Page 127 of Beneath the Stars (Sugarlake 1)

I turn to go, wanting nothing more than to find Chase and tell him I’m leaving. Even though I shouldn’t. I haven’t even seen Sam yet to congratulate him—other than when he was licking the blood off his lip that Daddy caused him to spill.

“Lee,” Eli says, his voice low and nervous. “You don’t understand about Becca. It’s not… we aren’t… just go easy on her, okay? You’re the best thing in her life, and she’d be devastated to lose you.”

I guffaw, my brows rising along with my chin. “You sure seem to know an awful lot about my best friend, Eli.”

His cheeks puff out and he hangs his head. “No. I don’t know her at all.”

His voice cracks as he says it, sadness wrapping around his words and breaking them in half. But I don’t have time to worry about the mess Becca and Eli are in. Not right now. Not after everything that’s happened tonight. So I give a sharp nod and walk out the door.

When we make it back to the party, I spot Chase talking to Jax, which is surprising. My phone rings just as I’m walking over to them.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Lee. It’s Buddy, down at the station. I uhh… your pa was just brought in. Thought I’d let you know. They’re bookin’ him now.”

I lift my head to the sky. What else could possibly happen tonight? “What’s he there for, Bud?”

“He crashed into another vehicle goin’ down the wrong way on Main Street.”

I suck in a breath, stumbling over my feet just as I reach Chase. I grab his arm to stay steady. Visions of getting a call about Mama flashes behind my eyes. “Is everyone okay?”

“They’re banged up, but nothin’ life threatenin’. There was a two-year-old and a pregnant woman in the car. He’s lucky, it coulda been a lot worse. But, off the record? Your pa’s gonna need to get himself a lawyer. You can come pick him up in a few hours. Let him sober up a bit and get through his bond arraignment.”

The urge to run to Daddy’s side

is strong. But I straighten my spine and remember what I just told Eli. “Naw, Bud. Thanks for the call. I think a night in jail will do him some good.”

I hang up my phone and turn it off.

51

Alina

Chase and I are on the way back to his place. I begged him to stay, but he wasn’t hearing it. I feel like a jerk for bailing on Sam’s party before it was even halfway over, but I needed to get out of there.

His folks were extremely understanding. Sam hugged me as I apologized for Daddy, and he clapped Chase on the shoulder, saying “take care of your girl.” It warms my heart to see a family that supports each other the way they do—the way mine hasn’t in a long time.

I am mentally and physically drained by the time I plop down on Chase’s couch. The fight with him seems like it happened light-years ago, instead of just three hours prior. How can so much happen in so little time?

Guilt spikes in my gut when I let myself think of Daddy sleepin’ off his booze in a jail cell, but what else can I do? He wouldn’t be grateful if I picked him up anyway.

Becca and Eli are something I can’t even begin to scratch the surface of. The kicker is, I’m not even mad about the fact something is going on. I couldn’t care less who they’re with, as long as they’re both happy. But Becca lied to me, and that hurts worse than any secret ever could. Still, as mad as I am, my heart hurts thinking about her planning Eli’s wedding to someone else. I imagine what it would be like if that were Chase and my stomach revolts at the thought. I wish she had chosen to confide in me. I know how it feels to be collapsing under the weight of heavy secrets.

“You okay, baby? What a fucking night, right? Jesus.” Chase rubs my shoulders.

I groan, the tension melting away under his skilled fingers. “Yeah, you ain’t lyin’. But I don’t really wanna talk about any of that.”

“What do you want to do then?”

“I want you to make me forget. Just for tonight. Can you do that?”

He stops rubbing my shoulders, coming around to sit next to me. “I can. You sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

“I’m sure. Tonight should have been a celebration. Sam retiring. You becoming CEO.”

“You telling me you loved me,” he adds.

“And that.” I smile, kissing his lips.

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