Chapter 18 #2
Mom smiles at him. “I know this has to be hard for you.” She looks between us. “Both of you, but we’re happy.”
Ryder and I nod in acceptance. That’s all we can ask for. They both accepted our relationship with Les; we can show them the same respect.
Ryder clears his throat. “Dad, there’s something I need to tell you too.” He rubs the back of his neck. “A couple of things, actually.” Rocco raises an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. “First, I should tell you that Zane is back in Les’ life.”
Rocco’s eyes narrow, and all I see is Ryder. The resemblance is uncanny between them. “In what way?”
“It’s a long story, but he’s at the house. With Les,” Ryder explains, trying to control his own emotions, so his dad doesn’t pick up on them.
“That’s understandable,” Mom says. “They went through something terrible together. It would make sense they would lean on each other.”
I look at Ryder, waiting for him to explain that it’s more than that. When he doesn’t, I sigh. “Mom. Zane and Les used to be together. They’re trying again.”
Mom’s mouth drops open, and Rocco’s eyes narrow further. “You have a fucking cop in your house?” Rocco growls. For fuck’s sake, they’re just alike.
“He isn’t a cop anymore,” Ryder says.
“He saved her,” Mom says to Rocco. He turns to her, and all the tension leaves his shoulders. Seeing my mom have such an effect on him makes me start feeling happy for them. It doesn’t mean I’m going to call Rocco dad, though. “What he does or doesn’t do for a living shouldn’t matter.”
“Katie dear,” Rocco says, rubbing a thumb down Mom’s chin. “Did you forget who they are?”
Katie? I’ve never heard anyone call Mom Katie. She usually hates it.
Mom shakes her head. “It still shouldn’t matter.
” Mom turns to Ryder. “If they need each other, that’s what they should get.
You guys have no clue what they went through.
I remember when you first brought her home.
” Mom swallows, remembering what we all are.
Les was malnourished, scared of every sound, and cried at the drop of a hat.
“That girl out there isn’t the same. Something has changed.
All your love and probably this Zane guy. ”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Rocco prepares himself. “What else did you need to tell me?”
Ryder looks at me for a second, then back at his dad. That one glance shows me how scared he is about what he has to say next. I have a feeling about what it is, and I know this part isn’t easy. Nudging his knee with mine, I show him the support he needs.
“I’m not only dating Les.” Ryder squares his shoulders, sitting taller on the couch. “I’m with Holden too.”
Time freezes. I watch Mom’s eyes widen before she looks at Rocco. So many emotions are rolling across his face that I can’t keep up; shock stands out the most.
“You aren’t gay, son,” Rocco says dismissively.
That muscle in Ryder’s jaw starts ticking. “No. I’m bisexual, Dad.”
“Since when?” Rocco scoffs. “It will pass.”
“That doesn’t just pass,” I speak up on Ryder’s behalf. “He’s trying to tell you something important, and you dismiss him? After we just accepted this?” I gesture between him and Mom.
Rocco turns dark eyes on me; I refuse to react. “I didn’t dismiss him, boy.”
I stand up. “I’m not your boy,” I grit out. Walking around the back of the couch, I level a look at my mom. “I think this is a conversation they need to have alone.” She stands up, giving Rocco a look before walking to Ryder and taking one of his hands.
“Holden’s a lovely boy. You’re very lucky,” she says, squeezing his hand before letting it go to walk to me.
“Thank you,” Ryder says softly before squaring his shoulders again at his dad.
I squeeze his shoulder in support before leading Mom out of the office. Mom hooks her arm with mine and leads me through the backdoor onto a patio beside the pool. We get settled side by side.
“He’s just in shock,” Mom says finally, defending Rocco. “I know how that feels.”
“I hope he knows how much it took for Ryder to tell him that.”
Mom turns with a smile. “You and Ryder are still good?”
“Yeah. All that other shit doesn’t matter anymore,” I answer.
“How do you feel about this Zane guy?”
I sigh. “I didn’t like it. But I’m trying for Les. Even a blind person can see the difference he makes in her.”
“I’m not going to pretend I understand this relationship dynamic; I still have a lot to learn. But this won’t work if all of you guys don’t agree.”
“I know. Ryder has a lot of stuff to get over regarding Zane. He’ll get there. He did with me.” I turn to Mom. “Are you really happy, Mom?”
“I am. Rocco is,” she smiles, “everything I ever wanted but didn’t know I needed.”
“Mom, what the hell did you ever see in Frankie?” I’ve wondered about this for a year, and now she’s with someone like Rocco, who is Frankie’s polar opposite.
I might disagree with how he just handled Ryder, but he’s a great guy.
I got to know him while Les was gone, and I can see where Ryder got his courage.
Mom stares off into space for so long that I don’t think she will answer.
She finally turns sad eyes on me. “The Frankie you know isn’t the Frankie I knew.
” She turns back to face the pool. “He was sweet, charismatic, and he set his sights on me the first time he stepped into town. He told me he was there to open a chain of hotels, which wasn’t a total lie.
He didn’t tell me that he was married with children and the leader of a powerful crime family.
” She finally looks at me again. “After I found out I was pregnant with you, his true colors came out. I was so blinded by my love for him I never saw how truly evil he was.” I grab her hand when her eyes start filling with tears.
“He told me to get rid of you, and when I disagreed with that, he threatened to cut you out himself. I couldn’t have that, so I ran. ”
“Mom, you don’t have to do this.” I didn’t realize how bad it was. I thought he had just paid her to go away.
“No. You need to know.” She swallows hard.
“He found me when I was about seven months pregnant and had a new deal for me. He would pay me to disappear. Go back to my hole-in-the-wall town and never mention his name when it came to him being your father.” She grabs both my hands.
“I never touched that money; I just wanted you to live. I wanted to live to raise you, so I took it and moved back to North Carolina. I never heard from him again.”
I pull her into a hug, both of us shaking with emotion. If I could kill Frankie all over again, I fucking would. Les took care of that for all of us, but Mom doesn’t need to know that. Mom doesn’t even know what Frankie did to Les.
“I’m proud of you, Leo,” Mom whispers. “You found an amazing girl and an amazing family.”
“I’m proud of you too, Mom,” I whisper. “For getting the fuck away from him.”
In the back of my head, I always thought my mom just wanted the money.
If Rocco is what Mom wants, I can deal with that.
Depending on how he deals with Ryder.