Page 2 of His Flawed Ride
Tack stands on the wrap around porch to the clubhouse, hands on hips, and a frown on his face.
“Hey, you can relax, I’m only here for a flying visit. Have you got a spare cabin for my family to stay in?”
“No need to ask, brother. I’ll have my old lady bring over clean sheets and groceries.”
“Thanks.”
Rayna and Sebastian, phones glued to their hands, wander off.
“Don’t go too far, Ray!”
Without turning, she yells back, “We won’t!”
“And watch out for your cousin, Seb!”
“I will!”
I unlatch the baby seat and pass Roman to Holly while I collect our bags.
“Put them down, I’ll get a prospect to take them over to where you’ll be staying,” Tack orders and I do as he says.
“So, why the flying visit? It’s a long way to come with the old lady and a new baby.”
Paranoia radiates from him and I’m glad I’m not the only one suffering.
“No need to worry. This is personal.”
His paranoia vanishes but unfortunately mine remains.
An hour after we’ve settled in, Holly is asking to visit with Nora. She’s been asking to visit and meet Grim and Nora’s baby son since he was born. I haven’t seen Nora since her and Grim drove off into the sunset and I wouldn’t have any interest in them now if it weren’t for my mistake.
While Holly gets herself and Roman ready to go, I’m in charge of getting Rayna and Sebastian ready.
“But, Dad, can’t we stay here? We’re in the middle of…”
Cutting her off, I say, “I don’t care what you’re in the middle of, get your shoes on and be ready to go in five minutes.”
“Dad…”
“Make me repeat myself and I’ll toss your phones off the mountain.”
“Daddy, you can’t throw Seb’s phone, Uncle Zach…”
Christ. I reach out to take their beloved phones and they both jump up to their feet and run out of the room.
I find Holly staring with a quizzical expression on her beautiful face.
“What?”
“You’re on edge, I’ve never seen you take it out on Rayna before.”
Instant guilt sets in but then I remember why I dragged my family here to the mountain. I’ll make it up to my daughter once this is dealt with.
Grim sees us in and my guard has never been built so high. Holly and Nora settle in the living room with Rayna and Sebastian sulking on their phones on the couch. There’s another regret, purchasing a phone for my daughter. I still don’t understand why she needs one at her age but as she spends all her time on it, it must be important to her.
I follow Grim into the kitchen and sit at his table while he grabs two beers from the fridge. I don’t particularly picture how my brothers live when they move out of the clubhouse, but noting the homeliness around me, it suits him.
“I haven’t heard or seen anything to report since I’ve been back, I would’ve let you know if I had.”
