Page 37 of Chasing the Wild
“Kayce.” He snaps down the radio line. “It’s Layla.”
There’s silence and only a faint hum of static.
“My Layla?”
No. NotyourLayla, dickhead. I want to burst in there and scream at them both. But I’m rooted to the spot.
“What the fuck’s going on, Dad?” He sounds pissed. Even though he has absolutely zero right to be. If anything I should be the one clawing his eyes out right now and demanding every cent he owes me, and now by extension, his father.
“Are you fucking my girl?” Kayce is drunk and mouthing off, and I’m stuck here in this hallway in a maze of indecision.
But Colt reacts faster than me. “It’s not like that. She needed help, and I gave her a job. End of story. The kid turned up here looking foryouthe night of the snow, and her car broke down.”
“So, what? You tucked her into your bed?”
“Watch yourself, son.” Colt sounds like he’s about to hurl the radio set at the wall.
“Then explain to me why the fuck you’ve got my girlfriend up there with you.”
Jesus. This is a nightmare. Between the man I nearly threw myself at a few minutes ago calling me a kid, and my ex-boyfriend being a drunk, jealous asshole, I don’t know what to do. Should I intervene? Would I be helping if I just try to talk to Kayce myself?
Does Colt really just see me as that? Some little girl who he’s just tolerating?
“I’m not getting into this with you. Nothing weird is going on. I’ve got a fucking business to run, and you’re not here to help me. So sue me for helpingyour girlout when you should have been here to look after her.” I’ve heard pissed-off Colt make an appearance before, but this is on a whole other level.
There’s more crackling down the line, and for a moment, I don’t know if Kayce has hung up.
“Ok. Look, I fucked up, alright. But I gotta sort some shit out, and I’ll be back as soon as the road is clear.”
“Good.” I hear Colt shuffle some papers around. “I know I’ve got a lot to make up for, Kayce.”
“It’s ok, Dad. We’re cool.”
There’s a heavy sigh in the room next to me.
“Stay safe, alright?”
“Always do. Tell Layla I’ll be there soon.”
“Sure.”
Is there resignation in his voice? Something indecipherable, perhaps.
I hear them start to say their goodbyes, and that’s when I get the fuck out of there, making a quiet beeline to my bedroom. Hearing them talk just reinforced everything I’d tried to ignore. This is a man trying to do right by his son, and I’m in the middle messing everything up.
Colt’s right. He’s got a business to take care of, and I now understand a little more about the vision he’s built—the hard earned legacy he’s crafted here—from the ground up.
I can’t be the one that comes between him and his own son, and I refuse to be a distraction.
My goal here is to get through the rest of my weeks in this job. Get my reference to send to my supervisor, and move on.
No more inappropriate midnight run-ins with Colt Wilder.
Chapter 11
It’s been almost a week since our near miss in the kitchen, and I’ve been so good.
Until today, that is.
