27. Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Lily
Iwatch as the club, my family, moves around me.
Everyone is laughing and talking excitedly.
I’ve been feeling as if I’m slipping into the shadows. No one seems to notice that my entire world has been flipped upside down.
Jesse sits down next to me and drapes her arm across the back of my chair; she watches with me. She and Dan are the only two who know what’s going on with me.
Getting old sucks. I don’t fucking like it one bit.
“Do you want to go inside where it’s quieter and we can talk?” Jesse leans over and asks in my ear.
“No. I’m just waiting for Carson and Cole to show up. I just want to get this over with.”
She scans the group. “There’s Carson now.”
I follow her line of sight.
“She’s a pretty little thing. Reminds me of you. She looks too sweet to be here.”
As they make their way toward us, he stops, introducing her to everyone.
His hand is at the small of her back protectively, and she leans into him every now and then. I think back to the days when I was being introduced to the club. It was intimidating but wonderful at the same time.
Carson scans the crowd, and I know who he’s looking for.
I texted Carver earlier and begged him to make sure Cole showed up tonight. I hope he doesn’t let me down.
Carver has become family quicker than any of us expected. Maybe that’s why I knew he’d understand how important tonight is.
“Mom, Jesse,” my son greets us, giving Jesse and me each a kiss on the cheek.
“You made it back,” Jesse says, turning her focus to the beautiful girl hanging on my son’s arm.
“We did.” He looks at Luna. “Luna, this is the matriarch of our club, Jesse. Jesse, this is Luna.”
Jesse holds out her hand, and the two women shake. Their skin is such a contrast it takes me right back to the day I shook Jesse’s hand.
I pat the chair beside me. “Sit. I want to hear all about your trip,” I tell them.
Luna doesn’t hesitate, lowering herself beside me as she pulls her phone from her back pocket. “I have so many photos to show you.”
She looks me in the eye as she speaks to me, and I hang on every word. It’s clear as day she loves my son. She speaks about him with such fondness it nearly brings me to tears. All I ever wanted was for my children to find love like I did.
I glance at Dan. He’s been watching me from where he sits with Dirk and Raffe … the old dudes, as the younger generation now calls them.
Jesse nudges me when Cole walks out from the warehouse.
I’m hopeful he will join us at our table, but he walks over to a group of guys, standing beside a keg of beer. He fills a cup, pretending his brother doesn’t exist.
Oh, how it hurts my mommy heart.
Carver joins us, raising one of his shoulders in a shrug. At least he got him out here. That’s a start.
“Brother, you made it back from the land of the leprechauns,” he jokes.
Carson stands up and shakes his hand, giving him a pat on the back. “Carver. Fuck, I’ve missed you, man.”
Carver looks Luna over. “Hey, little moon.”
Her chin dips to her chest at the nickname he’s given her. He drops into the chair beside her. “No flat tires on the way home, I hope?” he asks.
She lifts her face, her eyes narrowing on him. Jesse leans forward, interested in their interaction.
“No. It helps when you don’t run into crazy lunatics with knives,” she snaps.
Carson looks between the two of them, his brows pulling together.
“What are you guys talking about?” he asks.
They stare at each other, their faces going pale. Carver mouths an oh shit.
My son and I begin to put the pieces together at the same time.
When she ran, she had a flat tire … Carver gave her that flat tire. He knew she was running. The question is who else knew.
Carson looks over his shoulder at Cole before turning back to them.
“Did you slash her fucking tire?” Carson asks Carver.
He doesn’t wait for him to answer, turning his attention to Luna. “Did Cole come after you?”
Luna’s mouth opens and closes, because she cannot lie to him.
Carver speaks up. “Hey, man, she came back on her own. That’s all that matters.”
Luna taps him on the leg, because he’s not helping the situation.
“He did, but he was trying to talk me out of leaving.”
Carson scoots his chair back. “Cole told me you were never coming back. That you were a wanderer, and that you would never be mine. He …” He shakes his head in disbelief. “He didn’t bring you back.”
“I came back, Carson,” Luna says, trying to calm him.
He stands. “He was willing to let you disappear, knowing how much that would hurt me.”
She rises too, grabbing his hand. “Carson, he was hurting, is hurting.”
My son pulls away from her, storming over to his brother and punching him right in the face.
As soon as Cole catches his balance, he charges at Carson. “You fucking pussy,” he yells.
The two of them begin arguing while throwing punches.
“You were going to let her leave!”
“You fucking left me,” Cole yells back, not even hearing what his brother has to say.
“Left you? You fucking left me. You went to Texas without me!” Carson hollers back.
I stand abruptly, tipping over my chair. “Stop! Just fucking stop!” I scream, grabbing my head, and stumbling backward.
Jesse rises, waving Dirk over to us as my husband moves like a storm toward our boys.
“Come on, hon, let’s get you inside,” Jesse says, guiding me in the direction of the warehouse while I cry hysterically. Everything is falling apart. The color in my world is slowly being consumed by darkness and grief.
I knew it would happen. I knew eventually I would have to pay for the sins of my father.
It’s happening.
Everything I gained in life is being ripped away from me.
Carver holds Luna back as tears stream down her face, the pictures of their trip long forgotten. I hope she doesn’t blame herself. This isn’t her doing. The universe is punishing me.
Right before we step inside, I look over and see my husband pull apart our sons by the scruff of their necks. Thank god, I chose him to be their dad.
At least they have him.