Page 107 of Wilder Love
Her hair was in a messy topknot and she was wearing one of my old T-shirts that I’d forgotten about. “Where did you get that T-shirt?” I asked, eyeing the slogan: Live Hard, Die Shredding.
“I stole it.” She cleared her throat. “Before you left for Rio that one time…”
That was about eight years ago.
“You wore it on our first date. I used to sleep in it. I didn’t wash it for about a year.” She laughed at herself then shook her head. “That sounds really gross. But I didn’t want to lose your scent, you know?”
“Remy—”
“Well, my, my, my… hello, sugar.” The scent of cigarette smoke filled the air and I ran my hand through my hair before I turned to look at Rae St. Clair.
I hadn’t seen the woman in seven or eight years, but she still looked the way I remembered her. She was wearing a crop top and a strip of red leather that she was trying to pass off as a skirt. On a thirteen-year-old girl the outfit might look cute. On a grown-ass woman it looked ridiculous. Especially when she’d paired it with black stilettos. She’d turned up unannounced at Dylan’s house the night of our paddle-out, and Dylan had called Remy for backup. It surprised me that he hadn’t kicked her ass out of his house. But here she was, with her matching red lips and nails, her eyes narrowed as she sucked on her cigarette. “You’re even sexier now that you’re an ex-con.”
Remy sighed. “Mom. Please don’t.”
She waved her cigarette at Remy. “I’m on my best behavior. Just speaking the truth. He was just a boy back then but now… well, he’s all man.” She winked at me and slid onto the stool next to me, blowing her smoke in Remy’s direction. That was her though. She didn’t give a shit about anyone but herself.
I took the cigarette out of her hand and snuffed it out in Remy’s soy sauce, after confirming that the sushi had all been eaten.
“Well, that’s not very friendly of you.” She pouted and crossed her legs. I averted my head before I saw too much. Too late. I’d have to bleach my eyes to get rid of the sight of her red lace thong.
“What brings you to town, Rae?” I asked, attempting to sound pleasant.
“Do I need a reason to visit my babies?”
The same babies you abandoned when they were seventeen and left to fend for themselves even before you walked out. Hell yeah, you do.
“Do you have a reason or is this just a friendly visit?”
“You’ve always been so judgmental,” Rae said, rolling her eyes. “Don’t think I forgot about that time you manhandled me.”
“I didn’t—” I took a few deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out. Find the Zen.
“What are you talking about? What is she talking about?” Remy asked, redirecting her question to me when Rae just shrugged in response.
I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. It was a long time ago.”
I knew that wouldn’t fly with Remy, but I thought I’d take a stab at it anyway. Remy stood up and crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes darting from her mom and landing on me.
“It. Matters. What happened?” I heard the accusation in her voice and didn’t appreciate it, although I suppose it was understandable, given my track record.
This goddamn woman. Was it too much to ask that we’d never have to see her again? Obviously, the answer was yes. She was like a bad rash. Just kept coming back every time you thought you’d gotten rid of it.
“Why do you think I left town?” Rae said, pointing her finger at me. “It was his fault.”
I exhaled loudly, and stood up, putting some distance between myself and Rae before I grabbed her finger of accusation and snapped it in two. Leaning against the counter, I crossed my arms and glared at her. “It was your choice to leave. I simply told you the truth about something you should have known about. Something you should have done something about.Youwere supposed to be the adult. Not Remy. Not Dylan.”
“Shane… please tell me you didn’t… oh, my God, what did you say to her?”
“He was making false accusations. That’s what he did.” Rae snorted out a laugh. “Russell was crazy about me.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “He’d never go after my own daughter. The whole thing was ridiculous.”
“Shane, I told you that in confidence. Why would you discuss that with my mother?”
I stared at her. “You’re asking me why? Are you fucking kidding me? Whywouldn’tyou discuss it with your mother?”
“Because Dylan and I took care of it. We handled the situation,” she gritted out. “What did you do… hunt down my mother and just spill all my secrets?” She threw her hands in the air and then planted them on her hips.
I lowered my head and rubbed the back of my neck. This was not something I’d ever wanted to discuss with Remy or even share with her but now her mother had brought it up within two seconds of seeing me again. “That’s not how it happened.”
