“Well…” Her blubbering, whiny voice is cut off by full-on sobs that I can only shake my head at. If any other woman in my life called me like this, I would drop everything for them. But I’ve been the victim of these crocodile tears a time or two. “It’s about your dad.”
I snort. “Of course it is. What did the fucker do this time?”
Drunk driving, bar fights, gambling, getting in trouble with the wrong guys… it’s always something. And if it warrants a phone call from Mom, it probably requires bail money or some shit.
“He’s dying—it’s his liver. The doctor said less than six months, most likely. Especially since he refuses to quit drinking. I thought maybe you’d want to come visit him. I know you two had yourissueswhen you were growing up, but it would mean a lot to him.”
Her tone implies we argued about shit like my grades or staying out past curfew. Conveniently overlooking the times he smacked me around when I was too young to defend myself. Too young to have even done anything worthy of being hit in the first place.
“Okay. Thanks for letting me know. Honestly, I have no interest in seeing him. Besides… my girlfriend is having a baby in a few months, so I can’t get away.” I don’t know why I add the comment about Cass—who is the furthest thing from my girlfriend, considering I haven’t even seen her in weeks. But I have to admit, it feels nice to say something that might hurt my mom. As petty as that is.
“I’m going to have a grandbaby?” Her voice perks up like Little Spud will have an effect on her life. I guess she can brag to her friends about it. She might’ve been the better parent of the two, but the bar was real fucking low. Even still, I’ve never doubted she loves me and my four brothers. She just loves our crappy father more.
“Yeah, a baby girl. Maybe after Joe dies, you can visit sometime. Anyway, I gotta go, Mom.” I hang up before she has the chance to scold me for calling him Joe, instead of Dad.
The back door squeaks louder than normal thanks to the hush falling over the busy kitchen when I walk back in.
“Whatcha all staring at?” I clear my throat and sit back down in my usual spot.
“Who was that?” Denny asks.
“My mom. My dad’s dying, apparently.” I shrug, piling more and more rice onto my plate, until Cecily’s hand reaches out to stop me, and I realize I lost track. Half my plate’s covered. “Anyway, who wants to go out for drinks tonight?”
Nobody answers and all of them are staring.Fuck, even Rhett is being perfectly silent, which is unheard of for a one-year-old.
Finally, Cecily speaks up. She’s always the fixer. Never shying away from hard conversations—at least, not since her own dark secrets were spilled. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? Maybe you should have a low key night instead of drinking the sadness away.”
“It’s not sad drinking. I want to celebrate. Fuck that guy.”
Kate lets out a loud huff. I’m a little thankful for all the pity, otherwise she’d be tearing a strip from my rear end for swearing in front of the kids.
“Sorry, that was a bad word.” I smile weakly at Odessa, who’s unphased. If Kate heard the way everyone—Jackson included—talks when she isn’t around, we’d all be strung up. Odessa’s dropped her fair share of F-bombs herself.
“Problem, Red. Where we gonna go?” Denny asks. “Can’t exactly go to town… There’s some liquor in the bunkhouse, but not enough to do any damage.”
“I’m fine to go to town,” I say.
“Okay.Who wants to chip in for bail money now?” Denny grabs his hat from the back of his chair and holds it out like he’s accepting donations.
“Red, don’t you think this might make things worse with Dave… and upset Cassidy?” Cecily’s nose scrunches. “Just saying. Maybe think this through for a bit.”
“She’s right.” Kate points her fork at Cecily while giving me a pitiful look. “Getting into an altercation with her dad isn’t the way to go about winning Cass over.”
If Dave’s gonna kill me, he’s gonna kill me. It’s not like staying away from the bar is any protection now that he knows the truth. He could show up here if he wanted to. Then there’s Cass…fuck.She’s already made it clear there’s nothing I can do to win her over. It doesn’t matter that I busted my ass for her. That I followed every asinine rule. That Ilove her. None of it matters.
“I don’t give a shit about that. It’s too late.”
Eerily silent, everyone stares. From his seat next to mine, Jackson places a firm palm between my shoulder blades. “Maybe you should hold off for the night?”
“I want to go for drinks with my friends, and that’s the only bar in town. You’re the ones making this into something bigger.”
I’ll go to the bar, have a couple drinks, eye-fuck Cassidy from across the room, and play it cool.Easy peasy.
“Well, what if I go in and talk to Dave first? Feel it out before you roll in and start shit,” Denny says.
“Fine, let’s do that.” I nod, shovelling a scoop of rice into my mouth, since apparently that’s all my dinner will be tonight. At least it’ll soak up the alcohol.
The bar parking lot is busier than I would’ve expected for a Thursday at eight o’clock, and knowing there’s a crowd inside almost makes me change my mind. I just want to listen to music and have some drinks with my friends. Of course, both Dave’s truck and Cassidy’s car are in the parking lot. Knowing she’s here makes me more anxious than thinking about seeing Dave for the first time since he practically walked in on me fucking his daughter.
