Chapter 6
Kiersten
“It sounds like a sweet deal to me.”
“Yeah, but we’d be giving up all control,” I argued.
“And all the hassle that comes with it.” Braylon had always been my voice of reason.
He was older and somewhat wiser, and I trusted him—something that didn’t come easy to me.
I valued his opinion, so I tried to keep an open mind when he said, “I think this could be the answer you’ve been looking for. ”
“I just don’t know. We’ve worked so hard to get here, and I’m not sure I’m ready to just hand it over to someone else.”
“You won’t be. You’ll still have the say, and you can get back to working in the lab. That’s where you’ve always wanted to be.”
“I know, but...”
“You need to remember why you started this whole thing.”
“To get back at my father?” I scoffed.
“Yeah, well there’s that.” He chuckled. “But I remember you telling me that you wanted to create something that was better. Something that could end up helping people who are suffering. Maybe this is your chance to start focusing on that again.”
“Maybe.”
“So, if we do this deal with the Sinners comes through, what are you going to do about your boy toy?”
“My boy toy? Really?”
“Call him whatever you want to. I’m just asking what you’re going to do about him.”
“Well, his name is Country.” It seemed strange to say that out loud, so I added, “At least, that’s what his brothers call him, and honestly, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I guess there’s not really anything I can do.”
“Do you like the guy?”
“Yeah, I do.” Just thinking about him brought a smile to my face. “He seems pretty great, but I’ve been wrong about men before.”
“Gah, you really need to get past these daddy issues of yours.”
“Easier said than done.”
“I know, but it’s just been a while since I’ve seen that spark in your eyes. I just don’t want you to let the past interfere with your future.”
“It was one night in a bar.” My smile faded as I continued, “Besides, he’s a biker, and we might be going into business with his club. I doubt I’ll be seeing him again, much less have a future with him.”
“You never know. Stranger things have happened.”
“I never knew you were such the romantic.” I stood and started towards the door. “I’m going to go check in on things at the lab. I’ll let you know if I hear anything from the guys.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
I left the office and headed down the hall to my lab.
I hoped it would help take my mind off things, and it did for a little while.
Unfortunately, experimenting with a new fertilizer wasn’t enough to keep my mind off the phone call I was expecting from the Sinners.
I started to worry that something might’ve been wrong with my phone and I hadn’t heard it ring, so I took it out and checked the screen.
That’s when I noticed the date. It was my father’s birthday.
With everything that had been going on, I’d totally forgotten all about it.
I dropped everything and rushed over to my place for my keys and purse.
After sending Braylon a message about where I was going, I got in my car and drove over to my dad’s house.
On the way, I stopped to pick up a small cake and a generic card, but I didn’t bother with a gift.
The man already had everything he could possibly want and more.
The only thing he didn’t have was a real relationship with me, and no matter how hard he tried, that was something he would never have—not after years of trying to deceive me.
When I got to the house, the front door was wide open and coffee was brewing, but there was no sign of Dad. I placed the cake and card down on the table, then opened the basement door. “Dad?”
No answer.
I stepped over to the back door and opened it before shouting, “Dad!”
Again, no answer.
Worried something might be wrong, I rushed to the front to make sure I hadn’t missed him, and that’s when I spotted him out on the pier.
I hated myself for it, but my heart ached seeing him out there all alone.
It was his birthday. He should’ve been with family or friends, but he’d spent the last ten years living like a recluse and had neither.
I didn’t want to feel sorry for him. I knew his work was why he’d chosen to distance himself from the world, but that didn’t stop the sorrow dwelling in the pit of my stomach.
I inhaled a deep breath and feigned a happy smile as I walked over to join him at the pier.
He was just about to cast out his line when I said, “Happy birthday, Daddy.”
“Kiersten!” He dropped his fishing pole and opened his arms wide, then stepped over to me and hugged me tight. “I didn’t know you were coming today.”
“I couldn’t miss your birthday.”
“I’m so glad you came!” He released me from his embrace, then looked down at me with a warm smile. “You look good, kiddo.”
“You do, too.” My father was in his mid-fifties, but he was a bit of a health nut and appeared much younger.
Even now, as he stood there in his loose-fit t-shirt and old-man jeans, he looked in better shape than most twenty year olds—which wasn’t always the case when he was in his dress pants and button down.
I glanced over at his fishing pole as I asked, “Are you catching anything?”
“Not a thing, but I wasn’t really trying. Just wanted an excuse to get outside for a bit.” He grabbed his pole, then motioned me towards the house. “Let’s head up to the house, and I’ll fix us both a bite to eat.”
I nodded, then followed him down the pier and up to the house. Once we were inside, Dad went over to the counter and a excited smile swept across his face when he spotted his surprise. “You got me a cake?”
“You can’t have a birthday without birthday cake.”
“You didn’t have to do that.” He picked up my card and quickly scanned it, then smiled like I’d given him the moon. “Thank you. I don’t deserve you.”
“It’s just a cake and a card, Dad.”
“But it’s from you, and that makes it even more special.”
It was times like these that were the hardest. He actually sounded sincere when he said those words to me, and maybe he meant them.
I just couldn’t get past the demons in my head to believe a word he said.
Don’t get me wrong. I knew it wasn’t fair to judge him so harshly.
Like Country said, his job was just a job.
It didn’t define him. I also knew he had his reasons for becoming a cleaner and they probably had something to do with me, but the pretending unearthed me.
True or not, it made me feel like everything that came out of his mouth was a lie.
I didn’t have a response for him, so I walked over and grabbed a couple of paper plates from the cabinet. When I started cutting each of us a slice of cake, he asked, “You want a cup of coffee or a soda?”
“Soda will be fine.”
“You got it.” He went to the fridge and got each of us a can of soda. Once I had our plates ready, I asked, “Do you want to carry this out to the porch?”
“That would be perfect.” I followed him outside and over to the swing. Once we were both seated, he asked, “So, fill me in on things. How’s school? How’s your friends? Are you seeing anyone?”
“Woah, slow down.” I giggled as I said, “One thing at a time.”
A wave of guilt washed over me when he said, “Sorry, I’ve just missed you. It feels like we haven’t had a chance to catch up in months.”
“Because we haven’t. Not really. You’ve been busy with work and I’ve been busy with my school projects, but there’s not much either of us can do about that.”
“No, but we have some time now. I’d really like to hear how things are going for you.”
“Okay, well... my classes are fine. Even though some of them are tough, I’m enjoying them, and as far as I know, my friends are doing well, too.
” My mind suddenly drifted to Country. Fate played a dirty hand when she threw us together...
And now I was left wanting something I couldn’t have.
It shouldn’t have mattered. My focus needed to be on my deal with the Sinners, but he seemed to be all I could think about.
As much as I’d enjoyed our night at the bar, I enjoyed talking to him by the fire even more.
I’d never felt so comfortable talking to a man I barely knew.
I’d also never been so attracted to a man before, and the whole thing was completely frustrating.
I liked to be in control of things, but this is one situation where I had none.
I considered telling my father that I’d met someone, but I worried he might ask questions I wasn’t ready to answer so I simply said, “I’m not seeing anyone—at least nothing steady.”
“But you have met someone?”
“Yeah, but I’m not sure if anything will come of it.” I shrugged. “It’s kind of complicated.”
“Don’t worry. You have plenty of time to figure things out.
You know, I was almost thirty before I met your mother.
” His expression softened as he said, “I can still remember the day I saw her walk into that coffee shop. She was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
She was simply breath taking.... I’m pretty sure I feel in love with her right there on the spot. ”
“Yeah, Mom was pretty incredible.”
“She was definitely that. I still miss her every day.” Anguish filled his voice as he muttered, “I’d give anything to still have her here with me. If I had only known then, maybe...”
“There was nothing you could’ve done, Dad.”
“I could’ve reminded her not to mix her migraine medication.” He shook his head. “She knew... I’d told her a hundred times, but when she was hurting like that, she’d get desperate to make them stop.”