you a present.” I hold up the bag and she claps her hands.
“You shouldn’t have! But I’m so glad you did.” She grabs the gift and waves for me to follow her past the entry and into the great room across from the kitchen. “Matthew! Lucas is here!” she yells because no doubt Dad is watching golf on television at a loud volume.
I hear Dad before I see him, the tread of his footsteps announcing his arrival. He joins us. He’s wearing a pair of cargo shorts and a light blue polo short-sleeved shirt. His hair is graying at the temples but both my parents are fit and active.
“Hi, son.”
I smile at the word. It never grows old. “Hey, Dad.” We exchange brief hugs.
“To what do I owe this visit?” he asks. “Sit,” he instructs.
“Mom, would you mind staying? I think you’ll want to hear this story.”
She and Dad exchange glances. “Of course,” she says.
Once everyone settles into a seat, Dad beside Mom, I lean forward in my club chair. “You won’t believe who came to visit me today.”
“Who?” Mom asks.
“Trick showed up at the club.”
Her eyes open wide, and Dad stiffens before he asks me, “You’re okay?”
I nod. “I got a call a couple of weeks ago. He was released. The news left me on edge, but when I didn’t hear from him, I forgot all about him until he showed up today.”
“What did he want? Is there going to be trouble?” Dad asks.
“Surprisingly, no.” I repeat the conversation I’d shared with Trick. “I believe he means it. He wants to change. Live a decent life.” I glance at my parents’ stunned faces. “I knew you’d want to hear the news in person. But there’s another reason I came by.”
“We’re listening,” Dad says.
I rub my hands together and despite being uncomfortable, because I’m not an emotional guy, I need to tell them what Trick’s visit stirred up.
“I never thanked you. At least, I don’t think I did.
Not the way I should have. You took in a troubled kid, gave him a home and something else he’d never had. Love.”
“Oh, Lucas. You gave us something we desperately wanted.”
I clench my fists as I ask, “Why me? You had plenty of kids coming through before me. So… why did you want to adopt me? It couldn’t be because I was the easiest of all.” I try for levity, but they shoot me a serious look that says I failed.
“I can answer for me,” Mom says. “You needed me. Don’t get me wrong, all the kids I’ve been lucky enough to have in my home have needed me.
Us. But I sensed I could help you in different ways.
I took one look at your angry, hurt, confused face and I wanted to give you everything you missed out on for as long as you’d let me.
And I wasn’t thinking until you aged out. I meant as my son.”
A lump rises to my throat and stays there. Once I dropped that angry, hurt, confused shield she’d mentioned, I wanted everything she could give. I sensed a connection and now they’re just Mom and Dad.
“As for me, maybe it was the judge in me, but I saw the path you were headed down and I wanted to alter it for you. And then I wanted to see the man you would become. Also, as my son.”
Mom smiles. “I think what we’re both trying to say is we felt a connection to you and a need to make it permanent.”
“I felt it too,” I manage to say. “After seeing Trick, I needed to come here. To thank you for changing my life before it was too late. Before I had to spend time in prison like he did.”
Mom pulls a tissue from a box on the long table behind the sofa and blots her eyes. “Now come here. And don’t thank us for something that was meant to be.” She extends her arms toward me.
I rise to my feet, and a hug fest follows. I don’t normally get emotional, but I needed this and my parents deserve to know how I feel about them.
“I’ll tell you what you can do for me, though,” Mom says, crumpling the tissue in her hand. “Find yourself a nice woman, get married, and give me some grandbabies.”
“Jacinda! Leave him alone.” Dad stands, walks over to me, and slaps my shoulder. “Ignore your mother. You do things at your own pace. But expect some hassling from your mom if you don’t hurry it up.”
I let out a laugh. “It’s funny but when I was young, there were just so many women in my view, especially after we opened the club. But the last couple of years, I’ve been selective but haven’t made any relationships work.”
“You’ve had a relationship? I’ve never met anyone!” Mom sounds insulted.
I shake my head. “That’s because there’s been no one I’ve wanted you to meet.”
Until now. I think about Rainey, how well we click, how she fits in my life in ways I didn’t understand I needed. Except there’s Jack. Her family. And my past standing in my way. And since I’ve come here to open up, I might as well go one step further.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Shoot,” Dad says.
Thanks to my partnership and friendship with Jack, they know the Dares. I’d met Jack when I was still in between sneaking out and causing trouble for my parents and the incident with Trick and the guys that changed everything for me.
“You know Ian and Riley Dare pretty well, right?”
“Of course. Problems with Jack?” Dad asks.
“Not in the way you’re thinking.” I rub my hand over the bottom of my face, feeling the stubble from lack of shaving. “I know they had issues with me back when Jack and I became friends.”
Mom’s gaze narrows. “That was a long time ago.”
“I’ve been working closely with Rainey.” I leave it there, hoping one of them will put two and two together and not make me spell out my concerns.
Mom shakes her head. “You’ve grown up. There’s no reason for them to have a problem with my son dating their daughter. Is that what’s happening?” she asks, excitement in her voice, and I realize my mistake immediately.
I should have kept my mouth shut. “No. Not… yet. And I’d appreciate it if you kept any hint of a relationship to yourself.”
“Got it.” Mom mimics zipping her lips and throwing away the key.
“Son, it’s time you start thinking about yourself as the man you are and not the troubled kid you once were.” Once again, Dad puts his hand on my shoulder. This time he squeezes. “Trust me on this one.”
I nod and decide not to mention Jack, and how I’ve already violated bro code. On a generational level, I think that’s a step beyond what they’d understand.
By the time I leave and head back to the club, a part of me feels better about pursuing Rainey for real. But not the part that’s worried about my best friend and partner finding out.
For now, though, Jack is out of town, and I have Rainey to myself.