“I’m sorry, having a whole other child isn’t a big deal?” Coast responded dramatically.
“She didn’t tell me she was pregnant, and I found out about Sailor when he was almost a year old,” Wade voiced.
“Well, you still had what… five more years than the rest of us?” Coast screeched. “This family is fucking insane. I swear!”
“Calm down, Trouble.” Mozzi’s hand fell on her stomach where Iara was going crazy.
Her little kicks made him fall deeper in love with her. Kneeling toward Coast’s belly, he spoke to their baby girl gently. She was damn sure feeding off her mama’s energy.
“It’s okay, Rara. Mama might need some air.”
“I knew it was going to be some bullshit when you got here,” Coast accused, aiming daggers at her mother. “It always is. You can’t stand it if you aren’t the center of attention everywhere you go!”
“Coast.” Bee’s soft, nurturing voice addressed her from behind.
“No, Bee! I don’t want to talk to her right now! Do us all a favor and hop on the first thing moving away from Ree Heights!” Spinning on her heel, Coast stomped off in a fit, leaving Mozzi and everyone else staring after her.
He’d only seen her worked up like that one other time. Clearly her family was a sore spot for her.
“She’s a little hormonal right now.” Mozzi scratched the back of his head.
“I’ll go talk to her.” Wade put his family on notice.
It was either him or Zale. Llyr was a mama’s boy, and Marina could do no wrong in his eyes. Coast was the baby and only girl, though, so Wade had a soft spot for her. Traipsing through the halls, he found Coast pacing in what he figured was the den or family chill space. Equipped with sectional seating, a pool table, and big screen TV mounted above a fireplace, Wade took it all in. A set of French doors were in the corner with a view of the pool. Rubbing circles in her belly, she paused when she found her daddy lingering, watching her.
“Llyr was right. Still pretty as ever, baby girl.”
“Don’t come in here trying to sweet talk me, Daddy. I’m not in the mood.” She huffed.
“You know you can’t stay mad at me, Coast. Your mother, no doubt. But me?” Wade aimed a finger at his chest and shook his head, taking steps toward her.
“How could you do that? Why would you do that? Lie. I know we don’t talk a lot, but in all those conversations we’ve had the last five years, you never said anything about another child.”
“It was all Marina. You know how she is. Something is wrong with that woman,” Wade concluded.
Coast stood near the pool table, her camera at her side as she pressed her back against it. Her feet ached in her heels, but she refused to take them off. Wade came to stand beside her, positioning himself with his hands resting on the edge of the table. Coast’s arms folded over her breasts, and she glanced at the ground.
“Your mother is not a maternal woman. Not in the traditional sense,” Wade began, studying Coast’s glowing face. “She loves all of you, but she never wanted to be contained by motherhood. Remember how many times you and your brothers were left alone? I was there for emergencies, but you pretty much had to fend for yourselves. Bee and Iggy were a refuge. I think that’swhat always drew you to Ree Heights. It was the closest thing to home. It’s different for her.”
“If she says nothing, then nothing changes. That’s her motto,” Coast muttered.
“Another child means responsibility. Stability. Staying in one place. Marina is a drifter by nature. Lying for her is self-preservation.” Wade divulged. “You want to know how I found out about Sailor?” he asked, clasping his hands together in front of him. “Your aunt Robin called me. Tells me I need to come to Texas, and it was an emergency regarding Marina. Whole time I’m thinking she’s hurt, missing, or some other wild shit. You know your mother. Instead, this little boy is there, looking like your brothers when they were babies. Marina had been MIA for months, and Robin is who cares for him when she’s off on her adventures. I spent about a month with him before I had to move on a job.”
“So, why didn’t you say something?”
“That night with her wasn’t romantic or supposed to turn into anything, Coast. It was impulsive as hell, and I didn’t want to disrupt you or your brothers’ lives with this because it’s not your responsibility to take care of Sailor.”
“He’s my little brother, and I don’t know him,” she whispered.
“Believe it or not, that’s why I’m here.” Her mother’s voice intervened from the doorway.
Coast looked up and found her standing there fidgeting with a ring on her finger.
“I realize how selfish I’ve been,” she admitted. “I wasn’t ashamed of Sailor. Just the circumstances. Your father and I spent years apart, only to get back together one time, and I end up pregnant at my age. It was something I couldn’t undo. I left him with Robin because I always had this fear inside me. What If I raised him like I raised you and your brothers? I’d only end uphurting him like I did you. You’re my only daughter, Coast, and you hate me.”
Tears misted in Marina’s eyes. Veering her attention away from her mother, Coast sniffled, letting the statement linger. Instead of repeating the cycle openly, she hid Sailor from everyone. Leaving him with her sister for long stretches of time caused him to be raised inconsistently. Marina managed to compartmentalize him from the rest of her life. Not from lack of love, but because she didn’t trust herself to love him correctly. She’d already failed her other kids.
“I don’t hate you. I just don’t understand you.” Coast rested her hand across her belly.
