Page 70 of Beneath the Stars (Sugarlake 1)

“So where’d you go? Or can I not ask that?”

“You can.” I side-eye him.

“I picked up Jax from the airport.”

“Oh. You didn’t want him to come look at your car?”

“No, I… he was tired from travelin’. I didn’t want to bother him.” I stare at my hands, heat rushing to my face.

“Hmm.”

It’s quiet for the rest of the drive and I’m thankful. When we get to The Watering Hole, I see Daddy slouched against the wall outside. Chase sighs as he pulls up to the curb. “Let me go grab him. You just stay here, okay?”

I start to take off my seatbelt. “No, I—”

“Alina. Trust me, stay here.” His hand covers mine, preventing me from unbuckling myself. I shouldn’t trust him. I know this. But I lean back and nod my head anyway.

Surprisingly, he gets Daddy into the back with no fuss. It occurs to me that if I had gotten out, Daddy may have caused a scene. Maybe Chase knew that, too.

I wait until we’re on the road again before twisting in my seat. Daddy doesn’t seem too gone, yet. Probably because they wouldn’t serve him. “Daddy, you alright?”

He ignores me and looks to Chase. “I thought... you said you weren’t back for her.”

An invisible fist lodges in my gut. He said that? I sit forward, looking out the windshield. I can’t pay attention to their conversation—I’m too busy wondering why it hurts so much to hear it.

Chase looks in his rearview mirror. “Surprised you remember that, sir. But it’s still true, I’m not.”

My chest pinches, making me lose my breath.

Daddy grunts and then finally acknowledges me. “I should have… have known Johnny would be callin’ you out here.”

“You should be thankful they called me, Daddy. If it wasn’t me, it would be the cops. Then where would you be? This way you can go home, sleep it off.”

Chase is silent. Maybe I should feel embarrassed for hashing it out with Daddy right in front of him, but I can’t find it in me to care.

“You know you can’t keep showin’ up, right? They don’t want you in there, Daddy.”

He waves me off. “They always say that. It’s fine. I’m their best… their best damn customer.”

“Why don’t you come hang with me instead of goin’ to a bar? You can finally come see my place.”

I turn around again, watching for his reaction. His eyes are ice. “I already gotta look at you enough.”

No matter how often I take his jabs, they still leave a bruise. Chase’s fingers tighten around the steering wheel. My eyes flutter closed as I will my heart back into my chest. “I’m just sayin’, maybe you should try not goin’ to a bar for a while.”

“Don’t you lecture me, girl. I’m the one… the parent here, not you.”

I huff out a laugh. “Coulda fooled me.”

He leans forward, his whiskey-soaked breath hot against my face. “Yeah? Well... I’m the only one you got. You can thank yourself for that.”

My already weathered and beaten soul is crippled further by his words.

“That’s enough.” Chase’s voice is sharp, his eyes glacial as he looks at Daddy in the rearview mirror.

I put my hand on Chase’s forearm to keep him calm. I don’t know how his temper is these days, but the Chase I knew had a short fuse. His muscles tense under my fingertips when I squeeze lightly. “It’s okay, Chase. Daddy didn’t mean it.”

“I don’t give a fuck. I won’t let that shit fly, Alina.” The car rolls to a red light and it gives Chase the perfect opportunity to focus on Daddy. “Do you hear me, Mr. Carson? I want to get you home, but if you disrespect your daughter again, we’re gonna have problems.”

---