19. Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Nineteen
Koa
The Salty Dog is slowing down, and the guys are ready to head home.
Fortunately, a few games of darts and a little conversation have pulled my mind away from my woes.
Primarily, the woe of knowing the woman I want is on a date with another man, but also from my family drama.
I snuck to the regular hangout without telling Eleanor, but somehow the woman managed to discover I’d headed out in public and showed up with a scowl and a folder.
Now she sits at the bar going over some paperwork that makes no sense to me.
“You think she has a social life at all?” Marco asks while leaning against the wall.
“If you’re thinking about offering her one, I’d think twice. Quade Dawson made it very clear that she is off limits.”
“I’m not looking to get fired. Just wondering.” He shrugs and glances her way again.
“It’s not getting fired I’d be worried about.
It’s getting pulled out of the river in pieces.
Seriously, don’t think about it.” I brush him off and finish off the last of my sweet tea and fries.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. “Who in the world would call me this late?” Fishing it from my pocket, I take an account of everyone still here.
It’s possible it’s Andrew. He did forget his ball cap, but I’ve already tossed it into my car to give him tomorrow.
It’s not Andrew. In fact, I’m not entirely sure who it is since I don’t recognize the number.
“Hello?”
“Koa?” Dustin’s voice trembles and my adrenaline spikes.
“Yeah, what is it, kiddo? Is something wrong?” I toss a tip on the bar and wave to the tender. Marco’s brow perks so I mouth that it’s Dustin.
“I’m scared. Mom was arguing with Nick on the front porch, then the neighbor started yelling, and now there’s police here.”
“Where is Annie?” Surely, she didn’t leave Evalina and Dustin alone.
“She’s outside with Mom. She told me to stay in my room, but I’m really scared. Can you come over?”
“Sure thing, kid. I’m on my way, okay? Give me about…” I check my watch, figure traffic isn’t bad at this late hour, and head out the door. “About ten minutes, okay?”
“Yeah. Thank you.”
“No problem, Dustin. Stay in your room like Annie said. I’ll be there fast.” My friends don’t bother trying to slow me down, but Eleanor calls after me.
This is just the sort of thing she should probably be present for, but I’m not slowing down to explain anything.
I don’t care if I lose everything I own and end up in jail, if Evalina and Dustin are in trouble, I’m doing something about it.
Of course, I hit every red light on the way but manage to make it to their apartment complex in about eight minutes.
There are still a few police cars in the lot and a group of people at her front door.
There’s every possibility that I’m about to make this worse, but I park and walk up to the commotion anyway.
Evalina’s gaze lands on me and her eyes widen.
“What…what are you doing here? It’s almost midnight.” She’s been crying and those marks on her arms tell me a story I know I won’t like hearing.
I ruffle my hair while four cops and a beautiful woman stare back at me. And Annie, who wrings her hands and sighs every few seconds.
“Dustin called me. He said there was trouble and he’s scared.”
“What?” Evalina’s desperate tone breaks my heart, but before she bursts through her own front door, I grasp her arm. This action ruffles the policeman right beside her, but she waves him off.
“I’ll check on him. You do what you need to do out here, okay?”
“I didn’t know he…Did he see what happened?” Her gaze darts between me and the closed door.
“Not that he told me. He’ll be okay. I’ll sit with him.” She nods and lets me enter her apartment without argument. The police resume their questioning, but my focus is on a scared little boy who called me for help. I don’t intend to let him down. “Hey, Dustin? Where are you, bud?”
Dustin bursts through a door at the end of the hall, runs all the way down it, and leaps at me.
I manage to catch him in my arms and hug him.
The kid is that age where he wants to act like a man, but he’s not too big to cry when he’s scared.
And he must be plenty scared right now, judging by the way he sobs into my shoulder.
“Hey, it’s okay. I just saw your mom. She’s all right.”
“I don’t like her going on dates,” he sobs.
Me either, bud. “I get it. What happened tonight was scary, but she’s going to be fine.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know who else to call.” I put him down and kneel to his level.
“You did fine. I’ll always come help you when you need me, okay? Why don’t we play that video game you told me about? I’m sure she won’t mind you being out of bed so late given the circumstances. What do you think?”
“Yeah!” He dries his tears and sets up the game in the living room. I’d be frustrated with Annie for leaving him alone in here if it weren’t for the fact that I get to be here, helping him through a rough time.
Another half hour passes while we sit and play.
He explains how to go through a whole adventure, but after a while, his head starts bobbing and I know he’s too tired to stay awake much longer.
“Why don’t you lay down for a bit, and I’m positive your mom will check on you when she finishes up. It shouldn’t be much longer.”
I’m convinced he’s exhausted when he doesn’t put up a fight, but heads down the hallway. “Koa?” he calls from his door. “Can you…Can you bring me some water?”
“Sure thing, kiddo.” I find a cup in one of the cabinets, fill it up, and head down the hall. Dustin is already in bed, staring out the window. The lights from the police cars flash in his room, reminding him there was something to fear not long ago. “Want me to sit with you for a while?”
“Can you read a story?” His pink cheeks remind me he’s still a kid trying to be a brave man.
“I’d love to. What have you got here?” I flip through a few books on his nightstand and grab one. “This good?”
“It’s Mom’s favorite. I like it.”
Settling on the bed beside him, I crack the book open. “You know, when I was twelve, my sister Katie got really sick. I remember being so scared that I cried all the time until she was better.”
“You cried when you were twelve?”
I chuckle and nudge him over so I don’t slip off the edge. “Well, yeah. You’re never too big to cry when something scares you. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. You can be a strong, protective man and still get scared.”
“I wonder if Tom Sawyer ever got scared?”
“I don’t know. Haven’t read this one in a while. You sure your mom won’t mind me reading it? Looks like you’re reading it together, yeah?”
“She won’t mind. This is where we left off.” He points to the bookmark and settles in.
I don’t make it through a whole page before his soft, steady breaths catch my attention. He’s sound asleep, but I also notice the lights have stopped flashing. Peering out the curtain, I see everyone has left.
“You’re good with him.” Evalina leans against the doorframe, arms crossed. Her whisper barely floats into the room.
She pushes off the frame and crosses the room to kiss Dustin goodnight and tuck him in.
I drop the book on the nightstand and stretch before leaving her alone in the room with her son.
Out in the living room, I note that Annie has also gone.
I’m not sure if I’m a welcome guest in her home right now, but I like to think she won’t blast me for coming when her son called me.
When Evalina emerges from the hallway, she’s pulling on a cardigan sweater, but she can’t hide her tear-streaked cheeks.
It takes every ounce of willpower I have not to pull her into my arms, to comfort her, remind her that she deserves the whole world from a man, not whatever happened tonight.
She keeps her distance, stops with several feet between us.
“Thank you for coming for him. I’m only sorry that he—” Her voice chokes and the tears start again.
I can’t help it, won’t bother trying anymore.
All I want is for her to be okay. I close the distance and pull her into my arms. At first, she’s stiff and unsure, then she melts into my embrace and lets it all go.
Every tear, every frustration, everything that’s been bottled up for who knows how long.
So I hold her, hug her close, let her have the moment to anchor herself again.
Moments pass and quiet takes over, so soft and sweet that I wonder if she somehow fell asleep with her head against my chest. I brush her hair from her face, which brings a soft sigh from the depths of her chest. She stands upright and dries her face.
“I’m sorry. Thank you for being such a good friend.”
I don’t like how she says friend. I shirk off the shiver as it grates over my ears and refocus.
“What happened?”
Evalina shakes her head and rolls her eyes.
“So stupid. I was dumb to agree to a date at all, let alone with a regular at my shop. Nick seemed nice at first. I mean, he has been for over a year. Every morning, same order, same wink when he leaves. Tonight he showed his true colors. He was rude to waitstaff, talked down to me, then when I wouldn’t kiss him—”
The grumble that works through my chest and out of my mouth is not missed. “When you wouldn’t kiss him, what?”
“He tried to argue it was owed to him and got a little handsy.” She raises her brow as if to ask what are you going to do about it. It could be a challenge, maybe not, but the smirk on her lips says there’s more to the story.
“And?”
She shrugs. “And I kicked him in the shin. He got madder, so I tased him and he fell face-first into the rosebushes.”
“You…you tased him?” I’m trying to picture her, taser in one hand with her other hand on her hip, zapping the guy until he falls into rosebushes.
It’s not that hard to conjure the image.