27. Wyatt
WYATT
Sunday night ended with wearing down the paint by walking circles on the front porch when Bethany was three hours late dropping off Penny. Between the unanswered texts and the missed phone calls, I was worried and thoroughly pissed off.
Lark and I had spent the morning sleeping in after pulling another all-nighter, exploring each other well into the night.
My body was tired, but somehow I still craved her.
She tried to break away and go up to her apartment, but I was able to convince her that a shower at my place—together—followed by a pair of my sweats and a T-shirt was the much better option.
She had looked damn good in my clothes, and a fresh wave of protectiveness coursed through me any time I looked at Lark.
It was late by the time we rolled out of bed, but I made coffee and fried-egg sandwiches.
She dipped hers in ketchup, which was fucking gross.
When I told her as much, she only laughed and commented, “Words of affirmation must not be your love language.” I huffed and reminded her that it was physical touch. Twice.
As the late morning bled into early evening, I had been stressed about Penny coming back and being ready for the upcoming week.
I was also worried about the boys driving back from Michael’s house.
I’d tried not to let it show, but Lark had the uncanny ability to read my moods, and she’d called me out on it.
It was then she insisted on leaving me to pick up groceries for both herself and me while I waited for Penny.
Getting help taking care of my shit was strange, and I didn’t really like it, but as I debated and looked at the clock, Lark pulled the grocery list from the refrigerator and left me staring after her with a smile.
To be honest, having one less thing to do was a huge relief. Lark had returned by the time the boys got back, and they’d helped unload groceries.
By then Bethany was already late and I was fuming. When she finally returned my calls to let me know she was only a few minutes out of town, Lark had excused herself to her apartment. I’d been relieved. She didn’t need to see me lose my shit.
Bethany’s blue sports car rolled down the driveway. After she stopped, Penny shot out of the car with a huge smile on her face. “Hi, Dad!”
She crashed into me, and the relief I felt nearly brought me to my knees. I squeezed her harder. “Hi, Pickle. I missed you.”
“I had so much fun! We got our nails done and went shopping for some school clothes and Mom got me a hamster!”
My eyes whipped to my ex.
She looked appropriately sheepish, and I was seething.
Penny went to the back seat and pulled out a small plastic cage with colorful tubes sticking out of it.
Jesus.
“Isn’t it great, Daddy! I named him Cheeto.”
“Wow. Cheeto.” I swallowed hard as I fought the urge to raise my voice at Bethany. What the hell was she thinking?
“Why don’t you take him inside.”
Penny smiled at me before setting the cage down on the ground. She ran to Bethany, squeezing her middle. “Thank you, Mom.”
Over the top of Penny’s head, Bethany shot me a smug smile.
I faked a thin smile at Penny as she walked back and brought her new hamster into the house.
“Really, Beth?”
Her eyes went wide. “What?”
“A hamster? And you’re late. Three hours late.”
Bethany pursed her lips. “It took longer to buy all his supplies than I expected. It’s fine.”
“No. It’s not fine. You didn’t call. You didn’t text. Do I have to remind you that you...” My voice was rising, and I had to keep myself in check. I didn’t want Penny to see or hear me lose my shit at her mother.
I lowered my voice and stepped forward. “You gave up your parental rights. This weekend was because Penny means everything and she loves and misses you. I think it’s great you made an effort this weekend and got your nails done and went shopping, but you can’t buy her love, and you definitely cannot disappear for three hours without calling me.
I can’t believe you thought it was okay to buy her a pet. ”
Bethany let loose an annoyed sigh as she opened her car door. “Fine. Then tell her she can’t have the hamster.”
“And make me the bad guy here?” Anger and frustration wound together in my gut.
She shrugged and raised her palms as if to say, Well, if the shoe fits.
“It’s not about the fucking hamster. It’s about respect... and communication.”
I got an audible sigh and a heavy roll of her eyes.
It hit me how different it was from the times Lark smiled and rolled hers at me. Those times were playful and lighthearted. Bethany’s dripped with impatience and disdain. Contempt.
I hated comparing the two, but my emotions peaked. I glanced up at the apartment and then over my shoulder, hoping Penny wasn’t watching me have an emotional meltdown in our driveway.
My shoulders slumped. “Look, I’m not doing this. Next time just have her home when you’re supposed to.”
I turned my back to her and stormed into the house.
* * *
As the week wore on, my frustration with Bethany and how the weekend ended started to fade. Throughout the week, Lark and I found stolen moments. I craved every secretive, hot look, as well as little things like brushing the back of my hand against hers when we passed.
It was nice for the house to not feel so empty, but it was something more than that. It had become impossible to ignore that Lark filled my house with sunlight and joy and laughter.
While it pissed me off that we separated each evening, the long moments kissing each other goodbye on the front porch made me feel like a teenager again.
If Lark had been staying longer than a single summer, I would have sat Penny down and let her in on my growing feelings for Lark.
But with her plans to leave, I couldn’t bring myself to get attached, only to break Penny’s little heart.
It would be hard enough on her to watch Lark drive away.
I already knew it would be hell for me too.
After I wrapped my work for the day, I returned the missed call from Duke.
It rang only once before he picked up. “You busy?” His voice was rushed and harsh.
I glanced at the clock. I had hoped to swing by the market and grab some flowers for Lark and maybe a treat for Penny, but it would have to wait. “Nah. What’s up?”
“Rough day. Meet me up at Dad’s place.”
I hung up the phone and drove straight to Haven Pines. I sat in the parking lot, gathering the balls to walk inside. I hated that as a family we couldn’t get it together enough to care for Dad and that he had to live in a nursing home.
Duke buried himself in farm and operations work.
Lee was reckless and wild.
Katie had found a college scholarship in a town I’d never heard of.
And then there was me. Football had been my ticket to a new life, and I’d taken it without hesitation.
Only now it didn’t seem fair to leave everything up to my siblings when I was not only financially secure but also living in town.
I sighed again. This is why I left in the first place.
I hated the antiseptic smell even more, and it hit me as soon as the automatic doors opened. The receptionist at the front desk looked up with a smile, and when she recognized me, it grew wider.
“GB! Good to see you.”
I offered a terse nod. Stupid fucking nickname. “Duke called. Said there was some trouble with Dad.”
Her face fell. “I’m sorry to hear that. The memory-care wing is down that hall. You can go in through the double doors. The nurse at the station will buzz you in.” I nodded and she smiled again, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Give Red my best.”
I stalked in the direction of the memory-care ward and met up with Duke outside the nurse’s station.
He nodded in greeting as the nurse gave him a rundown of the situation. He turned to me as I walked up.
“I guess it’s been an all-around bad day. He started in on a new nurse—yelling at him and generally being an asshole. Apparently the guy didn’t get Dad’s breakfast right and it all went to hell.”
“Is the nurse okay?”
“Shaken up, I guess, but otherwise fine. The afternoon wasn’t much better. Trashed his room, so they called me.”
I gestured toward the locked double doors that kept the patients secured in the facility and prevented them from wandering. “After you.”
We could hear the yells before we even got to his room. Two security guards stood outside the door as a large male nurse backed away with his hands up. Dad’s yells were a string of insults and curses. I didn’t know what to do, so I looked to Duke, who’d gone pale too.
As we approached the chaos, the little King girl—AJ or TJ, something like that—walked up in a nurse’s uniform with a gentle but determined look in her eyes.
Duke stopped short as she intercepted us. “May I?”
He only stared, the muscles in his jaw working, so I spoke up. “Yes. Thank you. We just got here, so we don’t really know what’s going on.”
Her voice was calm and soothing. “It’ll be fine. Give me a few minutes.”
She slipped past the male nurse and security guards with a friendly smile.
“You know her?”
Duke stood a little straighter and lifted a shoulder in dismissal. “She works here, doesn’t she?”
“But she’s a King, right?”
He nodded once. “MJ.”
I frowned and strained to listen. Inside Dad’s room, there was arguing, but he was already quieter. I could hear only snippets of the conversation, but MJ spoke in calm tones, reassuring Dad, and when they both laughed, I relaxed a little.
It didn’t even take the full five minutes before she was slipping back out into the hallway.
“Hey.” She addressed me and seemed to ignore Duke’s brooding attitude as he crossed his arms. “I think he’s fine now. He’s resting. I’m sorry they called you all the way down here. I just got on shift.”
Clearly, this wasn’t the first time MJ had had to pull Dad back from the ledge. “Does this happen often?”
She looked nervously between us. “Umm... sometimes? There are several personal items that were broken today. That’s unusual, but we’ll do what we can to fix them up for him.”