"I haven't heard from Walter, and I don't want to talk to him about Reina unless I can find out more about her current status. I wouldn't want to get his hopes up and then crush them. Today would just be about talking to Reina's niece. How dangerous could that be?"
"You could be creating family drama. Maybe none of Reina's relatives would appreciate her love story with someone who wasn't married to her."
"I'd be more concerned if I was talking to one of Reina's children, but this is a niece."
She wasn't going to be talked out of it. And he didn't really want to say no, because he wanted to spend more time with her. "Okay. I'll go with you. I just hope you won't be disappointed."
"I can live with the result. Not trying to find out if Reina might want to meet Walter is what is making me crazy. I just need to get my bag. I'll meet you in the parking lot in ten minutes. I can drive since your car is still tucked out of sight." She grabbed his wrist in a surprising move and then pressed onto her toes to give him a quick kiss. "See you soon."
Not soon enough, he thought, wanting a lot more than that brief kiss. As he closed the door behind her, he couldn't help thinking how quickly she had taken over his life. But how could he complain when he suddenly had a weekend filled with possibilities, which was something he hadn't felt in a very long time?
The air felt lighter, Kaia thought, as she drove toward San Diego, which was about forty-five minutes south of Oceanside. Actually, it was Jax who felt lighter. The heavy weight, the darkness he'd been carrying around, definitely seemed different today. "Did you have fun last night?" she asked as she got on the freeway.
"More than I expected," he admitted. "Did you tell everyone to hold back on their questions?"
"I might have mentioned it to a few people. I wouldn't say everyone, but our group is used to people having secrets they don't want to talk about."
"Who besides Hunter Kane has had secrets?"
"Emmalyn. Not that she ever hid out in her apartment, but she has a very crazy past that involved escaping from a cult and then having to get her mother out years later."
"Seriously? Sweet, kindergarten teacher, Emmalyn was in a cult?" he asked in disbelief.
"Yes. Her aunt got her out when she was a child, but her mother refused to leave. It took until last year before they were able to reunite. Emmalyn never talked about her past, but once her aunt thought the time had come when they could convince her mother to leave, she opened up." She flashed him a smile. "Makes your past look downright tame, doesn't it?"
"It does."
"Our own problems always seem bigger than everyone else's, but no family is perfect, and most people have a wound of some sort."
"What's your wound?"
She thought about that. "Probably my mom's death. Since my dad couldn't relate to a girl, I had some lonely years in my life. But I've been able to fill that void with good friends. And it has also been nice to spend more time with Ben since he moved in last year. Before that he was in Los Angeles, and we didn't see each other that often."
"I can see now why you think of the building as more than a structure."
"It's a community. That's why people probably stay longer than they really want to. The apartments aren't that big, aren't that new; the air-conditioning is weak, but you can't beat the location or the people." She paused, curious about his experience at the barbecue. "Was there anyone you clicked with last night?"
"Your brother mentioned he was in a band. I told him I refurbish guitars. We had a brief talk about that."
"Is that your story now? That you refurbish guitars?"
"It's not a story. That is what I do at the moment. Ben and I didn't talk that long. He took off very quickly."
"He was distracted last night. My father's neighbor called Ben and told him that my dad is trying to give away a lot of his stuff, including his military awards, which is concerning."
"Is he sick?"
"He has health issues, but he doesn't share them with me. Every time I ask, he blows me off. Tells me not to worry my head about it. He can take care of himself." She couldn't hide the annoyance in her voice. "He has no idea how much knowledge I have and that I might be able to help him if he confided in me. But that's a battle I lost a long time ago. Ben didn't even want me to drive out there with him today, because he thinks my dad is afraid to show weakness in front of me because I'm a girl. He always wants to be strong and in charge when I'm around."
"He sounds like someone who wants to be that way all the time, not just in front of you."
"Probably," she conceded. "But more with me than with my brothers. He and Ben clash, but in the end, there's a respect there."
"How does your dad feel about your younger brother?"
"He seems more amused by Aiden than anything else. He was the baby of the family, so he came with lower expectations. Aiden also has a way of making people laugh, even my very serious father. But they don't spend a lot of time together, so there's that."
"Well, I hope your father is okay."
