“Ariel’s father was a piece of shit,” she said.
“Was?” I asked, unsure if she meant he’d gotten his life together or if he was no longer around to continue being a piece of shit.
She removed the food from the stove and transferred it to the plates she had set out. “He’s dead. I don’t mean to sound happy about it, but I will forever be thankful that my daughter didn’t have to grow up with his bullshit tainting her life.”
“You’re preaching to the choir. I would’ve much rather not had a father in my life than the shitty one I grew up with.”
“Exactly,” she said and carried the two plates of food to the table while I refilled our glasses with wine. Once we were seated, she continued. “We broke up before I found out I was pregnant. So naturally, when I told him the news, he accused meof lying and demanded a paternity test. When he found out he was indeed the father, he wanted nothing to do with her, which was fine with me. I would have been a nervous wreck if I had to give her to him every other weekend. Anyway, he agreed to sign over his parental rights, so he didn’t have to pay child support. Everything was fine for a few years. Then, out of nowhere, he had a change of heart. He claimed he’d gotten sober and wanted to be involved in his child’s life. I didn’t believe him for one second and told him he would have to go through the courts if he wanted to be a part of her life. I didn’t think there was anything he could do to get his rights back, but I was in a state of panic until I found out he crashed into a tree at a high rate of speed. I later found out his blood alcohol level was four times the legal limit, so he was full of shit about being sober.”
“Maybe he was sober and fell off the wagon,” I suggested.
“Oh, I forgot part of the story. The day he told me he wanted to be a part of Ariel’s life was the same day he died.”
I laughed and immediately covered my mouth. “I’m sorry. It’s not funny.”
She made a dismissive gesture with her hand. “The dying part isn’t, but the bullshit part is. He was actually on his way to pick her up when he called me. Like I said, I never found out what he was up to, but I knew something wasn’t right. I put Ariel in the car and drove to my parents’ house. He might’ve been able to overpower me, but I knew my dad would blow a hole the size of Texas in him before he could get to us.”
I chuckled. “Your dad sounds like every dad in the MC. Is that who Ariel is spending the weekend with?”
“Yes. Her other grandparents aren’t involved,” she said. “What about your parents? What happened with them?”
I wiped my mouth with a napkin and pointed to the food with my fork. “This is really good, by the way.”
She smiled proudly. “Thank you.”
“My mom lived and worked on the farm for a few years while she worked on earning her degree in education. She’s a teacher at Croftridge High now.”
“Wait. Is your mom Ms. Manning?”
I grinned. “She is.”
“She’s Ariel’s English teacher.”
“Really?”
“Yes!” Presley said excitedly. “Ariel loves her. And that’s saying something because English is not Ariel’s favorite subject.”
“That’s good to hear. Mom really loves her job. I never realized how unhappy she was until I saw what happiness looked like on her,” I admitted. “She was different after my father was gone, but becoming a teacher gave her a second chance. One that allowed her to have the life she always dreamed of.”
“Is your dad still around?” she asked carefully.
“No, his gambling addiction finally got the better of him,” I said and paused before I continued with the story. “I don’t mind telling it, but it’s kind of gruesome.”
“I’m an ER nurse. Gruesome doesn’t bother me, as long as it doesn’t involve wrongful harm to innocent children.”
“Nope, no children involved.”
“Then let’s hear it,” she said and continued eating.
“My father had a problem with gambling, which is how we ended up at the farm in the first place. He could never say no to a bet.Like ever. One night, years after he left me and Mom, he was drinking with some guy he met at a campground somewhere in Wyoming. A bear cub wandered out of the trees, and the guy said, ‘I bet you can’t wrestle that cub and pin it to the ground.’ He took the bet, and, well, he lost. According to a witness, the cub yelped, and the mama bear came flying out of the woods with a vengeance. And that’s how my father became one of the very few people in this country to be killed by a brown bear.”
When Presley didn’t say anything, I looked up to see her chewing on her lower lip like she was debating something in her head. “Whatever it is, just ask.”
“Were the bears okay?”
“Yes. The officials determined the bear’s behavior was defensive, not predatory. She didn’t eat him. She used her mouth to grab him by his neck and throw him off her cub. They disappeared back into the forest, but the damage was done. He died from his injuries shortly after the incident.”
“How long ago was that?”
