Page 131 of Tulips and Lost Time

Marc takes another step closer, hesitant as he looks from me to Kane. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Nothing.” I push away from the table and head across the room, scooping Billy out of his arms because I can’t bear for us to be apart. I nearly lost her. And now, I need her. “I’m ready to go,” I rasp. “But I still don’t have a car, so?—”

“You can go in ours,” Jess murmurs, stopping in the door and softening her eyes. “You and Bill can ride with Kane, and I’ll drive our girls up.”

Contemplative, I look at Kane, as though to ask, that okay? But already, he nods and starts my way. Clapping me on the shoulder, he nudges me through the door and in the direction of the front entry. “I already have the car seat in the back, and Jess will get the baby bag in case you need things while we’re there.”

“Laine and Ang are already at the hospital,” Jess adds, turning and ushering her girls through the house. “And Britt and Jack, too. They left their kids at the estate with Jack’s sister, so no extra noise.”

“I’ll swing by and grab Meg and meet you there,” Marcus continues. “Chance wants to see Billy anyway, so…”

“Scotch and Sammy are also gonna meet us there,” Jess concludes. “Alex and Oz are on shift, but you know they’ll make it work.”

“That’s a lot of people.” I emerge through the front door and into the sunlight outside. Immediately, Billy’s eyes snap shut and her lips pale as she wrinkles them together. “Are we sure we wanna have that many?—”

“Kari and Dom are loved,” Marc rumbles. “And so are you and Bill. Everyone wants to be there today.”

“Is there much we have to do?” I look at Kane, though fuck knows why. He’s not a lawyer. Or a hospital administrator. “Like, stuff we have to sign, or…?”

“I think just a couple of forms.” He leads me to his truck, bigger even than the one that created this fucking domino effect in my life. Then opening the back door, he steps out of the way instead of taking Billy from my arms. “Most of it’s been taken care of, I think. So it shouldn’t take long.”

“And then we just…” Carefully, I place Billy in her car seat and shuffle her dress around so I can secure the five-point straps. “Then we can take her? No more delays?”

“As far as I’m aware.” He waits for me to finish buckling, smiling, albeit small, when I glance back and meet his eyes. “Last I heard, everything is pretty much good to go. And if not, then one call to Soph, and it’ll be dealt with, no questions asked.” He nods toward Billy when I pull away. “Wanna ride with her, or up front with me?”

I consider for only a beat, before climbing into the back and settling in so I can see my sweet baby. Her eyes already droop, sleepiness taking over after a fresh outfit change and a bottle of milk.

Shutting the door, Kane walks to Jess and presses a kiss on her cheek. They talk for only a second before he nods and turns away, then he comes back and slides into the driver’s seat and shuts the door. “Laine just texted and said Meg and Britt already arrived. So we’re not waiting for anyone except us.”

“Guess that makes you the guest of honor, Bill.” I reach into the carrier and take her hand in mine, sliding my finger into her fist and swallowing when she squeezes hers shut. “You ready to go see your mommy?”

Kane pulls out of the driveway, but only after Jess and Marcus go first, then he settles onto the street as cars come along and match our speed in the back.

“We got an armored escort?” I peer back for just long enough to catch the rumble of a Hummer. “Was it necessary?”

“Drunk driver pussy was let out on bail.” He catches my eyes in the rearview mirror. “Tells me the roads aren’t safe. I’m just waiting on you to give me the thumbs up on that, then we can head on over to the trailer park and pay him a visit, Bishop style.”

“What are you gonna do?” I gulp the choking lump from the middle of my throat. “Beat him to a pulp? Alex already hit him that day at the scene.”

Kane scoffs. “Alex had to stop at one or risk his entire career.” He grins, wide and wild. “We won’t be using our fists.” But then he shrugs. “Unless you wanna. You can hit him as much as you want, until you get that rage out of your belly. Then we’ll slit his fuckin’ throat and be done with it.”

I glance up again, meeting his eyes, and know, he’s not joking.

Bishop’s do not make idle threats.

“Blood in, Lenaghan. I’ll take care of it, or I’ll help you take care of it. Either way, he won’t be driving for much longer.”

“You could go to prison for saying that stuff.”

He laughs, hitting the turn signal when the convoy ahead of us does the same. “I’m never going to prison. Don’t worry about it.”

“How do you get rid of the rage?” I chew on the inside of my cheek or risk accidentally squeezing Billy’s hand and hurting the tiny, fragile bones inside. “He hurt my family, Bish. What he did was…” I shake my head. “It was unforgivable. Maybe, if it was his first offence, it wouldn’t be so bad. One mistake is just, ya know, a mistake. But the same mistakes repeated…”

“That’s malice,” he finishes. “Or negligence, at best. We know he wasn’t aiming for you guys that day. So it wasn’t personal.”

“It feels fucking personal to me! I was the one tearing Kari open, like a savage, trying to save them all.”

“It wasn’t personal,” he repeats, slower, gentler, “but he made that choice to drink and drive. He’s made the same, fateful decision in the past which ended someone else’s life. Wayne Hart has hurt too many, even some we know personally.” He checks the mirror and meets my eyes. “I’m done letting the legal system handle it. Now it’s our turn. That’s how I deal with the rage.” His lips twitch. “I do what the law can’t. I did it for Laine when Graham hurt her, and I’ll do it for Kari for the same reasons. Word on the street is that his son is asking around to see who’s gonna deal with him. He wants him to pay after a childhood of abuse. Eliminating the issue is usually pretty fucking productive in calming my desire to burn the entire town down. Seems we get to help more than a couple of people dealing with this one.”

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