“I thought he was right, so I cleaned up the house and myself and did my best to pretend nothing happened.”
“Baby, you should get an award for tonight. I wouldn’t have had a clue if you hadn’t told me.”
She finally smiles, but it’s not as big and bright as usual. “I’m just really lucky that your brother decided to stop by when he did, or I don’t know if I’d be breathing right now.”
The door opens, and Hazel pops her little head out. “Tate, Maddy made you a sundae,” she says, all the pain from earlier forgotten.
Tate gives me wide eyes and takes a deep breath like she’s sliding into a different role before she turns toward Hazel. “Sounds delicious,” she says to her. “I’ll be right in.”
Hazel smiles, her eyes moving between Tate and me. “You sure you don’t want one, Daddy?”
“I’m good, baby,” I tell her because I have other shit to do than enjoy ice cream with my girls because my ex-wife had to fuck shit up again.
“Okay, but you’re missing out,” she says before she closes the door, leaving us to finish our conversation.
Tate leans into me again, wrapping her arms around my middle as she does. “I better go inside before they get suspicious.”
I bend my neck, pressing my lips to her hair. “I’m going to call Thumper and grab the bags.”
“Don’t be too long. I’m sure Maddy’s already wondering what’s going on.”
“I’ll make it quick,” I tell her, knowing my elder daughter and her ability to figure out when shit is off.
Tate peers up at me, and I grab her face between my palms, kissing her gently. “I’m sorry,” I whisper against her lips.
“It’s not your fault.”
“Yes, it is,” I tell her because I brought Katie into my world…into her world.
“I’m fine, Wylder. I’ve had worse injuries from riding my bike.”
Her words don’t make the sting deep in my chest hurt any less.
“When you talk to Thumper, tell him thank you.”
“I will, princess,” I tell her as she pulls away and heads toward the front door.
I wait until she’s inside and there’s no chance of the girls walking out on my conversation to call my brother and find out what the hell is going on.
“Yo,” Thumper says. “Guess you talked to Tate?”
“Yep. Where is she?”
“Tied up and passed out. The doc will be here soon, and then she’ll be off to the hospital for a few days.”
This isn’t the best way to handle the situation, but right now, I have no other options. Katie needs help. Although she was always a massive bitch, the woman I knew would’ve never come after someone with a knife and then attacked a man more than twice her size.
“How badly is she hurt?” I ask him as I walk toward the truck to get farther out of earshot.
“I think I broke her nose, but other than that, she’s fine. It’s crooked as fuck, and I’m sure by tomorrow she’ll have two massive black eyes.”
“I can’t believe you knocked her out, Thump.”
“Wylder, she came at me. I’ve never seen anything like it. It was like she lost her ever-loving mind. It was the only thing I could do. It was a knee-jerk reaction. I’d never hit a woman, but she was possessed. I didn’t even mean to do it. My arm just swung, and my fist connected with the target.”
“Thank fuck you were here.”
“I talked to sis and had a heart-to-heart about you and what an asshole I am. She told me if I didn’t talk to you and be nice to Tate, she’d never speak to me again. So, I decided to come over and try to make peace.”
