Page 51 of Could Be Worse

“You care about him and his girls, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Well, we can help him, but he’s a proud man. He wants to earn his living, not take handouts.” Dad paced again. “But all I need to do is make one phone call, and he won’t lose his house.”

“Then make the call,” I told him, my voice thick with emotion. I was practically in tears. “They can’t lose their home, Dad.” Where would Bryce go with the girls? I guess Nana Bea’s. Still, I didn’t want them to have to move. I remembered what it was like to move into our first home with my dad. I felt safe and secure, and I wanted that for Cat and Tori.

“Okay, done. Do you want to tell him?” Dad asked.

“No. Just do it. I’m leaving in a couple of days.”

Mom gasped. “Honey, so soon? Give him time to consider what he’s giving up.”

“It wouldn’t make a difference. I need to get out of Minnesota.”

The sadness on her face broke a piece in me. I knew my family wanted me nearby, and if things had worked out with Bryce, I might have stayed. But I couldn’t. It would hurt too much if I ran into him and the girls in town. I would forever wonder what might have been, if my dad hadn’t been a biker and I’d grown up normal… whatever normal was.

Returning to the Big Apple was what I needed to pour myself into my dancing. I wouldn’t have a second to spare to think about him or the girls.

“When will you go?” Mom asked. “I was hoping we’d go to the fall festival together. Remember how fun it was to go through the corn maze and find the wartiest pumpkin in the patch? And eat an entire bag of kettle corn?”

“Each. You each powered through your own large bag.” Dad chuckled heartily. “Even when the bag was bigger than you, peanut, you finished it in one sitting.”

“It’s that yummy, babe. Right, Sadie?”

“Yes, it’s the best.” It would’ve been so much fun to take Bryce’s twins to the festival.

There wasn’t anything better than small-town events planned throughout the year. I loved them all: the Easter hunt and picnic, the Fourth of July parade and fireworks show, the fall festival. But my favorite was the Christmas tree lighting after Thanksgiving. There would be cocoa and caroling. Oh, we’d frozen our butts off most years, and those were the ones imprinted on my heart.

I’d missed experiencing the fun in Bastion. Manhattan was great, but it didn’t compare to the charm and tight community I had here in Minnesota. In a perfect world, I’d have both in one place, along with Bryce and his girls.

“Will you stay until Sunday?” Mom made praying hands. “It’ll be for old time’s sake.”

“Gosh, you make it sound like I’ll never come home again.”

Dad tilted his head with attitude. “Peanut, until this visit, it had been five years.”

Thank you, Dad, for the reminder. But he wasn’t wrong. I had become consumed with dancing and chasing my dreams, and I’d forgotten about my family and my hometown.

After the amazing naughty times I’d had with Bryce, and being with the twins, I would have considered staying in town and opening the dance school. Until meeting Bryce, having my own family had never entered my mind, but maybe that was because I hadn’t found the right guy to be my partner and lover.

“Earth to Sadie,” Mom called and shook my hand.

I blinked a few times. “Oh, sorry. Guess I was lost in my thoughts.”

“Thoughts of Bryce?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll just say it was fun while it lasted.”

“Sounds like you’re giving up.” Dad hiked his brow. “We’re Quinns and not known for throwing in the towel.”

“We also belong to a MC and y’all aren’t Boy Scouts.”

“Eh, could be worse.” He shrugged, then kissed me on the head. “We could be gangsters, like the Remotti family. We’re way cooler than them.”

“True, very true. I guess I’ll stay for the festival.” Maybe I’d run into Bryce and the girls…

18

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