Page 48 of The Paths We Cross
He smiles down at her and nods at her in question. I smile and offer her to him. He opens his arms and pulls her to his chest. “Hi, Hazel. I’m your grandpa,” he tells her with pride coating every word. “I’m so happy to finally meet you.”
Rowan walks up beside me and wraps his arm around me. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Kincaid.”
My dad looks up and his smile grows. “It’s nice to meet you too, Rowan, but stop with that Mr. Kincaid, shit. Call me Edward or Ed.”
“Okay, Ed,” Rowan concedes. “Is everything okay?”
Dad’s brow furrows and then he reaches into his pocket and pulls out an envelope, handing it over to me.
I take it and turn it over, looking for an address, but there is none.
“It was hand delivered to my new place,” he tells me in answer.
I pull out the papers inside and find a handwritten note. I peel the page open and see my mother’s familiar handwriting. I look up at Rowan with wide eyes and he gives me a nod of encouragement to read it.
Edward,
By now you know what I’ve done. I’m sure that’s why you left me after forty years of marriage. You’re a coward.
I want you to know that I’m leaving North Carolina. I might even leave the country. I tried to do what was best for us and you didn’t appreciate it like you should have.
We could have taken our grandchild and started a new life together. We could have raised her to be better than Everly. We could have raised her to be more.
Russel owed me a favor, and he fucked it up. I had to blackmail him into helping me file for custody because neither he nor Carrie wanted anything to do with our grandchild. They didn’t even think she was really Travis’. Maybe she’s not. Maybe she belongs to that biker thug.
I won’t stand by to watch a motorcycle club corrupt our daughter and steal away our granddaughter. You’re not the man I married if you think Everly can handle this on her own. I’m what’s best for that baby.
I guess eighteen years isn’t too long to have to wait to reach out. I can fix her. You and Everly are lost causes, though.
I hope your lives are miserable.
Laura
“She’s a real bitch,” Rowan mutters from behind me as he reads over my shoulder.
“The woman is a psycho,” dad says as he shakes his head. “I can’t believe it took me this long to see it.”
“I’m just glad you did,” I tell him. “And she’s not getting anywhere near Hazel. Not even in eighteen years,” I mutter before tearing up the letter and stuffing it into the envelope.
“If she knows what’s good for her, she’ll never step foot in Silver Springs again,” Rowan murmurs.
I don’t think she ever will. What would she have waiting for her besides a husband who doesn’t want her anymore, a daughter who despises her, and a granddaughter who is going to learn of what she had planned? No, she won’t show up, and if she does, I’ll be ready for her.
34
ROWAN
Today is the first charity function that we’ve run since Grayson took over as president of the club. We’re raising money for the school district with a small carnival on the downtown square. This is the first year we’re doing this fundraiser and Everly helped us with the idea.
She’s down to four weeks of maternity leave, but she’s already planning things for her class for when she gets back. I already knew that she was a good teacher from how Asher and Paisley talked about her, but seeing how she cares for her students even when she’s on maternity leave, just solidified that fact for me.
We have volunteers spread through the carnival working the rides, games, and concession stands and everyone is seeming to enjoy themselves. The afternoon rolls on and we all meet up at the fountain in the middle of the square to take a picture. We look like quite the sight in our leather cuts with the skull and crown on the back surrounded by a bunch of kids running around, but to this town, it’s normal.We take care of our own.
I pull Everly into my side and we adjust Hazel’s stroller in front of us, smiling for the picture that I’m sure will end up in the town’s newspaper. I notice Chief Benning walking by and smirk at the look on his face.
He’s pissed off but he can’t show it in front of the town. He has to bite his tongue and bear his hatred for us. It’s really a shame because he used to be on our side. I can only imagine what kind of roadblocks we’ll run into with him now, but that’s a problem for another day.
We break apart from our picture and the ladies all head back to the clubhouse while we help to tear everything down. It goes pretty quickly with the help of the volunteers and the other charter members who came into town to help with the event. It’s just before dark when we’re hopping on our bikes and heading to the club.
