Chapter 50 Brighton
“Is this really a smart idea?” Sunday helps me push some of the tables together downstairs. We were closing the Hollow for the evening for a private event. One that should be the funeral of Cael Cody and Silas Shore—my two least-favorite people in Harbor.
“It’ll be fine, and Daisy is excited.” I push until the table clicks together and stand back. “Boone is making some extravagant French five-course meal to impress Ri, and Rhea is upstairs helping Daisy do her hair.” I groan.
“You’re a good Dad,” she says to me, wiping her hands on her jeans as she moves around the table to start setting it.
“I’m a tolerant Dad,” I correct her, and she laughs.
“You were always a good Dad,” she argues, her eyes meeting mine.
Yeah, I know, Sunny. She’s pointing out the fact that I’ve been doing this longer than just Daisy—and with much higher stakes. I look away from her because she’s burning a hole in my heart with her glare.
“Auggie is a really sweet kid, and this means a lot to Daisy.” She continues to talk as she moves around the table.
“I keep forgetting that he’s met everyone else at this fucking party,” I grumble and hand her cups as she goes.
“That’s why he hasn’t met you,” Sunday groans. “Curb the attitude.”
“There’s no attitude,” I sigh as the kitchen door clangs open and Boone starts excitedly yelling around. “They’re here…” I swallow tightly and shift around in my shirt uncomfortably. It’s going to take every ounce of patience I have to get through this dinner.
“You’re a better man than anyone in Harbor,” Sunday stares at me like she can hear me panicking. “Just be yourself.”
“That’s the problem, isn’t it?” I joke, and she shakes her head, wandering past me.
I follow her into the kitchen, and Boone already has a little redhead with a spoon between her lips, tasting the food he’s making. Silas Shore stands rigid with his hand in his pocket and his eyes on the girl.
There’s not a man in Harbor that gets under my skin quite as easily as him.
At first it was nothing, he was simply someone who helped Riona relax.
I might be a little more possessive now but if Riona wanted it, she got it.
And back then she wanted Silas. So I swallowed the venom and made them comfortable.
But he changed something in her, rewired a part of her I couldn’t untangle and I resent him for it. Vocally. And as often as I can.
Cael, Riona’s nephew, brought his girlfriend—Clementine, I think—and she’s already causing trouble. Kaia is in tow, all three are getting scolded by Riona, who wears the most unfamiliar smile I’ve ever seen on her face.
The most surprising addition to the evening is Ryan. I haven’t seen him in a while, and he looks old but still as grouchy and as sharp as ever. Great, this night just went down the drain.
“I’ll go get Daisy,” I announce, but Sunday stops me with a glare.
“I’ll go, behave.” She warns before disappearing up the stairs.
“Brighton,” Silas nods, and Riona turns her head.
“Silas,” I give him a tight smile and then toss Riona a dirty look with a smile on my face. “Riona.”
“It smells wonderful in here, Boone,” she says to him instead of acknowledging me. She’s still pissed off about the way things were handled with Daisy and Ricky’s kid, but that’s life. She’s likely more upset that it was out of her control.
“It’s Boeuf Bourguignon,” he tells her, bringing her over.
I point to the redhead, and Silas inhales slowly, “Drew, this is Brighton Black, Daisy’s father and Riona’s ex.” That makes two of us, you spineless shit.
It’s like a bad joke. What do you get when your ex-wife, her ex-boytoy, his current wife walk into a bar?
“Oh.” Drew sidesteps Riona in her sundress and holds out her tiny hand to me to shake. “It’s nice to finally meet you. They all act like you’re scary. I even got a rundown of things not to bring up, but you look harmless to me.”
I grind my teeth together and force a polite smile to my face.
“Give him ten minutes, Drew.” Riona snaps.
“An hour, minimum,” I correct her jab, and Drew starts to laugh.
“I see why you two got along…” she jokes.
“Like oil and water,” I grumble as Auggie wanders in the back door and Daisy enters from the kitchen.
I clear my throat and step aside as Rhea comes in behind her with Sunday on her tail.
Daisy’s hair is curled around the ends, and I’m pretty sure she’s wearing mascara.
I turn with the intention of saying something to Rhea, but she’s smiling across the kitchen at them as they nervously say hi, and I realize the truth in what she said.
Daisy isn’t just yours. I look around the kitchen and swallow my discomfort when I see how everyone is here for her, for them. I was the problem.
Auggie didn’t want to meet me.
I flex my hands to rid them of the shake, but it does nothing, so I go to tuck them in my jeans, but Rhea pushes her hand into mine and squeezes.
“Breathe,” she whispers, “look at that smile.”
I follow her eye line to Daisy, who’s dragging Auggie across the kitchen to show him the ridiculous dessert that Boone made for after dinner. I can do this. For her.
We all find our seats, and I’m instantly tested when Kaia sits across from Cael, who’s purposely trying to start shit to see me explode. Ryan grabs the bun that’s being tossed back and forth, giving them both a look that makes them stop.
“How’s the season?” I ask Ryan because the tension that floats over the table is violent.
“A lot of rookies, a lot of mistakes.” He takes the platter from his sister and spoons himself some food before handing it to me. “How's… this?”
I scoff. “Fine. It pays the bills.”
“Listening to you two talk is like two robots trying to learn human emotions,” Kaia jabs, and Cael starts losing it laughing.
“At least they aren’t choking each other out,” he snorts. “Remember Daze’s second birthday?” Cael asks, and Riona looks like she’s ready to commit murder.
“Don’t start,” Ryan snaps, and Cael shrugs.
“That sounds like a fun story,” Clementine says, and Cael nods.
I remember it like it was yesterday. It’s when I proposed to her. They had all made the trip to Harbor for the occasion, and it ended up with Ryan in lockup.
I swear, Riona married me just to piss him off.
“This is delicious, Boone,” Drew speaks up to cut the tension.
She’s a sweet woman, a little quiet, and nothing like I expected Silas to marry.
I guess once you’ve had your fill of a woman like Riona, you actively seek out the opposite.
I turn to check on Rhea, who’s listening to all the conversations intently but not really saying much.
Her brown eyes watch every interaction with caution as it goes around the conversation and lands on Boone.
“What do you think, Aug?” he asks the kid, but he’s too busy whispering something to Daisy. Rhea’s hand finds my thigh under the table, and I look over at her to calm down the vicious urge to start shit with everyone at the table except her.
“It’s great, I could use more salt,” Auggie finally responds, and Boone just laughs at him.
“I like that kid,” he nods. “Honesty is a good trait to have.”
“It’s true, the world has enough liars.” Riona’s words are venom.
I’ll love you until the day we die, Bright. What’s mine is yours. For always.
Only it wasn’t true. Not for her.
But I died the day I stepped foot on home soil, alone…
“How long have you all known each other?” Drew asks, looking between Riona and me.
“College,” Riona answers dryly. “There was a time way back when Silas was quite the party animal.”
“You?” Drew laughs, and Silas just shakes his head of greying hair at her.
“They’re lying. If anyone was a party animal, it was Bright,” Silas jabs.
“Once upon a time.” I clip and stare him down.
“You were in the military?” She asks next, and the table goes still.
“Yeah. Medical,” I say.
“So like Silas?” She asks, she’s so polite, and every question is pointed without her even knowing. I keep my eyes locked on Silas, ignoring how hot I feel inside and how little room I start to feel.
“A little more dangerous.” I offer her a tight smile.
“I’d say so,” Clementine hums.
“Auggie,” Rhea calls out to the other end of the table, and he looks up from his food to her, “tell them what you’re doing for your art project.”
He starts to explain begrudgingly after being put on the spot, but I’m grateful to Rhea for ending the conversation about me.
I was starting to run out of air. Daisy looks over at me, and for a second, her grateful smile calms me down, but I can feel Riona’s glare, and I can hear every single piece of criticism that will come down on my head later for being rude to Drew.
“We should do more of those rugby games,” Cael suggests to Kaia, who's picking the olives off Boone’s plate as he talks to Silas.
“The Hogs are cowards, you’ll never get them to do that again,” Kaia groans, and Sunday laughs at the scowl on my face.
“Aw, come on,” Daisy chimes in, “I wasn’t invited last time!”
“Yeah, me either,” Clementine adds.
“It was too late for you to come,” I say to Daisy.
“Yeah, but I want to watch Auntie K, kick Uncle B’s ass,” Daisy swears, and Riona chokes on her wine.
“Daze!” Boone makes a motion for her to stop, an amused smile on his face.
“It was pretty entertaining, and the Hillcat burger sells more than the Boone Burger ever did.” Kaia hums.
“You have a burger named after you?” Ryan questions gruffly.
“He did,” Kaia snorts. “Past tense.”
The conversation seems to be flowing back to a more comfortable place, and I think I’m doing okay until Sunday accidentally drops her fork, and Riona shoves her chair back to reach for it.
The two sharp sounds hit at once, pulsing through me like electricity.
I push from the table and excuse myself to wander out to the back parking lot for a moment of air that I wasn’t going to get sitting at that table.
Enemies. Those people are there to mock you.
"What are you doing?" Riona's voice is a gunshot. I flinch at the sound, refusing to turn my head to look at her.
"Behaving." I repeat back Sunday's word.
"By storming off?" She questions. "Mature."
"It's better than strangling Silas at the dinner table," I say, my lip curling up in amusement when a soft chuckle falls from her.
"You'll traumatize the new wife," Riona teases.
"What you don't get along?" I ask.
"She's a mouse." The insult almost makes me laugh.
"Not everyone can be a predator, Ri." I finally look at her and she's staring up at the night sky, no doubt looking for the stars but the lights are too bright. "She'd love this."
"She would not," Riona's voice is strangled but the laughter that pours from her is warm and bright.
"She loved the chaos more than anyone, it's where that little fucker gets it from." I sigh. Cael's mother, Daisy's aunt Lorraine was special. I square my shoulders to keep myself together as Riona wraps her arms around herself in thought.
"You don't have to feel guilty anymore, you know?" She says, her body turning back into the Hollow.
"For what?" I ask. There's too much to feel guilt for, even if I wanted to I wouldn't be able to pin down the exact reason for her statement.
"For everything," she says. "I know I give you a hard time, but if I don't, who will?" She teases gently.
I open my mouth to respond but she slips back inside and I'd be lying if I said that it didn't rattle me a little. I stare down at the shakiness of my hands and hiss at how pathetic it feels. “You walk yourself in a circle long enough, Bright, you’ll start tripping over your own steps.” Sarge's voice plays in my head, mocking me.
“Dad?” Daisy snaps me from the moment of weakness, and I turn to see her standing in the door.
“What’s up, Squish?” I put on a brave face, one that doesn’t give away how uncomfortable I am with all of this.
“Are you alright?” she asks.
“Yeah,” I smile. “Just ate too much. Needed a hit of fresh air,” I lie.
“Thanks for doing this today. Auggie’s having lots of fun.” She smiles at me, and I stuff down everything to keep it on her face. “Do you think you can take us bowling next week?”
“Just the three of us?” I ask her, and she nods.
“Deal.” I nod. “Let’s go eat the dessert before Uncle B can serve it.”
“Are you sure?” The smile on her face grows. “Very rebellious, Dad.”
“Yeah, yeah, hurry before we get caught.” I shoo her inside.