Chapter Fifteen
Maureen
Dinner at the clubhouse wasn’t as celebratory as King had planned it to be. When I got back to the clubhouse after moving my things, he was in a sour mood.
I could guess he’d had words with Declan. I didn’t know what was in the folder Nav had given him, but based on his reaction, it wasn’t good.
Sitting at the table with Evelyn Samson, I finally had a chance to get to know her. She and her husband James were surrogate parents to one of the members, Ace.
Evelyn shared with me that she, James, and their daughter Lily had followed Ace to Nebraska when the club opened this chapter. She told me that Ace’s parents had been their best friends. And they felt it was the right thing to do to watch over their son for them.
Shortly after they passed away, Ace had told them the club was opening a new chapter, and he was moving here. He wanted to get away from the memories. With his permission, they had followed.
I shared a little of my life with Evie. I wasn’t sure how much the Samson’s knew about where I came from or my connection to the club, so I kept things vague. Talking only about Duane and Colleen, and leaving out any connection I had with Micah.
They had been here on Thanksgiving, so they knew Declan and I had known each other as kids. Thankfully, Evie didn’t ask about that.
It was nice meeting someone my age. Allison, the mayor, had mentioned a book club earlier today at The Diner. Evie shared a few more details about the upcoming meeting, and I was excited to meet more women my age.
“Hello, Evie. Would you mind if I stole Maureen for a few minutes?”
“Not at all, King. I am going to go help the girls clean up the kitchen,” she said, collecting both our plates. “I’ll see you next Tuesday.”
“Absolutely, looking forward to it,” I replied.
King chuckled as he sat down beside me. “They roped you into the book club, huh?”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“Not at all. I’m glad you’re making connections. I want you to stick around. I think Diamond Creek will benefit from having you here.”
There was a sparkle in his eye as he said it, and I wondered what he was up to.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“Did you know I had an older brother besides Declan?”
Taking a deep breath, I knew I had to answer carefully. This was family shit. And one thing you learned in the Mob was that you didn’t get in the middle of family shit.
There was Mob shit, and there was family shit.
Mob shit was easier to deal with.
“I did.”
That was all I said. I knew he wanted more. Knew he would ask more questions. But I wasn’t volunteering anything.
“Is that what you were Declan were arguing about on Thanksgiving?”
“Not exactly. I asked him if you knew. And he said no. It wasn’t my place to tell you. When Declan moved away, it was just him and your parents. No one knew your mom was pregnant. I’m not sure Sal even knew.”
King nodded, accepting what I told him.
“I want to meet him.”
The gasp that escaped was involuntary. I didn’t mean it. Well, I meant it. I just didn’t mean for him to hear it.
“You’re really afraid of him, aren’t you?”
“It isn’t that I am afraid of him. I mean, don’t get me wrong, Sal is brutal. He rules with an iron fist. He doesn’t put up with bullshit. From anyone.”
“What is it then? Why are you so worried about him coming here?”
Looking around the room, my eyes settled on Blade and Beck. He had his hand on her belly, and the smiles on their faces were beautiful. He had a life here. He was happy.
“Kara was my friend,” I said, looking back at King. “That man over there, he may not be the same little boy I knew. But he is still my friend’s son. I want to protect him. I don’t know why Sal chose to spare him, but with Sal, everything comes at a price. And that woman he loves. That is Sal’s niece. She doesn’t know him. Or anything about him other than what she has been told. I worry about how he will react when he meets her. When he meets you. When he realizes I am here. He didn’t want me to leave. He wasn’t happy about it. There are things going on that I can’t put my finger on. So it isn’t that I am afraid of him, per se. I don’t believe he would hurt me. I know he wouldn’t hurt her. Family is everything to Sal. But I don’t know what his endgame is. He is unpredictable. And that scares me.”
“I understand. I told Declan I would let you know what I was planning, and let you decide what to do.” He wiped his hands up and down his face. “Family is everything. I just want a chance to know all of mine. Maybe I’ll find he is the asshole everyone thinks he is and never want to see him again. But I need to find out for myself.”
I reached over and hugged him. “I understand. Just give me a heads-up when he’s going to be here. I’ll decide what to do then.”
Hearing the door slam behind me, I let go of King and turned.
Grace stood there, glaring at the two of us.
Looking back at King, I whispered, “Talk to her.”
Standing from my seat, I grabbed my jacket. As I passed by Grace on my way out the door, she asked, “What is your deal? Why are you here?”
Sighing, I looked back at King who was watching us. “I came here looking for a simpler life than the one I had.” Turning back to Grace, I added, “I’m beginning to think that a simple life isn’t possible, no matter where you are, simply because of who you know.”
I walked outside and climbed into my truck.
Tonight, I would finally sleep in my own bed, in my own home.
One I chose, not one that was chosen for me.
I was almost home when I noticed I was being followed. It was getting dark, but still light enough to see the light bar on top of the car behind me.
Pulling into my driveway, I turned off my truck and stepped out onto the ground. Shoving the door closed, I ignored the sexy man getting out of his car and following me.
“I don’t have the energy to fight with you right now.”
“Too bad. We need to have that talk.”
“Too late. He already knows about Sal.”
Once I had the door unlocked, Declan grabbed my arm, spinning me around to face him.
“I know he knows. He came to my office.”
Opening my mouth to defend myself, he put his hand in the air. “I know you didn’t tell him. Thank you.”
“He asked me what you were keeping from him. And he asked about your parents.”
“What did you tell him?” He asked.
Looking down at where his hand still held my arm, the burn I felt from him holding me had me giving in. “You may as well come inside. It’s too cold to stand out here.”
Declan let go of my arm, and it felt colder than the air brushing across my exposed face. Following me inside, I watched as he looked around the space.
“This is what you bought? You can’t live here.”
“I can, and I do. My bedroom is finished, and there is a working bathroom upstairs. I couldn’t stay at the clubhouse anymore. I needed my own space.”
“There is nothing here.” He looked around the room at the exposed studs. “Your kitchen doesn’t have walls, let alone appliances. It’s too fucking cold to live like this, Reenie.”
Hearing him call me Reenie, like he did when we were kids, did something to me that I didn’t want to think about.
“I’m fine. I have a space heater in my bedroom.”
“Space heaters catch on fire.”
“Well, then maybe the hunky firefighters I saw in town will come rescue me.”
Declan spun around, facing me and growled at my words. “Those firefighters are all young enough to be your children.”
“Oh come on, I’m sure a few of them are in their thirties. I can’t imagine the fire chief is that young.” I grinned at the angry look on his face.
I knew he didn’t want me here. But I also knew he wanted me. I had seen him watching me. Saw how his eyes traveled over my body.
“Reenie,” he growled.
Turning away from him, I tried to contain the shiver that worked its way through me. I wanted to believe he was jealous, but I knew he wanted me gone. “What did you want to talk about?”
“Why are you here?”
Dropping my head back and looking at the ceiling, I growled, “Why does everyone keep asking me that?”
“Because people who grow up in Boston don’t just decide one day to move to the middle of nowhere.”
Spinning around to glare at him, I shouted, “I didn’t just decide one day. I have wanted to get away from Boston my whole fucking life. I never wanted to be a Mob wife. I wasn’t given a choice.”
“What about Duane?”
“What about Duane?” Flinging my arms in the air, what did this have to do with Duane?
“Did you love him?”
“You don’t get to ask me that. Of course, I loved him. He was my husband. For twenty-nine years.”
Declan walked over, standing in front of me, toe to toe, looking down at me. “It should have been me.”
“You left.”
“I didn’t have a choice. I was twelve years old.”
“Well, I didn’t have a choice either. I didn’t get to choose my husband; he was chosen for me. I was thankful it was Duane. He was a good husband. He was a good father.”
“He was a selfish bastard. It should have been me,” he said again.
“You left and never came back.”
His nostrils flared, and his jaw ticked. He was breathing heavily through his nose, his mouth clamped shut tightly. Abruptly, he turned around and walked to one of the windows looking out into the darkness.
“Why did you come here?”
Letting out a heavy breath, I scoffed, “What difference does it make? I’m here. I chose Diamond Creek to start over.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why did you choose Diamond Creek?”
He still hadn’t turned around. He just stood there, looking through the window at the darkness. He couldn’t possibly see anything out there.
“Duane and I used to dream about what it would be like if he wasn’t a made man. Where we would live; what kind of life we could have. I wanted something simple. I wanted the country. I was tired of living in the city with no grass. Just concrete and stone everywhere I looked. I wanted chickens and a dog. I wanted a house.”
“Why Diamond Creek?”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I took a deep breath. I didn’t want to talk about this. I didn’t want to think about how I learned about Diamond Creek.
“When Duane got his diagnosis, he started planning. He wasn’t confident that he would beat it. He said if a bullet didn’t kill him, the cancer would. Turned out it was a bullet, after all. So, when he got really sick, he made me promise him I would leave. He had been putting money away. He wanted me to have what I needed to buy my way out.”
Dropping my arms by my sides again, I felt restless. I didn’t have any furniture here, no kitchen at all. The only furniture I had was in my bedroom, and I sure as hell wasn’t taking him in there.
I needed to do something with my hands. Normally, I would make tea or coffee. Or maybe start putting together something to bake.
But in this house, there was nothing I could do but walk. So I moved around. I paced small steps that barely made a sound.
“One day, about a year before he was killed, he told me he found the perfect place for me. He had been working on something. Researching something. There was something going on in the organization. He was close to figuring it all out, but he was worried if the wrong person found out, it could cost him.”
My eyes began to water as I thought about how scared he was. “He knew what he was doing was dangerous, but he was convinced that there was a mole. Someone who was working against the organization.”
Declan stiffened at that revelation. It was only for a fraction, and if I hadn’t been watching him, I would have missed it.
“He told me about a little town he found in Nebraska. He showed me pictures and articles from the paper about how quiet it was. The simple life I always wanted. He made me promise that if something happened to him, I would buy my way out and move here. So I did.”
Declan slowly turned around to face me. His arms were crossed over his chest, and he leaned back against the window, watching me. Reaching up, I swiped away the tear that had escaped.
“How long has it been?”
“How long has what been?” I snapped, slamming my fists on my hips.
“How long has it been since you were with Duane?” he asked, stalking toward me. “How long has it been since you’ve been fucked, Reenie?”