Page 25 of Securing Samantha

“He’s checking in with Ash and working until we relieve him.” The men exchanged a silent communication. Whiskey couldn’t help but feel he wasn’t privy to whatever job they currently seemed engrossed in. Respecting their need for privacy, he clamped his mouth shut as he grabbed the plates to set the table.

“You making us guess?” Taco brought over a selection of drinks and sat down.

“I fucked up,” he told the team.

“Tell us something we don’t know,” Saint laid the napkins on the table before grabbing a soda and sitting next to his friend. “It’s in the air, buddy. Ya wanna tell us what stupid ass thing you did?”

“I served Samantha with divorce papers yesterday. I gave her everything.” Whiskey’s body felt heavy as he confessed to the team.

Shadow brought over the meat while Taco brought the fresh guacamole and the rest of the fixings along with a bag of chips.

Shadow sat down gently in his seat. His gaze penetrated through Whiskey. “After dinner, I’ll go check on her. What the fuck were you even thinking, man? Claire told you not to make any big life decisions until you settled in.”

“I thought she and LJ deserved to have a life and not be stuck in limbo while I figure out how to make it through the day and eventually my life,” Whiskey explained.

“From the look on your face, it doesn’t seem like it went very well,” Taco chimed in.

Whiskey rested his elbows on the table. He placed his head in his hands. “I hurt her. I tried to apologize this afternoon. She told me it was over.”

Saint leaned over his plate. “Ya’ll gonna have to catch me up. Ya went over today after asking for a divorce yesterday and you’re surprised she said it’s over?”

Whiskey sighed. “I wanted her to know I changed my mind. I want to get to know my son and her. Maybe kind of start over.”

Shadow nodded. “How did it work for you? You’ve shut her out from the moment you arrived on the mountain. She’s attended group sessions, individual sessions plus dealing with her own trauma and worrying about you. She searched for you all night after you had her served. The divorce papers wrecked her, yet her first concern remained on you.”

“Damn, Dude, give him a break.” Taco playfully punched Shadow in the arm to relieve the tension around the table.

Shadow shook his head as he quietly spoke, “It’s one thing for Claire to give Whiskey a pass. We’re his friends and we let him have a pass every time something felt daunting to him. I’m not up to handing out any more free passes. You own your shit.” He pointed to Whiskey. “Samantha stayed loyal to you even through death. She’s beautiful, smart, and talented. Plenty of men asked her out and she refused. The home she no longer lives in resembles a shrine to you. You’re worried about making her stay in limbo? Buddy, she’d give anything to spend one more day with your ungrateful ass.”

Silence filled the room.

“What do I do?” asked Whiskey.

The plates moved down the table as the men listened to the facts of their new mission.

Saint scooted to the edge of his chair his elbow relaxed on the table while the other rested on his knee. His voice lowered as he grew serious, “How’d she tell ya?”

Shadow leaned forward with both elbows on his table. “No. Wait. Start from the beginning.”

Taco jumped up and grabbed four beers. He placed them on the table before pulling his chair out.

“She said she wished me the best, threatened dire consequences if I hurt the boy and hoped I healed,” Whiskey told his teammates glumly.

“Nah, Man. Start from the beginning. What did she do?” Saint asked.

“She stood there,” Whiskey answered.

Shadow shook his head. “No. Be specific.”

Whiskey ran his hand across his face. “I told ya exactly what she said. I don’t know why it matters if she’s sitting or standing, she said we’re done.”

Taco whistled, Saint chuckled, and Shadow laughed out loud.

“Brother, you’ve definitely forgotten the ways of women,” Taco added.

“What did I miss?” Whiskey asked confused.

“Men, it’s time we school Whiskey on how to rate a pissed off woman,” Shadow announced.

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