Page 120 of A River of Crows

“Fine.” Kyle raised his nose. “If you won’t help me, I’m sure the fine people on Facebook will.” He turned his phone toward them, displaying a perfect shot of Ridge’s face.

Sloan charged for him, but Jay got to him first. He grabbed Kyle by the collar and slammed him against the wall.

“Jay, stop!” Anna cried.

For all his talk, Kyle didn’t even try to fight back or resist. “Breaking parole already, Dad?” he asked.

“Give me the phone,” their father demanded. When Kyle didn’t respond, Jay bounced him against the wall again. “Now!”

Kyle dropped the phone, and Jay kicked it across the floor toward Felicity, but Sloan got to it first. She raised her foot and stomped down with all her weight. The screen cracked. Sloan kept stomping until it was completely smashed into pieces. When she was finished, all eyes were on her. She walked past them all, through the littered pieces of plastic and glass, stopping only to yank down the Welcome Home banner before walking out the front door.

Sloan looked down at her cell phone lighting up on the center console. “It’s Dad again. Turn it off, please.”

Ridge powered the phone down. “That was rough. Seeing Dad chase after us like that.”

“It’s the least he could do.”

“You don’t have to play the tough guy anymore, Sloan. You aren’t alone.”

Sloan’s hands tightened around the wheel. “Well, after our last meeting, I felt pretty alone.”

“I’m sorry. What you said about Libby and Vince hurt because they raised me. But I get that what they did wasn’t right. None of it.”

“So that’s why you showed up tonight with Noah? So Mom, Vince, and Libby can all go to jail? Because that’s what will happen.”

“Kyle will calm down,” Ridge said. “Don’t you think?”

“No,” Sloan said. “I don’t.”

Ridge hit the dash. “I’m so stupid. I didn’t think it through. I just wanted to see Dad, so I told myself it would be okay.”

“You’ve always been the eternal optimist, Ridge. I can’t be mad about that. But we should probably find Mom a lawyer.”

Ridge stared out the windshield with a vacant expression. “Whatever happens, thanks for having my back tonight.”

Sloan shrugged. “That’s what sisters do.”

Ridge turned up the radio, only to turn it right back down. “Anna seemed nice, though. I’ll give her that. She’s a saint for staying with Dad after everything.”

Sloan rolled her eyes. “More like a fool. But it doesn’t matter. I’m done with them all.”

“Even Dad?” Ridge asked.

“Especially Dad.”

“Well, you’ve got me,” Ridge said. “Let’s hang out tomorrow before I head back home.”

Sloan nodded, keeping her eyes on the road. She was surprised at how sad it made her, the thought of Ridge leaving. “Will you come back for Thanksgiving? Assuming we aren’t all in the slammer?”

“Well, in a perfect world, yeah, but I can’t very well have Thanksgiving with you and Mom,” Ridge said.

Sloan hadn’t even considered that. “Yeah, guess not.”

“So, what’s the plan with her?” Ridge asked. “Are you gonna quit your job and stay here?”

Sloan straightened her arms. “Not sure. I can probably get a teaching job easily enough. There’s a social studies teaching position open at Dylan’s school. I really don’t have anything keeping me in Houston.”

“Yeah, I can see you teaching social studies,” Ridge said. “You once read a book about the Louisiana Purchase for fun. But really, can you trust Mom at home while you teach?”

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