Page 50 of Wait For Me

“I don’t know right now, Kip. I felt one way about Ash before I showed up at your house today. If I’d seen her on the street, I wouldn’t have ignored her. Maybe, we would have talked or something. I don’t know. Seeing her in your house, married to you, with a baby that no one told me about, and then the conversation we all had… It was a lot to process, and that all happened today, on a day where I have even more to work through than just the secret life you’ve been hiding from me. So, I don’t have answers for you there. When I do, you’ll be the first to know.”

I watched as Kip’s shoulders slumped.

“No matter what, you’re my brother,” Star spoke quietly, but she still held our rapt attention with her words. “Eventually, I want to know my nephew. I just need a little time to adjust to the fact that I have one and that his mom is someone that-”

“Used to be your best friend,” Kip said after he cut her off.

“The key part of that is ‘used to be’, Kip.”

Her brother’s eyes trailed to me again, a little accusation noticeable as he did so. “You forgave him.”

“I forgave her too. That doesn’t mean I trust her. That’s not something you can force, so give me time to figure things out.”

“Fine, but the more time you take before you go apologize to her, the less likely she’ll be to want you around.”

Star laughed then, but it sounded more dangerous than humorous. “Are you fucking with me, right now?”

“What? No, I’m serious.”

“Your wife never once apologized to me for what she did.”

“Yes, she did,” Kip argued.

“Oh? Were you there? Did you hear that with your own ears? She offered excuses, cried about how unfair I was being, and then she told me I needed to grow up and get over the fact that Bagger never wanted me to begin with.”

“No!” Kip argued again. “She told me that she apologized to you and that you would never accept it.”

“Then I have good reason not to trust her still, because that never happened.”

“Son of a bitch.” Kip’s anger was palpable. What was worse, is that I could see the indecision playing out on his face. He honestly didn’t know who to believe. I took hold of Star’s hand when she stiffened because it was clear she could sense it too.

Star stood. “I have to go,” she finally said before turning back to me. “I’ll get my lawyer to draw up paperwork once you send me the information I need, then we can see if it works out for both of us or not, okay?”

“Don’t go.” I wasn’t above begging.

Star smiled at me. “I actually had a meeting scheduled for later today that I should be getting ready for. I’ll text you my email.” Not even a minute later, she was gone, and Kip was left standing in my room slack-jawed by her abrupt disappearance. Me too, asshole.

“What was that about?”

I stared at him, not understanding the question.

“The lawyer shit, what was that about?” He explained.

“She might invest in my restaurant.”

“You asked my sister for money?”

“No fucker, I wouldn’t do that. She overheard me talking to Tripp about it.”

“You asked my dad for money?”

“Once again, no. Tripp wanted to know why I didn’t want the club to invest, we discussed my reasons. He understood, even though he didn’t like it.”

“What reasons?”

“They’re mine, man. No offense, but it isn’t something I want to discuss.”

“So, my sister heard you tell my dad that you didn’t want club money and she just jumped in to offer some up?”

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