Page 53 of Tempting the Goalie
She isn’t wrong. Something about having Elyna and Braden here has set him off, which doesn’t make any sense at all.
“I don’t want you walking outside on your own this time of night,” I say to her.
“I’ll call Phoenix. Maybe he’s closing the microbrewery about now,” she says.
She calls Phoenix. It’s two in the morning. I wonder where my sister is this time of night. When I said I’d babysit, I assumed she’d be gone for a few hours but not this many.
Phoenix must answer her call right away because Izzy is asking if he can come get her.
“Thanks,” Izzy says and ends the call. “He’s grabbing one of the ATVs and heading over.”
“Okay.” I hear Dad knocking things over upstairs.
“Go up to Braden until Elyna gets home. You guys need to figure out what your dad was talking about, and what he has against that cute little baby,” Izzy urges.
“Yeah.” I kiss her cheek. We hear the ATV arrive outside.
“Good luck,” Izzy says. “And be careful.”
“I’m not scared of him, but I need to have a serious talk with Elyna. Something has set Papa off, and it isn’t safe for her and Braden to stay here,” I state, feeling my gut churning with worry.
“I’m going to talk to Phoenix. Maybe she can take one of the cabins sooner rather than later,” she says.
“Thanks.” I smile and give her a hug. Izzy has always been a special person. The way she cares and worries about others. She’s kind and the way she helped me take care of Braden tonight had my heart soaring. Who would have thought Izzy and I would spend the night taking care of my baby nephew and have a great time doing it? I never saw that one coming. Hell, I never thought I could instantly love and feel protective over a baby, and yet here I am, worried for Braden like he was my very own. I would ponder this more but I need to get upstairs and keep watch. Izzy is right. Something is off with Papa and until we get to the bottom of it, I need to make sure Elyna and Braden are safe.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Isabelle
“What the hell is going on?” Phoenix asks as I walk out of Luc’s house.
“Charles came home drunk and was ranting about a bunch of cryptic things,” I say.
Phoenix blows out a breath. “Get on the ATV, Bean, we can talk more at home,” he urges and he passes me a helmet. I put it on and get on the back of the ATV. The ride home is only a short distance but this time of night there can be all kinds of animals lurking, which is why Luc insisted I didn’t walk home on my own. Phoenix parks the ATV outside the main house and we head inside. Everyone is asleep.
“Mind telling me what you know?” I say to my brother quietly.
He waves for me to follow him into the kitchen. “Charles has been getting drunk and making a fool of himself at The Frosted Mug,” Phoenix says warily.
“Can you elaborate?” I ask.
Again, my brother inhales deeply and I get the sense there’s a lot he’s been keeping from me.
“He’s been ranting a bunch of shit about Maggie Chabot’s death being Mom’s fault,” Phoenix shares.
“What?” I ask flabbergasted. “He’s lost his mind. They were best friends.”
The way Phoenix has his lips pursed together makes me feel like he knows something I don’t.
“Look, maybe you should talk to Daddy about this,” Phoenix suggests, just as my dad walks into the kitchen scratching his belly. He’s wearing a pair of pajama pants and a white T-shirt.
“Maybe you should talk to Daddy about what?” Daddy asks.
“Charles Chabot. I’ve never seen him so unhinged before. He went off on a rant about how I look like Mom.”
Dad sighs and I can see the sadness in his eyes. Mom left and didn’t look back. I’m sure he could’ve tracked her down, but he always said there was no point finding someone who didn’t want to be found. “You do look like the spitting image of her, Bean.”
“Why is that a trigger for Charles all of a sudden?” I ask. “I saw the man last summer and even though he wasn’t the friendliest, he sure as hell wasn’t lashing out the way he did tonight.”
