Chapter 23
Lilac stumbled along the footpath.
She was completely wrecked. To her surprise, Peggy had called her this morning and demanded to know why she hadn’t turned up to work at the diner on time.
So . . . that had been fun, trying to explain that she’d been late because she thought she didn’t have a job anymore.
Peggy had told her that she was an idiot and put her to work.
Which was both horrible and a relief.
She needed the money for Sugar. But she wasn’t sure how long she could work night shifts at Dirty Delights, then morning shifts at the diner.
At least she only had two morning shifts a week. That wasn’t so bad. In fact, she could sleep in tomorrow since it was Monday, and she didn’t have to work at the bar tonight or tomorrow night.
After he’d driven her home last night, she hadn’t heard from Tanner again.
Not that she needed him to be in constant contact, of course. But she guessed a part of her had thought he might have at least texted her this morning.
Demand that she give him the explanation he wanted.
She was dreading it, if she was honest with herself, but she also wanted to get it off her chest.
It was silly to be sad that he wasn’t sticking to her like Velcro. He had a life to live and so did she. He couldn’t be with her all the time.
She’d given him her new number, but that didn’t automatically mean that he would start messaging her.
Still, she kind of felt down. She stepped into the guesthouse. She was starting to feel weird about staying here when Linc didn’t seem to like her all that much.
As soon as she opened the door, she heard Opal singing to Kye as she rocked him back and forth.
Opal had the best voice she’d ever heard. Lilac could sit and listen to her forever. She should have been a country-western star, not on the run with her and Ryleigh.
“Hey, I just got him to sleep,” Opal told her. “Let me put him down. We need to talk.”
Shit. That sounded ominous. Sitting on the sofa, she toed off her shoes and sighed in relief. God, her feet hurt.
“I’m sorry you’ve had to look after Kye so much,” she said as soon as Opal reappeared. “I’ll look after him when he wakes up.”
If only she could get off the sofa by then. Well, she’d figure it out.
“Kye is fine. He’s easy to look after.”
“I need to go check on Ryleigh too.” Lilac was super worried about her friend. She’d never been apart from Kye this long.
“Right. We definitely need to talk.” Opal sat on the coffee table, giving her a serious look. “You’re being a shithead.”
Lilac’s mouth opened in shock. “What?”
“You’re being a shithead.”
“How? Why? Because I left you alone with Kye for so long? I’m so sorry, but I’m not working again until Tuesday evening so I can look after him the entire time. It’s just that we need the money?—”
“Shut up, Shithead.”
“Opal,” she groaned. “Stop calling me that.”
“I call it as I see it. You want to know why you’re being a shithead? Well, it’s got nothing to do with Kye and everything to do with you. Damn it, Lilac. Why won’t you let me help you?”
“What do you mean?”
“You won’t let me help. You never do. I get why you shelter Ryleigh. She’s more fragile. She has a young baby. And we both know that she’s far too trusting and positive to deal with everything. But, Shithead, I’m not like that. Out of all of us, I grew up on the streets, fighting for my fucking life. I’m the one who knows how shitty life can get and how to survive it. So why won’t you let me help?”
“There’s nothing you can do.”
“Of course, there fucking is, but you won’t let me.”
“What do you want to do, then?” she asked, bewildered.
“I want to help contribute to the finances.”
“Oh.”
“Oh, she said.” Opal threw up her hands. “Like she doesn’t think I can get a job? No, she’s got to work two jobs, wear herself into the ground taking care of everyone else, and then look at me like I’ve grown two heads just for suggesting that I could get a job so she could maybe get some rest. Perhaps even have some fun.”
“How can I have any fun when I’ve got to . . .”
“What? Protect us? Take care of us? Do everything?” Leaning forward, Opal flicked her forehead.
“Oww. That was mean.”
Opal shrugged. “That’s what shitheads get.”
“Stop calling me that! I’m not a shithead for trying to look after you.”
“You’re gonna run yourself into the ground, and then what will we do without you? Lilac, I know that asshole taught you that everything is your fault. Because that’s what a dickhead does.”
“Not a shithead?” she asked dryly, feeling herself tear up.
“Nope. Dickheads and shitheads are very different things. You are not responsible for us, babe. We’re all in this together. You have to let me help.”
Lilac wiped at her cheeks. Stupid tears. “Right.”
“But first, you have to tell me how bad things are. What’s the repair bill for Sugar?”
Lilac found the bill in her suitcase and handed it over. Opal blanched. “Jesus, that’s almost as much as we paid for the old girl.”
“I know, but I don’t know what else to do. We can’t stay here forever. That’s not what Linc agreed to, and I get the feeling he doesn’t like me much.”
“He was being a total asshole yesterday and you shouldn’t pay any attention to him. You know it’s not your fault that Ryleigh got ill. Don’t be a shithead.”
“I thought I already was?” she asked with a smile.
“You’ve move up to being just a little shit.”
“Ahh, there’s a scale. Good to know.”
“You already knew that. Right, well, I’ve got good news. I got a job at the local clothing store here.”
“Really? Opal, that’s amazing! Wait, are they all right with paying you cash?” she asked.
“Surprisingly, yes. The owner, Laken, just gave me this odd look but said that was fine. People in this town are weird.”
They kind of were.
“This will mean we can get Sugar fixed quicker,” Lilac said.
“Or it could mean you just work one job.”
She shook her head. “Once Sugar is fixed and we can get out of here, then I’ll think about it. But not yet.”
Opal sighed. “What if you get sick? Then what will we do?”
She wanted to brush off that concern as preposterous, but she had to admit feeling dizzy and weak lately.
“I’ll just see how I go. I guess we’ll have to be careful with our schedules so one of us is always with Kye while Ryleigh is still ill.”
“You know that’s going to be tough,” Opal said.
“I know.”
“There is another solution . . .”
“We can’t. Not yet.”
“I don’t fucking see why not.”
“Because Ryleigh has to make that decision, Opal,” she told her friend gently.
Opal could be a bulldozer when she thought she knew what was best for someone.
The sound of someone yelling had them both standing up. Suddenly, the glass door to the guest house opened and Ryleigh walked in. She was dressed in a long T-shirt that definitely wasn’t hers. Her hair was a mess, and she looked a bit pale and tired.
But she also looked a lot better than the last time she’d seen her. Relief flooded her. God, she’d been worried about her.
Linc walked in behind her, his face like thunder.
Lilac shied back. She’d had enough anger aimed at her in her life. She didn’t think she would ever cope well with someone being upset with her.
Opal moved partially in front of her while Ryleigh stared at her. “What’s wrong? Why do you look scared?”
Okay, she was a lot better if she could pick up on Lilac’s feelings.
“I . . . um . . . just worried about you.”
“Deputy Dickhead was a prick to her, so now she’s concerned he’s going to go off at her again,” Opal said.
Ryleigh’s mouth dropped open while Linc actually took a step back, looking like someone had hit him.
Why did he look like that?
“He’s not a dickhead,” she managed to say. Lilac wasn’t defending him. But they couldn’t put him on the same level as Stefan. That wouldn’t be fair to Linc.
“Hmm. Somewhere between dickhead and shithead, I guess,” Opal conceded. “Still, I like the alliteration of Deputy Dickhead.”
Ryleigh turned to Linc, her hands on her hips. “You were mean to my friend?”
“Ryleigh,” he said in a gentle voice. “You were very ill. They weren’t taking care of you properly. They should have gotten you to a doctor earlier. You nearly ended up in hospital.”
Ouch. The blows kept coming.
“Stop it!” Ryleigh said loudly before she started to cough. She bent over, gasping for air.
Linc stepped forward and rubbed her back, talking to her quietly. Lilac rushed over and got her a glass of water. Linc nodded his thanks as she reached them. Picking Ryleigh up, he carried her to the sofa, frowning down at it for some reason.
Oh, shoot! Lilac hadn’t cleared off her blankets. She should have tidied up, but she’d been so tired this morning when she’d gotten up. And in a rush.
Linc set her down, sitting next to her so he could rub her back while giving her small sips of water.
“S-sorry,” Ryleigh said, tears streaming down her face.
“Nothing to be sorry for,” Opal told her.
“Where’s Kye?” Ryleigh asked.
“Sleeping,” Lilac said. “Lucky he can sleep through anything, huh?”
Ryleigh gave her a small smile.
“Sorry. I didn’t have a chance to tidy up before I left for work this morning. I didn’t think I still had a job and had to rush out when Peggy called me.” Lilac grabbed her pillow and one of the blankets, putting them behind an armchair.
Linc frowned at her. Why was he always staring at her like that? “I thought you were working at Dirty Delights? Now you’re at the diner?”
“She’s working at both in order to save money up for the repairs,” Opal said.
“Oh, Lilac, you look exhausted,” Ryleigh said worriedly.
“I’m fine.” Lilac smiled at her. “What’s important is that you’re all right. Are you feeling better? Is there anything you need?”
Ryleigh turned to frown at Linc. “Yeah, I need my friends and, most importantly, my baby.”
Linc’s face fell. “I wasn’t trying to keep you from him. I was just trying to make sure that you were getting better.”
“And you thought it was okay to make Lilac feel bad?”
“I’m sorry. I just thought she should have gotten you to a doctor earlier.”
“Because I’m not an adult who can make her own decisions?”
Whoa. She’d never seen Ryleigh like this. She rarely got upset with people or told them off.
“You were sick.”
“I still have a brain. And even if I didn’t, you still shouldn’t blame Lilac. You have no idea how saying things like that to her could upset her.”
Great. Now everyone was staring at her. She squirmed, feeling awkward. “I need to check on Kye.”
“You need to apologize to Lilac, Linc,” Ryleigh ordered.
“It’s okay,” Lilac said hastily. “He doesn’t have to do that. He’s already doing so much for us. It doesn’t matter, he can say whatever he wants to me. It’s fine.”
She just didn’t want him to kick them out. They had nowhere to go. They needed to stay here a bit longer.
“Fucking hell,” Linc muttered.
“It does fucking matter,” Tanner said from behind her, making her jump.
Lilac turned to see him walk into the guesthouse, his gaze zeroing in on Linc. “Been meaning to have a chat with you, Linc.”
Uh-oh.
She didn’t like the sound of that.
“What do you mean, a chat?” she asked nervously.
Linc stood and placed a hand on Ryleigh’s shoulder. “I want you to wait here. Rest. You need a blanket, or you’ll get cold.”
Lilac grabbed the blanket she’d set aside and handed it to him.
Linc grimaced.
What was it? What had she done now?
“It’s clean. I mean, I know I slept with it. But it’s not . . . dirty.” God, she hated feeling like this. As though she was messing everything up, yet had no idea how to fix it. Was he going to lash out at her again?
But with his fists rather than his words?
She wasn’t sure which one was worse. As Linc reached out to take it, she stumbled back.
Linc’s eyes widened. “Lilac, did you think . . . what are you . . . fuck, I wasn’t going to hit you. I’d never.”
“I know that,” she said quickly, forcing a smile on her face. “I’m not . . . I need to get a drink of water.” She tried to rush into the kitchen, but Tanner reached out an arm to stop her.
Generally, she wouldn’t be able to stand someone grabbing her like that. Especially when she was on edge. But it was like her body knew Tanner. Knew he wouldn’t harm her.
“I’ll deal with you in a minute, Linc,” he warned before smiling down at her. “But first, good afternoon, baby.”
“Hi,” she said shyly. “I wasn’t sure I was going to see you today.”
“I thought I’d let you sleep in. You don’t look very rested, though.” Great, so she looked like shit. Good to know. He frowned and reached up with his other hand to touch her face. She had to hold in a flinch.
Okay, so she was still on edge.
He ran his finger under her eye.
“That’s because she got up early and went to the diner,” Opal told him. “She’s barely slept.”
That frown turned into a scowl.
She shot Opal an exasperated look. The other woman just gave Lilac an innocent look back.
Yeah, right. Innocent, my ass.
Opal knew what she was doing.
The shithead.