Heatwaves

Chapter Ten

P ulling into the parking lot, I’m already ready to go home. It’s not like it’s far—just down the road, in fact.

Unfortunately, I know that’s not an option. I promised my mom I’d be here, so here I am. At least I was able to get Chloe’s training mostly finished. We’re both going to pop back in for a few hours tomorrow afternoon, but that’s easy enough.

I pull the rearview mirror down so I can check my makeup. It looks good enough—even if my eyes show just how tired I am.

I’m only here to meet my parents’ new guy. The chances of me meeting anyone here are slim to none. I meant to check Heat Assist before I got here, but there’s no time for that now. The meet and greet is already underway, and if I don’t get my ass out there soon, Mom is going to kill me. I’ll just have to check the app afterward.

Pushing open the door, I run my hands over my sundress. It’s nothing fancy, but hopefully, it’ll appease my mom. I make sure my car’s locked before heading down to the beach.

There are more cars than I expected, and I can’t help wondering if more people have decided to try the meet and greet instead of using Heat Assist. I kind of hope not since that’s money out of my pocket, but it sure would make my mom happy to prove me wrong, wouldn’t it?

“Lila!” my mom calls out, waving her arm in the air—as if I could miss her.

Forcing a smile on my lips, I slip out of my flip-flops and head over to her. “Hey, Mom.”

“Just in time,” she says with a smile, looping her arm through mine before leading me to where my dad stands with another man. He’s tall, though not much taller than my dad, with black hair and bronzed skin. He’s probably closer to my age than my parents’, but who am I to judge? Objectively, I know my parents are attractive, but thinking of them with someone my age is…a little weird.

But good on them, I guess ?

“Hey, honey.” My dad smiles as we close in on them, and it’s then I notice he’s holding Miguel’s hand.

Oh, my gods. Why is that so adorable?

“Hey, Dad.”

“Lila, I’d like to introduce you to Miguel Newman.” Mom is practically beaming as she looks at Miguel and my dad, and I’m so focused on her it takes me a moment for his name to register.

Newman.

It’s a common last name. It doesn’t mean anything.

Don’t freak out, Lila. Don’t embarrass your parents. You can’t lose it over someone sharing a last name with one of them. Get it together.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Lila.” Miguel offers me his hand, and I have to push past my panic to shake it.

This can’t happen right now.

I force another smile, hoping it doesn’t look as fake as it feels. “It’s wonderful to meet you as well. I was a little surprised when my parents broke the news to me, but I’m really happy for them. Assuming you treat them right.”

“Lila,” my mom hisses, but I wave her off .

“Nope. You wanted me to meet him, so I get to interrogate him if I so choose. It’s my prerogative as your child. If you didn’t want that, then you should’ve met someone before you had me.” I grin, shooting my dad and Miguel a wink as my mom gapes at me. “Calm down, Mom. I’m just messing with you.”

Miguel laughs. “Your dad said I’d like you, and he’s right. I think the two of us will get along well.”

“The jury’s out on that one, but things are looking good so far.” I extract myself from my mom’s hold, slipping my arm through Miguel’s. “Come. Walk with me and we can get to know one another.”

“Seriously, Lila?” The exasperation in my mom’s tone is heavy, and I can’t help smiling—this one isn’t even fake. “You need to go meet some of the men here today—not walk around with one that isn’t available.”

“Actually, Mom, that’s exactly what I need. I don’t want to find someone here today. It didn’t work out well last time, and I’m not even in the mood to try. Once I get to know Miguel, I’m going to head home and jump on Heat Assist. There should be at least a few still available for my heat. Don’t worry about me—I’m a big girl, and I’ve been taking care of myself for a while.” I smile up at Miguel. “Shall we?”

Miguel glances at my mom and then my dad before nodding. “We shall.”

I lead him a little further down the beach, just so we don’t have to worry about my mom overhearing us.

“So, tell me about yourself, Miguel. They didn’t tell me much except that they’d met someone. I’d like to get to know you a little better, and since neither of us has a stake in this meet and greet, we might as well chat.”

Miguel nods slowly. “I’m going to be honest with you. None of us were sure how you’d react—especially since I’m quite a bit younger than they are.”

“Well, then let’s start there. How old are you?”

“Forty-three, which I know is three decades younger than they are, but it’s different for shifters. I never felt like there was some massive age gap between us.” He shrugs, ducking his head. “They never made me feel like the age gap would affect the relationship we could have.”

That makes me smile. “It does make a difference with shifters, doesn’t it? My first thought was good on them, even if it’s a little weird,” I tell him with a laugh.

“I guess that’s understandable. I’d imagine seeing your parents with someone at your age would be a little weird. Most pods are set by the time they start having children.” He shrugs. “But then again, my family has never been much like that.”

“Oh?”

Miguel nods. “I come from a big family—lots of siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins on both sides of my family. It’s not even just whales in the family, either. My dad has three brothers, and only two of them share the same whale with him. We’re minke whales that come from my grandma’s side of the family. But grandpa, one of my uncles, and two of my cousins are blue whales—or at least my grandpa was before he passed away about fifteen years ago.”

I blink at him, panic rising in my chest. “Blue whales?”

“Oh, yeah. They’re nearly extinct. As far as we know, my uncle and cousins are the last remaining ones—at least in this realm.” He sighs. “Though, up until a few days ago, we didn’t even know if Carter was still alive. He disappeared ten years ago with the rest of his pod, and no one had any idea what happened to them. Two days ago, they just showed up at my uncle’s house out of nowhere, saying they had to go to the meet and greet. Honestly, it’s weird as fuck, but I’m glad they’re okay. They’re good people.”

Miguel continues speaking, but I’m no longer paying attention. How can I be when he just blew my world up without even knowing it?

They’re back? Why now? Where were they? Why didn’t they come to me?

I scoff, squeezing my eyes shut to fight back the tears threatening to spill. Of course, they didn’t come looking for me. Clearly, what I felt between us meant nothing to them. How else could they have disappeared for ten years and not bothered to find me?

My heart is breaking all over again, just like it did ten years ago.

“Oh! There they are now. Let me introduce you to them. They’re busy looking for a woman they met ten years ago, but I’m sure they can spare a few minutes to meet you.” Miguel calls out Carter’s name, and my knees feel weak.

I don’t want to see them. I can’t look into their stupidly handsome faces and see just how much they don’t care about me .

My feet are moving before my head even catches up.

“Lila?” Miguel calls out, confusion and worry at war in his tone. “Are you okay?”

“Lila?” My name on Carter’s lips has me freezing all over again. This time, my knees can’t hold me up as I collapse to the sand with tears streaming down my cheeks.

“Carter, what the hell is going on right now?” Miguel demands from behind me.

There’s a bit of a scuffle behind me before I hear Aidan’s voice. “Stop it, Miguel. Lila’s the woman we’ve been looking for.”

Silence falls around me as I wrap my arms around myself. I need to get out of here, but I can’t seem to get my legs to work.

“Lila’s the one you abandoned ten years ago?” Now the prevalent emotion in Miguel’s voice is anger. “She’s the daughter of the couple I’m seeing, you assholes. You’re clearly upsetting her. I think you should leave.”

“We didn’t have a choice in leaving.” Ty’s voice is quiet, but it somehow cuts deeper than the raised voices of the others. “We never would’ve left if we could’ve helped it. I wouldn’t have left. Please, Lila. ”

I shake my head, not wanting to listen to his words that cut me so deep. I can’t even bring myself to look at them—it just hurts too much.

“Lila, please. Just give us a chance to explain?” Oliver’s pleading tone pulls at my bleeding heart, but I can’t even bring myself to turn to look at them.

How can they expect me to talk to them when I can’t even look at them?

“Lila?” My shoulders hunch at the sound of my mom’s voice. “Miguel, what’s going on here?”

I flinch away when someone drops to the sand beside me. “It’s just me, honey. It’s just me.”

“Daddy,” I cry, throwing myself into his arms as sobs wrack my body. I haven’t called him daddy since I was ten years old, but right now, I need the man who made me feel better as a child. I need him to hold me together as I splinter apart.

“Oh, honey.” Dad lifts me into his arms and starts walking. I don’t know where he’s going, but it’s away from the men of my past—the ones who have haunted my life for the last ten years—and that’s all that matters .

“Please,” Oliver calls. “We just need to talk to her. We need to explain. Lila, please, just hear us out.”

Dad holds me closer as I bury my head in his neck. “Don’t worry, honey. I’ve got you. Your mom and Miguel won’t let them come after us. Just get it all out, and we can talk about it later, okay?”

I sniffle, nodding my head.

“Do you not see how upset she is?” My mom’s voice has reached an octave that it doesn’t often reach. “You’re going to stay right here and shut the fuck up. I remember the four of you, and I remember what you disappearing did to my daughter. I had to watch her fall apart and mourn what could’ve been. You don’t deserve for her to hear you out. If she decides she wants to talk to you, only then will you speak to her. I won’t allow you to hurt her any further. Do you understand me?”

We’re too far away from them now, so I don’t get to hear the rest of the conversation. Not that I want to. I don’t want to hear their excuses. I don’t want to even hear their voices.

I definitely don’t want to see their faces because I might crack apart if I do—more than I already am .

“Okay, honey. I’m going to put you down now so you can get in the car.” Dad’s voice is so soft and calm, making more tears well up in my eyes. “Do you think you can do that?”

I nod, my throat too thick with sobs to speak. When he sets me down, I wobble slightly but manage to stay on my feet.

Dad helps me into the car, making sure my seat belt is secure, before hurrying around and climbing into the driver’s seat. “Do you want me to take you home?”

Another nod.

“Our house?”

A sharp shake of my head is the only answer he’ll get as I curl in on myself.

“Your house it is. Once we get there, I’ll text your mom and Miguel to let them know where we are.” Dad sighs when I don’t answer.

Luckily, it’s not a long drive to my house.

I fumble with my seat belt, unable to get my hands to work correctly. A cry of frustration leaves me as anger rushes through me.

“Hold on. I’ve got it.” Dad unhooks me before jumping out of the car and coming around to my side. I don’t bother attempting to open the door .

When he scoops me into his arms, I want to tell him I can walk, but I don’t actually think I can. Instead, I rest my head against his chest and breathe in his familiar scent.

My tears have slowed, my sobs quieting, but it still feels like someone reached into my chest and ripped my heart clean out.

Dad has to set me down to get the keys from me and unlock the house before he grasps my arm and leads me inside to my bedroom. He pulls back the covers and tucks me in like he used to do when I was a kid, leaning forward to kiss my forehead before settling onto the bed beside me.

“Is there anything I can do, honey? Anything at all? Name it, and I’ll do everything I can to make sure you have it.”

I shake my head, pulling the covers over my head. I lean into his warmth that I can feel even through the blanket.

“Okay. I’ll just leave you—“

My arm shoots out from under the covers, clinging to him. “No. Stay. Please.”

“Okay, honey. I’ll stay right here. I’m just going to text your mom and Miguel.”

There’s a bit of a shuffle as he grabs his phone from his back pocket and begins to hum. It takes me a few moments to recognize the song, but once I do, I smile. It’s a song Mom used to sing to me when I was younger—especially when I wasn’t feeling well or if I had a bad day.

Dad’s a terrible singer, so I’m glad he doesn’t try, but he does a good job with humming the tune.

When my eyes grow heavy, I don’t fight the pull of sleep. At least when I’m asleep, I won’t have to think about them. It’ll be a nice reprieve.