Page 49 of Relentles
He just needed—
Fuck.
Shut the fuck up, son. Fuck the dumb shit. Roscoe waiting.
Yeah, fuck Roscoe, too.
His cock felt as if it retracted into his goddamn stomach in resentment and disappointment.
“Fuck, I didn’t mean it,” he grumbled, turning the knob and stomping into the room, slamming the door behind him.
Across the room, Bailey relaxed on her chaise lounge, a thick blanket covering her almost to her chin. On the table beside her, lamplight haloed her face and her. She glanced at him and smiled.
“Everything okay?”
The sound of her voice calmed him, pouring over him like the sweetest honey.
He leaned against the door. “I’m not Harley’s favorite person right now, baby.”
“She’s a teenage girl with a delicate psyche.”
She had an entitled psyche. “Molly got the delicate mind, Bailey.”
“I want to help her,” she said quietly. “Meggie is demanding it because of CJ.”
He hadn’t meant to open this can of worms. “Maybe. But I’d say it’s because you’re qualified. You have the credentials.”
“That seems like such a betrayal to Harley, Lucas. I just can’t.”
“Nobody was asking you to start counseling her right now. They just need your help to get her into a trustworthy facility with the best available care. Everything else can wait.”
“Harley would still be—”
“Upset.” Sighing, he scratched his jaw. “You not even moving until after the new year. A couple of calls wouldn’t have hurt, and Harley didn’t need to know.”
“Zoann is qualified. She’s a nurse practitioner.”
“Chester more than qualified,” he agreed. “I just wished you would’ve helped her.”
She nodded. “I’ll see what I can do the day after Christmas. I promise.”
Taking her even temper as a good sign, he walked to her and dropped on the edge of the plump yellow lounger. She drew her knees up and leaned them against his back.
“Is Harley still upset about LA?”
“She said she’d move in with Roxanne.”
Bailey lifted her brows, then broke into peals of laughter. “Momma would fuck her up before we were halfway there.”
Relaxing a little more at her humor, Mort snickered. “I was thinking the same thing. She don’t want to tangle with my momma-in-law.”
“Oh my God!” Bailey groaned and tipped her chin up, staring at the ceiling. “Where did Harley go so completely off the rails?”
Mort had a good fucking idea.
“Never mind,” she said. “I already know.”
“I’m sure you do, Bailey.”
