“I love you, too,” I mouthed back, before pushing to my feet and brushing the sharp pebbles from my bare legs. There was only one more exchanged look between us before Drew turned and headed back to The Hut next to Jedd. He never said a word. His silence was stony, and his words were measured and deliberate, and Jedd read that for what it was.
I followed them both, taking the door from Jedd as he held it open for me. Once I was inside, I pushed my hands into my pockets, looking for my phone so I could call Tate backinto the bar to hear what Drew had to say, but I immediately felt the emptiness. My phone was gone.
I rolled my eyes at myself and about turned on my heels before heading right back out the door. I knew where it had to be because I’d had the damn thing when I was standing on the porch. I’d been about to call anyone who would listen about what had happened to Drew and possibly be able to help make a difference.
I kept my eyes on my feet to stop the shining sun from blinding me now it was above the horizon. I blinked as little dots swam in my vision leaving everything fuzzy around the edges. I retraced every step I’d taken and found the phone exactly where I’d been kneeling with Drew. I crouched, my knees cracking with my bone weariness as I reached for the small black rectangle. My fingers barely brushed the edge of the screen when a well-worn pair of boots came into my line of sight.
I glanced up, wincing as the sun haloed the new addition and temporarily filled my vision with even more spots. I couldn’t see much of him from this angle. I just saw the flannel shirt and the scruffy gray stubble that littered his jaw. I don’t think I’d ever seen him before. I grabbed my phone and pushed to my feet studying the man standing before me.
He was very handsome. His hair was salt and pepper, leaning heavily toward the salt. His skin was weather-worn, and his eyes had creases carved into them. His stubble was days old from the looks of it and his eyes… his eyes were a beautiful mix of green and blue that startled me.
“Hi.” I ventured, lifting a hand to cover my eyes to blot of the intensity of the morning sun. “Can I help you?”
“You’re Ayda, right?” he asked, his deep, gravelly voicealmost hypnotizing.
“I’m sorry, you are?”
“I’m here for Harry.”
“He’s not—”
“Not for him, love.” A hint of an accent played on the edge of his voice with the endearment and caused my head to tip to the side in curiosity. “He asked me to come.”
I narrowed my eyes, looked between him and The Hut before making a call. This really wasn’t the best time for visitors, but if Harry had asked him to come—well, maybe he’d told this guy about the cancer. Maybe Harry had told him some things Drew would need to know.
“Right. Okay,” I said, pushing my phone into my pocket. “I guess you should come on in then.”
I headed to the porch, hyper-aware of this man at my back. I held the door open behind me as I scanned the room for Drew, and found him by the bar knocking back another shot of scotch. Before I could call his name, he turned to look at me, almost as though he’d been waiting for my arrival.
His eyes locked on mine instantly, the sadness lingering and showing every ounce of exhaustion he felt. The entire club surrounded him, waiting for Drew’s version of events, no doubt, but the silence that was there when I first entered soon began to disappear. The slow rumble of noise grew. The whispers. The deep breaths. The mutterings.
When Drew looked behind me, his face fell, growing paler in an instance.
The shot glass in his hand slipped from his fingers, smashing against the bar. Drew didn’t move anything, only his lips as he sucked in a sharp breath and stared.
“Dad?”
Chapter Forty-Three
DREW
Iwas hallucinating.
The shock from Harry. The hits from Slater. The fight with Trigger. The gunshot wound from Ayda.
Still, I found myself staring into the eyes of my father. A man I hadn’t seen in ten long years. A man who hadn’t changed, but had also changed in every single way I could imagine. His dark hair was now being drowned out by the mass of silver. His eyes had aged, the wrinkles of the hard years showing. He looked cleaner, though. Less worried… or maybe he was better at carrying the weight of it all.
“Hey, Drew,” he spoke with confidence from behind my future wife. “Long time no see.”
I looked back to her, unblinking.
Ayda’s eyes were wide with shock as she turned to the side, glanced at the man behind her and then back at me, all the color draining from her cheeks. Unspoken apologies shone in her eyes as they met mine. She’d had no idea who he was.
I rose from my stool, unsure what the fuck to do.
I was hallucinating. I had to be.
But he was right there…
