Chapter 12 #2
“Forty? You made forty pop tarts?”
“Yes. I wasn’t sure who all was coming, and I wanted to be sure there’d be enough.”
“Smart,” Havoc said. “Give me a lemon and a blueberry, too.”
Daisy handed him the toaster pastries he asked for just as he closed the lid again.
“Coals are ready for the steaks,” he announced.
“I’ll put them on in a minute.” He took a second to look at the toaster pastries he was holding, then bit into one of them.
He chewed it slowly then quickly finished it off while nodding his head.
“Excellent. Freaking crispy, then full of sweet apples. These are good, Daisy! I didn’t know you could do this! ”
“I can do lots of things. I bring something every time we have a get together.”
“Yeah, but I always assumed Aunt Janie cooked it.”
“I resent that!” Daisy exclaimed.
“I didn’t say it was bad. I just said I didn’t know you cooked it. Damn, these are good. Taste this, baby,” Havoc said to Analise, holding out his last toaster pastry for her take a bite of.
“Oh!! Oh, wow. That is good,” Analise said.
“Thank you,” Daisy answered.
“Alright, so we’re going to have ribeyes, baked potatoes with all the fixings, garlic bread, and Daisy’s toaster things. Charlie, grab you one of those things, my man. I’m telling you. So damn good.”
“I’ll wait for after dinner,” Charlie said.
Havoc pinned him with a glare. “Get one.”
“Okay,” Charlie said, walking over to the basket and choosing a blueberry one from the looks of the blue jam showing at one of the seems.
“You want to come upstairs and help me get the bread together?” Analise asked.
“Sure thing,” Daisy said, as she followed Analise up the steps to hers and Havoc’s home.
Havoc watched the women until they’d gone inside then turned to Charlie again.
“When your woman brings something to a get together, you eat it and you keep eating it until you’re sick of it.
You make them think it’s the best damn thing you ever ate.
Makes them feel good. Geesh, how do you not know that? !”
Charlie shrugged. “I was trying to be polite and wait until everyone else was having some.”
“I didn’t wait!”
“Like I said, I was trying to be polite. I never said you were.”
“Hey! Watch yourself,” Havoc snapped. Then he gestured at the blueberry toaster pastry that Daisy had brought. “It’s good, huh?”
“It really is,” Charlie said, finishing it off.
“And don’t think I didn’t notice that you didn’t have any objection to Daisy being called your woman,” Havoc added.
“She’s not exactly my woman, but you’re right, I’d have no objection to it.”
“Yeah, she is. She hasn’t been with anybody in a long time. And even then she didn’t bring anybody around. She likes you, a lot. But don’t tell her I said that. She might hit me,” Havoc said.
Charlie laughed. “I like her a lot, too. That’s not even nearly enough to explain how I feel about her, but she’s not ready. She’s made it clear she needs some time, and I made it clear that I’d wait as long as it takes for her to feel safe.”
“You know, Daisy wasn’t always so cautious. She was always on the calmer side, but she loved life and she was comfortable in her own skin. If I could figure out who the fucker is that took that away from her, I’d make him sorry he was ever born. And I’m not the only one trying to figure it out.”
“Daddy! We do not say fuck in this family!” Harley stood up and announced indignantly.
Havoc shook his head as he and Charlie tried not to laugh. “You’re absolutely right. We do not say that bad ‘F’ word in this family.”
“You owe Momma five dollars for her swear jar!”
“I thought it was two dollars?!” Havoc exclaimed.
“It was. But Momma said it must not be enough because you kept saying it. So now it’s five dollars.”
“Fine, here,” he said, shoving his hand in the pocket of his jeans and giving her a ten dollar bill. “Go give this to Momma.”
“Come on, Carson!” Harley called.
Carson jumped up and followed her as she ran toward the house.
“I gave her a ten because I’m sure I’ll say it again before the night’s over,” Havoc grumbled.
“I know his name,” Charlie said.
Havoc stabbed his grill fork into one of the steaks marinating in one of Analise’s favorite baking pans and put it on the grill. As it began to sizzle, he turned and looked at Charlie over his shoulder.
“What was that?” Havoc asked.
“I said, I know the man’s name. The guy that hurt Daisy.”
Havoc’s entire expression changed as he abandoned the grill and walked right up to Charlie. “The hell you say!”
“I do. She told me.”
“Tell me. Before she comes back.”
“Professor Bourne. He was one of her professors.”
“A fucking professor! Hurry up, the rest…” Havoc said, his eyes glancing toward the porch to make sure Daisy wasn’t coming back out.
“He didn’t tell her he was married. His wife found out and stalked Daisy. Showed up everywhere yelling insults at her, even outside her classes and dorm. She couldn’t go anywhere without being insulted. He told everybody that she came onto him and seduced him.”
“That motherfucker!” Havoc half-shouted. “And if he knew Daisy at all, he knew how gentle and trusting she is! I’m gonna teach that fucker a lesson, and his stupid fucking wife, too.”
“I want to come,” Charlie said quickly.
“You can’t come. Shit will go down that you probably don’t want to be involved with.”
“I don’t care. I want to come. I owe it to Daisy. To avenge her so to speak.”
Havoc eyed Charlie. “You can’t come. There are things you don’t know that might come to light.”
“I. Want. To. Come!” Charlie insisted.
“Yeah, it’s a little complicated, but we’ll see what we might be able to work out.”
“We got the bread!” Analise called out.
“And the dishes, because you can’t eat steaks on a paper plate,” Daisy added.
“Amen to that,” Havoc said, lifting his hand and placing a finger in front of his lips to signal Charlie to be quiet.
“The kids are coming. Harley is showing Carson her rock collection,” Analise said.
“Hey, baby. Why don’t you call Lucien and Hellen and see if they want to join us. We got enough, don’t we?”
“Oh, yeah. We always prepare for the whole crew,” Analise said. “I’ll call her.”
“Oh, I like them. They’re very nice,” Charlie said.
“You know my sister?” Havoc asked, as he put the rest of the steaks on the grill.
“I do, we met them at Vince’s, same day I met you,” Charlie answered.
“Alright then. It’ll be like old home night,” Havoc said.
“Should I call everybody?” Analise asked.
“I wouldn’t bother with Brandt. He ain’t leaving Tempest’s side, and she’s not moving from the sofa until it’s time to go to the hospital. You can ask everybody else, if you want to.”
“I’m pretty sure Emmalyn is feeling bad. She is not interested in eating anything at this point,” Daisy said.
“True,” Analise said, making eye-contact with Daisy to confirm that they both knew the reason.
Daisy gave a slight, nearly imperceptible nod.
“Well, Christian isn’t here at the moment — he’s not off until this coming week, and Remi’s definitely not…” Analise said.
“Can you believe that shit?” Havoc asked.
“I know. I feel so bad for him. I want to go talk to him. Maybe I could make a difference,” Daisy said.
“No, best to just steer clear of that situation. Allow Brandt and Remi to work it out,” Havoc said.
“I know I can heal part of his pain,” Daisy said.
“We know you can, too, but you’re just becoming yourself again,” he shot a look at Charlie, “thank you Mr. Charlie, and you do not need to be taking on somebody else’s suffering because you healed them.”
“Yes, but I…”
“Seriously, Daisy. Ask your brother. He’s not Alpha for nothing.
He’s not going to allow it. Besides, Remi was stupid enough to stand up to him, what did he think was going to happen?
Anyway, my point was before I got distracted, and Charlie, be warned, I do that sometimes,” Havoc said.
“My point was that Kiernan takes over the kids when he gets home and gives Abby a break, and Shaun is with Bailey, so I’m sure it’ll just be us and Hellen and Lucien if they want to come.
But feel free to invite whoever you want. ”
“Sounds good to me,” Analise said.
“Same,” Daisy agreed.
Charlie nodded his agreement, but his mind was spinning.
He’d noticed how Daisy called members of her family female and male instead of man and woman, and how she referred to those she’d mentioned as mates instead of husband and wife.
Now Havoc was saying that Daisy’s brother wouldn’t allow her to heal somebody and that he was Alpha and somebody named Remi shouldn’t have stood up to him, and what the hell was happening with Daisy possibly healing somebody?
There was something going on here and he was definitely the only one that didn’t know about it.
Analise had stepped away with her phone in her hand, and now she wandered back. “They’re coming!” she announced.
“Good! Lise, maybe you should shoot off a quick text, ‘just so you know we’re cooking steaks, but don’t feel beholden to come’ to the females we already know ain’t coming. I already hit up the males,” Havoc said.
“On it,” Analise said, tapping out a quick text to those who most likely wouldn’t come, just so they’d know they were thought of regardless.
“Daisy, do you mind if I snack on another of your toaster pastries? They are so dang good,” Charlie said.
“Help yourself. You don’t have to be so formal. We are definitely not formal,” Daisy said, opening the basket to offer him his choice. After he chose one, he smiled at her and stood next to her, which of course made her blush.
Charlie kept relaxedly glancing at Havoc, waiting for him to message or call the males of the family.
He knew Havoc had said he already did, but there was no doubt in Charlie’s mind that he had not, so either he lied to his wife, or he was getting ready to contact them. Again… strange goings on around here.
“I hear somebody’s cooking steaks!” Lucien shouted as he rounded the driveway and walked into the side yard where Havoc’s grill was all set up complete with a large picnic table and lounge chairs.
“Yes, indeed!” Havoc answered. “Hey, you met my man Charlie?”
Lucien was wearing a pair of denim shorts and an unbuttoned short sleeved, collared, summertime shirt.
Havoc turned to him and scowled. “I told you to put your damn clothes on when you around my house!”
“Why? You worried your woman will like me better than you?” Lucien asked.
“Hey! You could have waited on me!” Hellen insisted, coming up behind them all.
“But, baby, it’s just across the street, and they are having meat, baby. Steaks! I had to get here quick. I’m starving.”
“You just ate the sandwich I made you,” Hellen said.
“But this is steak. On the grill, baby,” Lucien said.
“Jesus,” she grumbled. Then she noticed Daisy and Charlie sitting at the picnic table. “Daisy! Charlie! Hey, y’all!” she went over and started talking to them, helped herself to one of Daisy’s toaster pastries before Daisy even told her she’d brought them, and tuned out everything else.
“Lucien?” Havoc said.
Lucien was investigating the baked potato fixings when Havoc called him and glanced up at him.
Havoc tilted his head away from Lucien and toward the barbecue grill a couple of times, inviting him to come closer.
“What?” Lucien asked.
“Come here,” Havoc ordered.
Lucien went, but reminded Havoc with every step that he needed to stop ordering him around. “You know if you weren’t my brother in law, I’d have eaten you by now, right? Stop ordering me around, ass.”
“You’re confused, my dad is called ass. I’m just the awe inspiring Havoc,” Havoc teased. He leaned his head close to Lucien’s and whispered his newfound knowledge regarding the man who hurt Daisy in his ear.
“The hell you say?!” Lucien exclaimed.
“What? What is the hell he said?” Hellen asked.
“I don’t know. I’m trying to figure it out myself,” Lucien said, shooting her a flirtatious smile, while blinking his eyes slowly at her.
“He’s up to something,” Hellen said, going back to her conversation with Daisy and Charlie, and Analise now that she’d joined them as well.
“I’m telling you, Charlie knows the guy’s name. Daisy told him,” Havoc said.
“Charlie! Come visit with us!” Lucien said. “Let us save you from all those women.”
“I’m coming,” Charlie said. “Going to hang out with the testosterone,” he joked.
As soon as he got close enough Lucien threw an arm across his shoulders and stared him in the eye up close and personal. “Daisy gave you a name?”
Charlie looked at Lucien and then at Havoc. Havoc nodded.
“Yeah, she did.”
“Good. We’re taking a road trip. Maybe even tomorrow if we can work it out,” Lucien said.
“Only if I’m coming with,” Charlie said.
Lucien regarded him through a half-closed, heavily lidded eye, and for a split second Charlie would have sworn he saw the pupil in Lucien’s eye go slanted, like a reptile’s, but then it was gone just as suddenly. “Is Daisy yours?”
“One day, I’m hoping. But for now, we’re just dating.”
“Dating don’t get you in, my brother. You need to commit or not.”
“It’s Daisy holding him off,” Havoc said.
“Ain’t that some shit? Women always holding you at arm’s length. But that’s alright, we’re going to take care of her hurts here real soon. Then no more stumbling blocks,” Lucien said.
“Hopefully,” Havoc said.
Charlie nodded along like he was understanding everything going on around him, but truth was the only thing he really knew was that he was completely clueless to the way things were handled in this family. Something completely out of the ordinary was going on here.