“Did he know? About Raina?”
“That’s the million-dollar question,” he chuckled darkly, shaking his head a little and meeting my eyes with conviction. “He was so pissed aboutmefor being irresponsible. It’s almost funny.”
“Not really,” I frowned, thinking of the life Raina must have lived. How alone she must have felt—especially after losing Nik’s dad.
“Funny might have been a poor word choice. Ironic? Either way.” Cal sighed, the sound of it heavy and burdened. I wanted to comfort him, but I kept my mouth shut, not knowing what to say or not say. He sensed my debate, watching me warily. “So…if Rainaismy half-sister; why does she have a problem taking the money?”
“She has her reasons, and I’m sure whenshe’sready to talk to you about them, she will.” I gave him a look that said this conversation was over. It had to be—I didn’t have the answers he was looking for. He nodded, and I let him mull over my words for a moment before moving to stand between his legs. Sliding my hands along the back of his neck, my fingers toyed with his dark hair before I gently tugged it, drawing his head back.
The air changed, the arousal in my eyes sparking with it, drawing forth Cal’s desires, too. His nostrils flared when I lowered my mouth to his and kissed him slowly. His hands gripped my thighs, the pads of his fingers digging in just enough to feel good.
Calum
I knew the tactic—and knew it well. Harper wanted to avoid answering my questions, and all she had to do to do that was touch me…and look at me with those wide brown fuck-me eyes. That’s all I needed to put a pin in it and spend the rest of the evening lost in the bliss that was between her thighs.
But the morning had come, and with it—the thoughts, the wondering. I was too pissed off at my dad to face him, but there was someone else I could talk to about it. I slipped out of bed at four o’clock and dressed in the dark, peeking in on Asher before I went downstairs. He was still passed out cold, exhausted from the excitement of his party.
I wanted to catch Raina before she opened the diner. I had questions that needed answering, and I couldn’t expect Harper to have them. I drove to town, parking a few spaces down from the diner.
I sat in the Jeep for twenty-minutes before the door to the apartments above the convenience store opened, and Raina stepped out. She tugged her open jacket together and held it closed with her hand as she started walking down the street toward the diner.
Opening the door, I stepped out. The sound caught her attention, and her body twisted around. She wasn’t expecting to see anybody downtown so early. Spotting me approach, she huffed out with aggravation. I couldn’t help but grin. The action reminding me of how Connor got when I bugged her too much—how I got, too.
“Hello, sister.”
My greeting caught her off guard, and her eyes narrowed warily. “She told you.” She said flatly.
“Nope. I figured it out for myself. I’m pretty smart. Besides…you bear a striking resemblance to the Jacobs side.” I pointed out, shoving my hands in my pockets. It was still pretty cold for the end of April.
Her eyes narrowed. “You’re going to make me late for work. What do you want?”
Watching her, I could see the vulnerability she tried to mask beneath prickly layers of aggression. “I’ll take some of that sludgy coffee,” I replied, smiling.
“Seriously?”
“Five in the morning is the perfect time for sludgy coffee,” I replied honestly. “It’ll feel like I’m on the road again. Besides, I’d like to get to know my sister a little more.”
She rolled her eyes, letting her jacket go to reach into her pocket and pull a set of keys and unlock the door. Her damn coat didn’t seem to have a working zipper. She didn’t even flinch at the cold air, although I felt it nipping at the exposed skin on the back of my neck.
Once the door was unlocked, she stepped through it. I caught it before it slammed shut as she stomped over to the counter. She pulled out the filter for the coffee machine and put a new paper filter in it before grabbing a pre-packaged bag of coffee. Ripping it open, Raina dumped the contents inside the filter and shoved it back. She put a coffee pot under it and flicked the buttons on.
She ignored me, disappearing into the back. I made myself comfortable on a stool at the counter and waited her out. The coffee started to brew, filling the empty diner with the deceivingly delicious scent of dark roast.
Raina returned a few minutes later. Her coat tucked away somewhere in the back and a black apron over her uniform. She leaned against the back counter, eyeing me warily.
“So…let’s start with the essentials. What’s your birthday?” I leaned back a little, assessing her—and the situation.
“March 13th, 1992.” She replied stiffly.
“March 3rd, 1992,” I said quietly. That would break my mother’s heart, I was sure of it—but that was my father’s cross to bear, not mine or Raina’s.
“I know.” Her jaw ticked, and she looked away. “Guess mother dearest got a post-breakup romp in.”
“You don’t speak very kindly of her.” I pointed out gently, noting the ice and hatred in her tone.
“Yeah, well. My bedtime stories were about how my sperm donor had chosen the better family and wanted nothing to do with me.” Raina’s shoulder jerked up in a shrug, and she turned to grab two mugs off the shelf. She picked up the full coffee pot, filling the cups as she kept talking. “She made it perfectly clear she felt the same way about me. She liked the money she got from the government, though.” She added, setting the coffee pot on the burner. “Used it to buy booze and drugs.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Something in my chest pinched, but another thing released—he didn’t know. Couldn’t know, because for all the things he was…my father wasn’t the kind of man to leave a child in a situation like that.
