Page 42 of Fastlander Fighter

He cleared his throat, leaned his elbows on the table, and clasped his hands in front of his mouth as he uttered quietly, “They want to meet Ruger.”

Her eyebrows shot up and probably showed off seven forehead wrinkles. “Come again?”

“Gunner told them we’re hanging out and you have a kid, and they want to meet the kid. They remember you and they want to see you again, of course. But they mentioned wanting to meet Ruger.”

“Aaaaaah. I see. You’re freaking out right now, aren’t you?”

“Yep.”

Well, Sloane did love his honesty. “That’s getting really deep really fast.”

“I told them we were just friends, but stupid fucking Gunner already set the narrative in their heads. I’m going to fight him tonight.” There was promise in his voice.

“Maybe instead of fighting him, we can try peace and love and you can fix whatever heavy tension I felt between you and Gunner for the majority of last night.”

“No can do, Scooter. I tried to be respectful for a minute, and then he went to our parents as a grown man and put himself as the prodigal son once again.”

She took a bite and narrowed her eyes at him. “They favor him?”

“Yes. Always have. Poor Gunner has temper issues. Poor Gunner needs understanding. Poor Gunner had a mate bond go bad, which, by the way, was his own fucking fault. He picked one of his friend’s girlfriends right after they broke up, so Mom should be calling him a slut.”

“I don’t know if that means what you think it means,” she mused, but he continued on like she hadn’t talked at all.

“Poor Gunner is out of control of his animal and is having trouble maintaining friendships, which is also his fault because he’s a splinter. Poor Gunner was given an Alpha position in a brand-new Crew from Damon Daye himself. Poor Gunner needs me in his Crew because that’s what good brothers do. My whole existence has revolved around what is happening with Gunner, but you know what?”

“What?” she asked softly.

“I existed too.” The raw vulnerability in his voice drew her up short.

“Of course you did. You were on the honor roll all through high school, and a multi-sport athlete, and social, and in all the clubs, and you were nice to people, and you were strong.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“You looked strong. Tough. Untouchable. If anyone went at you, you laughed them off or put them in their place. By your junior year, no one wanted to mess with you. Your reputation was pretty big.”

“Yeah, and do you know where all that effort came from?”

“Where?”

“I was desperately trying to be as big as Gunner’s problems. I was doing it in a way that felt right, and no one gave a shit.”

“I did.”

He got quiet and just stared at her.

“I watched you. Even after we had our moment and you stopped talking to me, I was still proud of you. I was still enamored. I still felt the way other people looked at you with respect. I bet your parents appreciated you being the easier son more than they know how to say.”

He cleared his throat and frowned down at his food. After a few moments of heavy silence, he said, “They have said it, I just didn’t understand what they meant until now.”

“You dumb boy,” she joked. “With your communication and trust issues.”

He snorted. “Whatever. I’m a gem.”

She giggled. “Mess, but hey, so am I. There’s no shame in the mess. Perfection is for losers.”

He chuckled and took a big bite of brisket sandwich. “I was trying to have a pity party, and you took the wind out of my sails.”

“Mmm, try harder.”

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