Come to Me Softly Page 14

  I wouldn’t stand for it.

  Not my little girl.

  Not a chance.

  I twisted the cap from my beer and drained half of it, fucking overcome by the thought, because I hadn’t truly allowed my mind to go there. Those thoughts had always been an impression of what seemed an impossibility.

  I looked up to meet Dave Moore’s face. Blatant distrust saturated every inch of his expression. He was graying now, just a hint around his ears and at the back of his neck. But he was a whole lot like Karen, looking so much younger than he actually was.

  “Yeah, sure, son,” he said, keeping his attention trained on me, this slow simmer of anger burning somewhere in the depths of his eyes.

  Christopher passed his dad a beer before he plopped down in the stool next to me and ran a hand through his unruly hair. Would have thought he’d have attempted to tame it for today. Dude was such a slob, but he was just acting like himself, and I realized that’s just the way he was. There wasn’t a whole lot of pretense obscuring what was happening inside of him.

  Had to respect him for that.

  Christopher tipped his beer to his mouth and took a long pull, smacked his lips, a clash of glass and granite as he set the bottle down too hard on the bar. “Damn, Mom, I have to admit, that turkey smells delicious.”

  Karen smiled a little. “You think so? I hope it turns out well… That thing has been sitting in brine all night. I researched about ten different recipes.”

  “Oh yeah, for sure. So much better than the turkey we had when we were ten,” he pressed on, slanting a knowing eye in my direction.

  I sputtered over my beer and swiped the back of my hand over my mouth, trying not to bust up laughing, but that had to have been about the worst damned dinner I’d ever eaten.

  Should have known from the tone of Christopher’s voice he was getting ready to razz his mom. That’d always been one of his favorite pastimes, messing with her, because she was just so unsuspecting.

  Offense stopped Karen midstride. Her eyes narrowed when she set them on her oldest son. But the frown carved on her face fluttered with amusement, like she was about three seconds from busting up at the memory, too.

  “I have absolutely no recollection of that,” she finally answered in defiance, lifting her chin as she finished her pass from the oven to the island. Metal clattered as she picked up her whisk and began whipping something in a large silver bowl.

  “No… no… I’m sure you don’t remember that Thanksgiving at all,” he prodded, ribbing her more. “I’d have wiped that from my memory, too, if I’d tried to cook a completely frozen turkey.”

  Aly flicked a bean at Christopher’s head. “You’re such a jerk. You leave my mom alone.” She punctuated her words by widening those expressive, green eyes.

  Christopher exhaled an offended breath. “Are you kidding me, Aly Cat? First you’re taking sides with this ass over here…” He hooked his thumb in my direction. “… and now you’re gonna turn against me when we’re talking about Mom’s cooking when we both know how terrible it is?” He placed his hand over his heart. “You wound me.”

  Aly waved her knife. “Yeah, I’m going to wound you if you don’t leave my mom alone.” It was all tease and affection, the two of them always at each other’s throats in the moments they weren’t having the other’s back.

  Aly smiled at me, all cute and sly, and I couldn’t help but smile back. Because it’d always been like this here. Casual, easy, safe.

  Somehow both frenzied and fluid, Aly and Karen moved about the kitchen, as if they were enjoying every second of creating this meal together.

  “Hey, Mom,” Christopher called, “looks like you have a little issue over there. Not that I’m surprised or anything.” He laughed as Karen flew around from what she was whisking on the bar to find the pot of potatoes boiling over. A tower of steaming water bubbled up from under the lid, racing down the side of the pot and hissing as it splashed onto the stove.

  “Oh my God,” she said. She grabbed a potholder and yanked off the lid. She quickly stirred it, mumbling profanities under her breath, all of them directed at Christopher.

  Her son cocked a sarcastic brow. “You sure you have that under control over there? Because it definitely doesn’t look that way to me. The whole kitchen looks like a war zone.”

  Karen’s grin was wide and mocking. “Oh no, my sweet boy, I’m sure everything’s fine. Because you’ll be the one doing dishes.”

  Christopher floundered at that. “Ahh… shit, Mom, I was just playing around, and now you’re going to go and punish me?”

  “Um, yeah, I am, because you deserve it. And watch your mouth before I wash it out with soap,” she scolded, pointing her spoon at Christopher.

  Middrink, I cracked up, because Karen was just really fucking cool. When Christopher punched me in the shoulder, I spit out the mouthful of beer I was trying to hold in. I was doing my best to cover it all up with my hand, but I couldn’t stop myself from laughing, couldn’t stop myself from feeling like I wanted to stay.

  I caught Aly’s eye from where she was rinsing off the green beans at the sink. A hint of a smile played at her mouth, something that said I told you so and Things are going to be just fine.

  But her eyes said so much more. They were welcoming me home.

  Guarded, Dave watched the whole scene from where he rested back against the far counter. Really, he was just watching me, maybe warning me.

  I dropped my gaze, dreading what was in store. Because if he couldn’t accept me now, he sure as hell wouldn’t accept me when he found out what was coming.

  Close to an hour later, we all gathered at the table, Aly and I wedged on the inside near the windows, Christopher to my left at the end, and Aug directly across from me. Karen sat across from Aly, and Dave sat at the head in between her and Aly.

  Maybe Karen had screwed up dinner twelve years ago, but she sure as hell had perfected it since. A moan rumbled somewhere deep in my chest when I took my first bite. “This dinner is unbelievable, Karen,” I said, not because I was kissing her ass but because it really was true.

  A chorus of agreement rose up at the table.

  An appreciative smile kissed her mouth, and she lifted her wineglass to me. “I’m just thankful you’re here to share it with us.”

  “Thank you.” My voice came rough and quiet, but I really meant it, too.

  Because God, it felt amazing sitting here. Sharing this with Aly. With her family.

  Being with her.

  I searched for her hand under the table and pulled it onto my lap, because I just wanted to feel her. Warmth sped through my veins, lighting a fire in my stomach and in my mind because as I sat there, I couldn’t stop myself from dreaming of what could be.

  Through the large windows behind us, the sun began to sink toward the horizon, the early evening encroaching as the day slowly slipped away. It dimmed the room and thickened the mood, that same joy that sat so prominent on Aly’s face hours before now radiating from her entire body.

  Conversation was light and the banter was high, like it had always been at the Moores’, though Dave had said few words the entire day. I knew Aly felt the tension from her father, but this girl just chose to enjoy the day that we had, forging on with the celebration like she’d promised when we left her room this morning.

  It’s what mattered to her, so I made the choice for it to matter to me, too.

  I just ate and enjoyed and forced down all the worries plaguing me.

  Christopher chewed, swallowing before he spoke. “So, Aug, I hear the big game is coming up in a couple of weeks?”

  Aug’s face lit up. “Yep, two weeks from tomorrow. Can’t believe we made it to State. It’s going to be a tough game, but I think we have a really good shot at winning the championship.”

  “Proud of you, man,” Christopher said, lifting his chin in his younger brother’s direction. “You led them to it.”

  “Thanks, Christopher.” Augustyn’s attention bounced a
round the table. “You all are coming, aren’t you?”

  “I wouldn’t miss it,” Christopher immediately said.

  Aug gestured to me. “What about you?”

  “Of course.” It fell from my mouth without hesitation. No question, Aly would want to be there. Her little brother was the star quarterback, and this was going to be the biggest game of his life – so far, at least. And shit, I hadn’t gotten the chance to know him all that well, and I was happy to sign up for something that made the kid happy.

  A crash of metal and glass halted the easy conversation. All eyes darted to the end of the table, where Dave had thrown his fork to his plate. He pushed his chair back from the table. “Goddamn it.” His voice resonated as a low growl when he muttered the words, just loud enough for the table to hear.

  The man stared back at me with unmitigated hate.

  “Dave,” Karen whispered urgently. Outright worry creased her forehead.

  “What?” he shot back, unfazed, his anger escalating. “You want me to just continue sitting here, pretending like I shouldn’t be concerned with what’s happening?” His glare made a pass over me and Aly before he jerked it back to his wife. “Because it’s pretty damn clear I’m the only person sitting at this table who is taken by surprise that there’s something going on with these two, and I don’t exactly appreciate being made the fool.”

  “Dad, no one is trying to make you out to be a fool,” Aly said, her tone almost pleading as she leaned toward him.

  Hurt knitted up his brow. “Then what are you trying to do, Aly? Because I’m sitting here feeling like the brunt of a sick joke.”

  Sick joke.

  Guess Dave didn’t feel like keeping up pretenses, either.

  To my left, Christopher stood, stripped of the easiness he always wore. “Come on, Aug, let’s go shoot some hoops out back, give these guys a minute to talk.”

  Aug seemed reluctant. His gaze slid over the mess of faces, over the worry on his mother and the sadness on his sister. It finally settled on the hostility emanating from his father. Slowly he stood. “Yeah,” he said awkwardly, “would be good to burn off some of this dinner.” He placed a hand on Karen’s shoulder and kissed her on top of the head. “Dinner was great, Mom. Thank you.”

  Silently, she nodded and patted his hand before they turned to leave.

  We listened to their footsteps retreat, like they were a silent marker, a bell.

  Fire struck in Dave’s eyes as he leveled them on me before he set them on Aly. Waiting.

  Waiting on an explanation I knew he was going to be none too happy to receive.

  Closing her eyes, Aly tightened her fingers on mine where our hands were still clasped on my lap, like she was looking for some kind of strength from me. I squeezed her back, ran my thumb over the back of her hand, not knowing what to say, not knowing how to take this away from her. Because no matter what, I knew this conversation was not going to go well.

  Finally, she lifted her face back to Dave. “Dad, I’m sorry. It was never like that. I knew we needed to talk, but I wanted to wait until after dinner. I just wanted us to enjoy the holiday. Enjoy dinner and our family.”

  “Enjoy dinner?” he asked, incredulous. “This has been about the least enjoyable dinner I’ve ever had. Your mom tells me Jared is coming to dinner yesterday, but she doesn’t say a word about the two of you, instead making it seem like he’s in town visiting. Sure doesn’t look that way to me. How long has this been going on?”

  I gritted my teeth, because he was sitting there talking down to my girl, like she was some ignorant child who had no idea what she was doing. But I saw it in his eyes. Concern. So I swallowed it down, holding in the shiver of nerves that tingled through my limbs, the adrenaline spike I knew so well.

  Fuck.

  Almost apologetically, Aly glanced at me. Unshed tears blurred her eyes. “This summer —”

  “What?” The mention of months gone by had Dave cutting her off before she even had a chance to start. He leaned forward in his seat. Obviously that bit of information pissed him off. His shoulders bunched up like he was trying to contain his own aggression.

  “Let her talk, Dave,” Karen demanded, low, almost as intense as what had shot from her husband’s mouth.

  A burdened breath seeped from Aly, and she chewed at her lip, like she was gauging the best way to lay this on her dad.

  When I was a kid, I’d always thought Dave was a good guy. But even back then, I’d always been a little fearful of him. He’d never let anything get in the way of protecting his family, and he’d be damned if he let Christopher and me play him in any way.

  Keen. Quick to judge.

  And that was the thing – he’d cast his judgment on me years ago, and there was nothing Aly or I could say that would sway it.

  We just were getting ready to seal it.

  “At the beginning of this past summer,” she continued, her nails cutting into my skin, “Christopher ran into Jared. Jared ended up staying with us for a few months… and he and I…” Aly trailed off. Suggestion colored the words. Clearly, she wasn’t going to fill her dad in on all the little details she didn’t exactly relish elaborating on.

  Thank God for that, because I was already sitting there fucking squirming on the hard, wooden chair, feeling all those eyes boring into me, searching for my intent.

  The fucked-up thing was Karen looked like she wanted to squeeze me in her arms until I couldn’t breathe, and Dave just looked like he wanted to squeeze the life out of me.

  Couldn’t blame him.

  He knew it, saw it written all over me. He knew I’d been buried in his daughter, feasting on every ounce of pleasure that this girl could bring me.

  But what he didn’t know was how it made me feel, what she made me feel. He had no clue that this wasn’t just some game I was playing with her.

  He had no idea how Aly had changed me. Despite all the hate I harbored inside, this girl still managed to make me love her. She’d poured so much of it into me there was no chance I wouldn’t feel it back.

  “What do you mean for a few months?” Dave frowned, putting the fragmented pieces together, trying to make it all add up, because the guy wasn’t stupid and he knew he didn’t have the full story.

  A soft sigh flowed from Karen as she watched Aly with sympathy, because she knew all about the pain I’d brought down on her daughter. But really, she didn’t know the half of it. She didn’t know how badly Aly had been hurting, how scared she’d been while I’d been away.

  “He stayed with us for a few months. Some things happened and he left.”

  “He left.” It was a statement. Dave Moore had just found his sum.

  Frustration and hope tumbled from Aly in a flood of words, and she leaned across the table, flattened her hand against it in front of him, trying to create some kind of connection with him, imploring with him to listen. “Dad, I know you can’t understand all of this, or maybe you just might not want to, but things happened between me and Jared that he wasn’t ready to deal with. And, yes, I was hurt when he was away.” Honesty poured from her. “But he came back to me. For good. We’re together and we’re going to be.”

  She said it like it was the simplest thing in the world when everything between us had always been so complicated, every emotion that flushed through my body complex, the joy hinging on the hate, this reckless balance that could so easily tip and spin us out of control.

  But I wasn’t going to let it.

  As if he knew it, Dave watched me, like he could somehow see through me, inside me, deep into the darkness that possessed so much of my blackened spirit. And I knew it scared him because he was scared for his daughter, and it was the exact same shit that scared me, too.

  “So that’s it… he’s just here and you’re together?” Dave shrugged like it didn’t matter all that much, but there was no mistaking the rage boiling his blood. “And I guess it’s safe to assume he’s back at the apartment with you and Christopher.”

  Sl
owly, Aly nodded, carefully wetting her lips, buying time. Dread radiated from her pores, panic thick as it locked up her throat. She fought to get the words through. “Yes, he’s staying with us. But no, that’s not all.” Her voice cracked on the last word.

  Everyone stilled. A dense silence thickened in the stagnant air.

  Dave stared at me with unfaltering hate while Aly dropped her attention to her lap, like she could find the courage bundled there. “Jared and I…” Determined, Aly lifted her face. Her eyes darted between her parents. “We’re going to have a baby.”

  Every nerve in my body lit in searing pain and gutting shame, because I was never supposed to be allowed this. It was followed by a flood of all the love I felt for this girl and this insane sense of pride.