Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
MOJAVE
I wasn’t sure what happened when Rachel was in the house, but when she came out, she looked…
defeated. I’d never seen that look on her face before.
She was steady and determined and caring.
Seeing the defeat and heartache in her expression made me want to step in and protect her.
But I didn't know what I was protecting her from.
After Frankie was safely inside the house and the door locked behind her, I followed Rachel out of the front gate and fell into step beside her, walking her to her car parked in front of the school like I always did.
“What happened in there?” I asked after a long moment of silence.
Rachel didn’t answer right away. She was introspective, quiet, and even though she stared straight ahead, I didn't think she actually saw anything in front of her.
She looked a lot like I felt when I was having a rough day.
Like trying to wrap her head around her own emotions was taking up all of her capacity.
Speaking from experience, it rarely helped.
If I was that deep in my head, I usually needed someone to pull me out again before I could figure out how to handle it.
“Rachel?”
She blinked, blue eyes finally lifting to meet mine. “I’m sorry. What?”
“What happened?” I repeated. “You look upset.”
Her brows furrowed a little and she looked away again to somewhere off to the right.
“I’ve been working this job for years. I thought I’d seen it all.
Kids in drug houses, in abusive homes, on the streets for being who they are and their family not accepting them.
Every time I think I’ve seen the worst of the world, something new shows up to lower my opinion even further.
” Letting out a long breath, she shook her head slowly.
“Frankie’s parents… They’re not drug addicts.
They’re not alcoholics. They’re not even physically abusive.
They just… don’t care. They don’t see anything that I’ve brought up as an issue.
When she’s at school, she’s the school’s problem.
When she’s getting bullied, she’s expected to handle it herself.
” Her face screwed up in frustration. “Her father actually said she should be handling her conflicts with violence. Hit them back and they’ll eventually leave her alone.
Neither wants to do the emotional labor of loving or caring for their daughter.
Neither wants to protect her. Their families aren’t any better.
They forced two young teens to carry and keep a baby they weren’t ready for, and now they expect them to raise her without any outside help because it’s their responsibility and they should be able to handle it.
Just like Frankie is expected to do with her own problems.”
Somehow that didn’t surprise me. Frankie’s parents wouldn’t have just come up with that way of thinking on their own.
They learned it from somewhere. And they were teaching their daughter to think the same way.
Which was why Frankie was so independent.
She didn’t see a problem with what was going on in her life. She was too little to know any better.
“When I told the parents if changes weren’t made that more drastic measures would be taken, Frankie’s mother said ‘Fine. Take her.’ Like it meant nothing to her if she lost custody of her own daughter.”
My feet froze where I stood as I looked at Rachel in horror. “What?”
She nodded, stopping to face me, her expression pained. “They see her as a burden, not as their child. They don’t care enough to put in the energy to prevent her from being taken away.”
My head whipped around toward the direction of Frankie’s house again.
If her parents were so unwilling to care for her, then she wasn’t safe in that house.
My house wouldn’t be much of an improvement, but at least she’d know she was safe.
I’d rather have her with me than leave her with people who saw her as a burden.
It was a damn miracle she hadn’t adopted that mindset yet on her own.
She was still a bright and bubbly kid. At what age did what her parents say and think of her start changing who she was?
Rachel’s hand on my arm stopped me from going back to get Frankie, her smile tremulous.
“I can see it in your face that you want to march back there and get her. You can’t, Mojave.
That’d be kidnapping and it wouldn’t help Frankie.
” She put her hand up before I could argue.
“I’m not going to leave her there. I’m going to officially recommend to my superiors that Frankie be removed from the home until such a time that her parents can be trusted to care for Frankie in all the ways she needs.
They’ll likely get court mandated therapy and parenting courses at the very least. I know it’s hard, but let the system handle it. It’s what it’s there for.”
I hated that I couldn’t argue with that. As much as I wanted to take Frankie away, I had to let Rachel do her job. She’d protect Frankie better than I could because she’d have the damn system to support her. I was just a random guy who took care of Frankie.
Forcing my feet to keep walking away from that house was harder than I expected.
We were both a little tense when we arrived at Rachel’s car.
Frankie’s situation rattled around in my head, and I needed to figure out a way to keep my cool when I eventually bumped into her parents again.
Knowing they were willing to discard her like trash made me want to hurt someone.
“You said earlier you were feeling off lately. Can I ask why?” Rachel asked, drawing my attention again.
I grimaced. I’d hoped we’d skipped that conversation thanks to Frankie. I should’ve known Rachel would circle back. She was too smart to just let that kind of thing go.
“You don’t have to give me details, if it makes you uncomfortable,” she added, big blue eyes studying my face carefully. “I know about your military service. That’s not any of my business. I just wanted to know if I could help.”
Her reassurance helped, which was a first. I didn’t usually talk about my anxiety to anyone. Knowing she wouldn’t push for details helped.
“It’s just been… a little loud lately.”
She pursed her lips, nodding. “I guess I can see that. Kids are loud in general, but you’ve also been taking Frankie with you to the clubhouse and to your friends’ workplaces.
I’m guessing you aren’t normally this social?
” When I shook my head, she didn’t look surprised.
Just thoughtful. “Maybe instead of bringing Frankie to the clubhouse or a restaurant or somewhere crowded, we can take her to the park for a picnic or to the library. Kids like quiet activities on occasion. It doesn’t always have to be something exciting. ”
My brows furrowed as I stared at her. Since the day we met, she’d been accommodating. I kept waiting for her to ask questions or to make comments on how I wasn’t stable enough to watch out for Frankie. She never did. She just… suggested plans that might be easier on me? Why?
We stopped next to her car and she turned to smile up at me. “I’ll try to think of more ideas tonight. I can share them with you and Frankie after school tomorrow, see what might work for the both of you. I–”
I wasn’t thinking when I leaned in to kiss her. It was like I couldn’t help myself. I jerked away after barely a brush of my lips against hers, feeling just as surprised as she looked.
Her pale cheeks darkened beneath the sharp lighting of the streetlight she always parked under. She didn’t look upset though. Just startled.
“Sorry. I don’t–” I shook my head. “I should go.”
“Wait, Mojave,” she said, putting a hand on my chest to stop me. Her eyes searched mine, and I jerked my gaze away, uneasy at the idea of what she might see. Why the hell did it feel like she could feel straight into my soul?
Her hand moved from my chest to the back of my neck, and she lifted her toes to press a chaste kiss to my lips. It yanked my attention back to her face and I felt like someone knocked the wind out of me when she gave me a shy smile.
“I’ll see you tomorrow. Okay?”
“Yeah,” I croaked, still staring at her.
When she pulled back, it felt like she took all the warmth with her and I fought off a shiver as she opened her car door and slipped inside.
My eyes moved to the back seat like it always did, ensuring she was safe, but dragged back to her face like a magnet to metal.
I couldn’t make myself look away for more than a few seconds.
Not until she pulled out of the parking lot and drove away.
I was stuck in my head just like Rachel had been when I pulled into the parking lot for Killian’s shop.
A familiar bike was parked alongside his and I felt a little tension ease from my shoulders as I parked and headed inside.
At least it wasn’t some stranger I had to wait out until I could speak to my friend.
Prez was in Killian’s chair, getting some new ink on his chest. I didn’t ask, heading for the mini fridge I knew was behind the counter and pulling out a bottle of water.
I didn’t even look in their direction until I’d inhaled more than half of it.
The cold still wasn’t enough to pull me out of my head.
“Please tell me there’s not some new insanity I need to deal with,” Prez commented after a moment, his eyes locked on me.
Killian had paused what he was doing at one point but after a quick once over to ensure I was okay, he bent back to his work without a word.
He knew me better than Prez did. He knew when I didn’t want to talk and when I did.
“There’s not,” I murmured, dropping into the chair behind the counter. Not that the distance did any good in getting Prez off my case. He raised an expectant eyebrow at me when I finally glanced his way. Maybe a stranger would’ve been better.
“He doesn’t need details, man. Just tell him enough so that he knows it’s got nothing to do with him and the crew,” Killian suggested without looking up. “Prez, stop tensing or you’re gonna fuck up my lines.”
“It’s not about the crew,” I parroted. It wasn’t until Killian shot me a dirty look that I added more. “I kissed Rachel.”
That made Killian straighten, his eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Really? That’s… good... Right?”
I shrugged. Maybe I’d be able to figure that out if they stopped pestering me about it.
Prez looked between us with a frown. “Why wouldn’t it be? Is there something I don’t know?”
“Dude, you need to chill,” a new voice commented.
I jerked, surprised, and whipped my head around.
The woman was unfamiliar, her multicolored hair in a messy bun on top of her head.
She had almost as much ink as Killian did, and she looked way more comfortable in the shop than a stranger would be. Another hookup maybe?
“I’ll chill when people stop targeting my crew,” Prez growled. Killian shot him an exasperated look and he laid back again, scowling at the ceiling instead.
“Mojave, meet Summer,” Killian introduced as he bent back to his work. “She’s taking a chair here for a while. Maybe bring in some female clients.”
She lifted her chin in greeting, then raised one pierced eyebrow. “Why does you kissing someone sound like such a big deal?”
Because it was. I just didn't know how to handle it yet.