Chapter Forty-Four
Although Rebel didn’t see Kaia for the next week after their dinner at J’s, she floated on a cloud.
Time slowed until the next moment she texted him or spoke to him late at night after she got to her room.
Whenever she talked to him, whether it was through messages or over the phone, the opposite happened.
Hours seemed like seconds; time flew by.
She couldn’t wait to see Kaia again. It didn’t escape her that he’d stopped with his ‘poetry’.
To her, that was a win. She felt as if their next face-to-face meeting would go much smoother.
He wouldn’t rely on his stupidity to hide his nerves and she wouldn’t have to pretend she enjoyed the nonsense he spouted.
Diesel stopped his late night visits. The two occasions he came to the house, he barely spoke to her and seemed angry. His hand seemed to be healing nicely, relieving her. Sometimes, she worried about infection setting in .
Rule was another issue. Whenever Rebel was in her twin’s company, which was nightly for dinner then family time in the den, Rule fixated on her. She ignored him, since no one else seemed to notice. At school, she avoided Rule as much as possible.
During lunch, she went to the auditorium to watch Harley practice, preferring her over running into Rule. That alone told Rebel how much he creeped her out. She never knew when, or if, CJ would be at school, so she solved the problem by pretending interest in Harley’s rehearsals.
Some time, during the weeks of Momma’s recovery, a passenger van was purchased to transport the younger kids to and from school.
Momma was back in the rotation of aunts who picked up and dropped off the older kids.
Another sign things were getting back to normal, allowing Rebel to breathe easier and relax.
The first two days Momma picked them up, only Rebel and Mattie got into the Lexus.
On the third day, Harley sat on the bench across from them.
Rebel had an inkling she’d ride home with them, but didn’t bother to ask, still angry with Harley.
She had yet to apologize for any of her bullshit.
Rebel suspected her showing up at the rehearsals emboldened Harley. Never mind that Rebel barely spoke two words to her, barely nodded .
Harley was just fucking stupid like that.
When Momma drove up and Harley stood, Rebel knew her intuition was correct.
Although Momma didn’t look pleased, she didn’t turn Harley away.
However, Rebel refused to sit near that heifer.
Even if Mattie sat between then, Harley would’ve been too close, so Rebel directed her to the front passenger seat, then slid in the back with Mattie. No one attempted to talk to Harley.
They kept to their new routine of visiting Jo after Momma picked up Rebel and Mattie.
Harley was left to decide whether or not she wanted to go to NICU with them.
Unfortunately, she tagged along. The elevator ride was very uncomfortable.
While Mama visited the baby, Rebel, Mattie—and Harley—went to the cafeteria.
Harley’s presence after school became a regular thing again. She’d stare out the window. Momma played the radio. Rebel texted Kaia and Mattie read a book. They’d visit Jo and the cycle of ignoring Harley would repeat on the drive home.
Whether CJ knew Harley reinserted herself into their lives, Rebel couldn’t say. She didn’t see hide nor hair of her brother whenever Harley was around. He even managed to make himself scarce at the family get-together.
The next evening, exactly seven days after her date, Momma and Daddy allowed Rebel to invite Kaia over for dinner.
Inviting him over with the family would’ve been a little too overwhelming.
The scrutiny also would’ve been a lot. Not only from her cousins and uncles, but her grandmother and her aunts.
It was bad enough her brothers would be there.
What she didn’t expect was her uncles—Mort, Digger, and Val—to show up anyway.
Or Diesel, Ryan, Rory, Devon, and Grant, who flew in because of Nyx’s event.
Seeing all the boys made her glad she’d also invited Mattie for moral support.
She hadn’t invited Harley, but that cheeky witch showed up anyway.
They were standing in the foyer waiting for Daddy to bring Kaia, and his brother, Kayce, to the house. Mattie, Momma, and Rebel were talking and giggling, while her uncles, brothers, and cousins laughed and joked.
The door opened and Harley walked in, stunning everyone into silence.
“Why you here, Harley?” Uncle Mort blurted.
They all wore either jeans or leather pants, but Harley was dressed in an oversized terry sweatshirt dress with combat boots. She glanced from her daddy to Ryan, then Grant, and finally CJ.
“Mommie sent me,” she mumbled.
Momma pasted a smile on her face.
“How Bailey send you somewhere and she not even here?” Uncle Mort grumbled. “Fuck, you don’t even stay under our fucking roof right now. That’s some cheeky shit.”
“Cheekier than cheeky,” Uncle Digger said with a straight face.
Uncle Mort glared at him, and Uncle Digger raised his hands.
“I wish someone had told me the dress code,” Harley lamented, ignoring anything she didn’t want to hear.
CJ took a drag on his cigarette and glowered at Harley. “I wish someone had invited you.”
Harley’s face fell.
Rebel would kill Harley if she ruined tonight either with tears or making everything about herself and pissing off CJ, so she made a quick decision.
“Harley, please join us for dinner,” Rebel said. “Yes, thank you, I’m happy to accept since I’d never dream of crashing,” she parroted.
“Bro,” Mattie said, nodding to Harley.
Predictably, tears rushed to her eyes. Uncle Mort rubbed the back of his neck.
“The door’s always opened to you, Harley,” Momma said in a tone just this side of cordial. “As long as you are aware of the rules and follow them.”
Sniffling, Harley nodded. “Th-thank you, Aunt Meggie.” She looked at CJ. “How are you?”
“Still not interested in talking to you, Harley.”
“But you talked to me at lunch. You made it a point to come to me three weeks ago. ”
“For Uncle Mort. You were crying. I wanted to see what was wrong.”
“All Harley does is cry,” Devon said, shaking his head.
“Enough,” Uncle Mort said sternly. “Lay off Harley. She going through a lot right now.”
“Most of it is cuz of her , Uncle Mort,” Axel grouched. “She hurt CJ.”
“This isn’t the time or the place for this,” Momma said.
“We aren’t ruining Rebel’s night with old drama.
” She walked to the console near the door, opened the top drawer, and pulled out a small box of Kleenex.
She took a couple, then returned the box to the drawer, closed it, and brought the tissue to Harley. “Dry your eyes.”
Harley accepted the tissue and dabbed at her cheeks. “I love CJ and he hates me.”
“I don’t hate you, Harley,” CJ snapped.
“You don’t know the meaning of love, Harley,” Momma said, not as harsh as Rebel would’ve been. “You don’t treat people who you love, or even like, as you’ve treated my son.”
“You hate me too, Aunt Meggie!” Harley wailed.
“I don’t hate you,” Momma replied. “I’m angry with you and disappointed in you. Cut the theatrics and pay attention to reality. It will do you a world of good. Now, pull yourself together or get out. You aren’t ruining Rebel’s dinner.”
“But—”
Momma lifted a brow at Harley.
“Mommie said I could come since Daddy is here, I’m in the carpool again, and Rebel has been watching me rehearse.”
“ Mommie doesn’t have authority over my house,” Momma said.
“I’m sorry, Aunt Meggie.”
“For? ”
Harley glanced around, her expression clueless. “For crying?”
“Yeah, no,” Momma said harshly. “Apologize when you get a clue about why you should apologize. Until then, don’t waste my time.”
“I’m a g-girl, Aunt Meggie,” Harley hiccupped. “We…you…the way you’re talking to me is cruel. Mommie has always used gentle guidance.”
“Harley, go,” Uncle Mort said, the disappointment in his tone matching the look on his face. “Visit another time.”
“No, Mort, it’s fine. She’s welcomed to stay.
” Momma looked at Harley. “Parenting is hard, Harley. You’ve always been Bailey’s pride and joy.
Her sweet girl. In the moment, we think we’re making the right decision until we’re faced with a harsh reality.
Being a mother isn’t easy in any circumstance.
Raising children in our life is doubly hard.
As your kids grow, you realize who’s better off as a civilian.
You’re only fifteen, still a child, so you might toughen up and realize the world doesn’t revolve around you.
You’re a small part of the whole in this life .
As a civilian, you can demand all the attention.
You can find a partner and dare another woman to even look at him wrong.
Here, in this life , with CJ, you will be an albatross—”
Harley gasped. “I love CJ. No one understands that. Not you. Not CJ. Not Daddy.”
Momma drew herself up, while Uncle Mort shoved his hands in his pockets and hung his head.
“Love isn’t just a word to throw out,” Momma said. “It’s a complicated emotion. It’s saying you’re sorry. Taking another person’s feelings into consideration. It’s communicating.”
“Daddy said love is always saying sorry,” she said quietly. “I didn’t believe him.”
Momma cocked her head to the side. “Do you know your father offers some of the best advice in the world and does it with grace and humor? ”
Harley gave Uncle Mort a hesitant look.
“It’s true,” Momma said. “I can’t tell you how many times over the years, he’s lent an ear to me and words of wisdom. No one has all the answers and the person who isn’t willing to accept guidance looks at a moron in the mirror. Do you understand?”
“Are you calling me a moron?”
“Have you listened to anyone recently? Your mom? Your father? Your grandmother?”
Harley shook her head.