Page 38 of Karma
“You are getting this,” she snaps. “I’ll plan it myself if I have to, but you will get what you want.”
Lucas takes her hand. “Mom, we need you.”
“And I’m here,” she says. “Colt, you can’t deny her this. Not because of me. She’s had to settle for too damn much as it is.”
“I love you,” he whispers. “I can’t lose you.”
“You won’t. Not at her wedding. If I have to handcuff myself to you for the entire evening to make sure I’m never alone, I will.”
Taking the dress from her, he smiles. “It’s a pretty dress, Hailey. Lex would never have picked it out.”
“She’s really supportive,” she whispers. “Seriously—”
“Pick the venue,” he says, laying it on the back of the recliner. “We’ll figure out how to make it work outside of the clubhouse.”
Lucas looks terrified, but Lex jumps into Colt’s arms. “Thank you!”
“But you better keep your promise, baby. Nothing happens to you at this wedding.”
“It won’t. I won’t even go to the bathroom alone. Promise.”
Walking the dress to her old room where she knows Lex took it from, she hangs it up and stares at it for a long moment. Lucassteps into the room and shuts the door. “Hailey, you have to have the wedding at the clubhouse.”
“I don’t think I could change it now if I wanted to.”
“He didn’t hit her.”
Hailey turns in confusion. “What?”
“Colt. He was pissed, and he punched a hole in the wall, but he never hit Lex.”
“They’re not your mom and Harold. They’re not even your mom and our dad. This fight wasn’t out of anger. It was fear and desperation.”
“It’s weird,” he admits and sits on the bed. “We’re pretty screwed up, aren’t we? I was certain Colt was going to hit her. And I didn’t know what I would do if he did. It’s not like I could take him.”
Chuckling, she takes his hand. “Yeah, we kind of are. When you get a little bit older, you’ll realize what a healthy relationship is. Hopefully, you don’t make it as difficult as I fucking did.”
He stares at their hands, but he doesn’t laugh at her joke. “I’m scared she’s going to die.”
“Luke—”
“She’s what I used to pray for. Even when Mom was with Dad, she wasn’t the mom I wanted. The mom other kids had. I sound like a terrible person for saying that, but…”
“She’s like my mom was,” Hailey admits. “You deserve that, too, Luke. We both do.”
“What if she dies?” he whispers.
Hugging him, she fights back her own tears as the fear creeps up into her chest. “I don’t know, buddy. We still have each other, and we will always have Colt. And the club.”
“It’s not the same,” he says. “I’m terrified, Hails. At night, I lay awake because I swear I hear Phillip outside. I get up a lot, and I check to make sure Venom’s still alert out front. That I can see the other two guys in the back.”
“Have you told them this?”
He shakes his head. “They have enough to worry about. They don’t need my stuff on top of it.”
“Living in fear isn’t living. Lex wouldn’t want that, and we should make sure we honor her. She and Colt gave us a life we never thought we’d have.”
“Why can’t they catch him, Hailey?”
