She stopped just in front of the door, her hands on the bar, shaking. "No way. There's no way."
The guy stiffened as if he felt someone's eyes on him. He turned slowly, the moment engraving itself in Bethany's memories.
"Bethany." His eyes widened, and the horror on his face told her all she needed to know.
She pushed the door open though everything inside of her screamed to pull it closed. To protect herself. "Daddy?"
"Yeah, baby." He stood stone still, only his lips moving. A million words crossed between them, but nothing was said. The air around them crowded with the white clouds coming from their lips as their breath hit the cold.
She waited as long as she could, her mind trying like hell to process what to do next as her heart ripped open in her chest. She asked the question that had plagued her for years after he left, night after night, crying herself to sleep with the same useless question on her mind.
"Why? Why did you leave us?" The sadness in her voice melted into anguish as she reached up and pressed her hand to her mouth.
Where was Damon? Or her mother? Or Matt for crying out loud. Anyone would have been a comfort.
"I had no choice, baby. I had to run. I made some horrible choices when I was younger, and your mother put up with them, but one night I decided no more. I didn't deserve either of you, and you didn't deserve the life I led you into. So, I ran... so they would follow me. I got what I deserved."
"And what about what I deserved?" Anger burned through her so bright it almost blinded her. She stepped forward, closing the gap between them and slapped him as hard as she could. "What about what mom deserved? We went through hell without you, because of you."
He nodded and glanced down, his shoulders rounding. "And for that, I'm sorry. You can't see it from my side of the street, Beth. Because you've never stood over here, and I pray to God you never have to. I'm sorry for coming tonight. They had your name in the paper, and I wanted to see you. Forgive me."
He turned and walked toward the street, his demeanor that of a broken man.
"No. You don't get to show up and walk away again," she called after him.
"What would you have me do, Beth? Tell me, and I'll do it."
"It's Bethany, and I don't know!" She forced her tears back down. She could cry later. She wasn't a broken little girl anymore, and he wouldn't get another tear from her.
"It's always been Beth, baby. That's my nickname for you."
"Well, don't-"
"Beth? You okay?" Damon's voice pulled her from her thoughts, and she turned to face him as a sob rose up in her chest.
"I was just... this is my..." she glanced back to find him gone. "Wait. Wait!" She jogged toward the street, half-tripping on her gown as Damon called after her. "Where did he go?"
"Who, baby?" Damon caught up to her and pulled her into his arms. "What's going on?"
"My dad was here, Damon. He watched the ceremony, and I followed him out."
"You sure?" He pulled her in tighter and kissed the top of her head. "Come back inside with me."
"Fine, but yes, I'm sure. He was standing right here. I slapped him in the face and talked to him for five full minutes." The fact that she'd slapped him hurt her. She could have let out her rage another way. He was still her dad.
"Bethany?" Her mother called from the exit door, her and Kent walking out. "What's wrong?"
"Don't say a word." She glanced up at Damon. "Promise?"
"Anything for you." He leaned down and kissed her before turning to her mom and Kent. "Nothing. She got a little overheated and came out for air. Everything is fine. No biggie."
Bethany let her eyes scan the street one more time. It was a biggie. A really big biggie.
Chapter 28
Damon
"You sure you don't want me to go?" Beth lifted her head, her eyes sleepy, her voice thick with exhaustion.
"No, baby. I'll get Matt and Erica, and we'll come back here so you can see everyone. Sleep in. Last night was crazy. I didn't know your mother could drink like that." Damon leaned down and kissed the side of her head as she grumbled something incoherent.
The girl was sexy bent over his desk, but nothing beat her morning look. So innocent and beautiful. He forced himself to take a few steps back from the bed. If he didn't leave soon, he'd find himself tucked up behind her in exploration mode. Nothing sounded better.
"Love you," she mumbled and rolled over to her other side, leaving her back to him.
He waited until her breathing slowed to lift the covers. Her shorts had tangled around her thighs, and a little bit of her ass was hanging out near the bottom. Sucking his bottom lip into his mouth, he stifled a growl and reached out to caress her.
He'd almost made contact when his phone buzzed, and she woke up.
"Bye, baby." He turned and walked down the hall, cursing the situation. He should have let his father and Karen pick up Matthew and Erica. "No, you know Matt would have been pissy like a school girl who lost her favorite toy."
The call was from his father. He grabbed his keys to the Mercedes and walked out of the house before answering.
"Hey, Dad. What's up?" The sun was out, but it was still chilly.
"I'm turning off the freeway. I'll go with you to pick up Matthew and Erica."
"You sure?" Damon unlocked his car and got in to find his sunglasses.
"Yeah. I want to see you both."
"Something serious?" He located them and got back out of the car, putting them on and locking up his beauty.
"No, not at all. Just wanted to spend some time with you guys. Karen is dead to the world." He snorted.
"So is Beth. I didn't realize they could drink like a fish." He walked around the car as his father pulled up. Damon dropped the call and got in. "You sure you're up for being around the living? You drank like a whale yourself last night."
"Yeah, right." His father rolled his eyes. "Boy, I've been drinking since I was in junior high. Last night was no big deal."
"Lush." Damon pulled on his seatbelt and leaned back. "Matt's bringing Erica with him, right?"
"I don't think so. She was working hard to fix a few bloopers we had on a new TV ad this week. Nothing that ended up being her fault, but I put her in charge of cleaning it up." Damon's father pulled the car out of the driveway as the sun blinded them both.
"Anything I need to get involved with?" Damon reached up and flipped down his visor. "I can head up there for a day or so this coming week if-"
"No way. Karen and Bethany would both kill me. No, Erica can handle it, and she'll just be a little late getting here, but she's not going to miss any of the festivities." Damon's dad glanced over at him. "Are you having a bachelor party?"
"Why? Are you wanting to come?" Damon smirked.
"Hell no. I'm too old for that. Besides, I don't want to embarrass you in front of your friends."
"Dad, you wouldn't embarrass me. Come with us. We're just going to hang out and maybe go to a bar for a few drinks. Nothing big."
"Embarrass you by drinking you all under the table. You boys just can't hold your liquor like we could in the old days."
"Old days?" Damon laughed. "Okay, Dad. Think what you want. I'd drink you under the table any time you'd like to try me out."
"Now who's the lush?" His father smiled and turned onto the freeway. "What airline is Matthew flying?"
"I don't know, but I'll check my phone." Damon leaned back in his seat and ran through the messages on his phone.
"Who all is going with you guys to the party, anyway? Not that I’m really interested."
"To the bachelor party?" Damon glanced over at his dad. They were close, but his dad was almost too talkative. Something was up.
"Yes."
"Me, Kendal, Matt, and Ben." Damon shifted a little to turn more toward his father. "Okay, spill. What's going on with you?"
"What?" His father sounded surprised.
"You've been chatting like a little old lady, and you keep bringing up Friday nigh
t. What's going on?" Damon pinned his father with a hard stare. He was almost too predictable.
"Nothing, I'm just trying to get my mind on something fun. Your wedding is that thing. Is that not okay?"
"No. It's not. Something is up. Tell me, or I'll have Matt plague you to death until you want to throw his ass in the nearest lake we come to."
"Fine." His father sighed, his shoulders rounding, his expression softening. "Karen thinks she saw her ex-husband last night at the graduation. She's not sure, but she was pretty torn up about it. Don't say anything to Bethany, please. She shouldn't have to bear that, seeing that it was just a figment of Karen's imagination."
"And that upsets you, why? Doesn't seem like something that should affect you at all."
"Seriously?" His dad glanced over, the look on his face telling too much.
"Are you jealous? No fucking way. You're everything this guy isn't and a lot more." Damon turned back to face the front window as he chuckled. "Please tell me you're pulling my leg."
"Karen loved him deeply, Damon. He's not some punk that went in and out of her life. They half-raised each other as kids. Experience and history add up to a pretty big connection." He ran his hand over his chin and let out a sigh. "If it were me, I would be confused. Discombobulated."
"Right, but it's not you. It's Karen, and this man put her through absolute hell. He abandoned them."
"There's a reason for everything that happens, Damon. You know this."
"Not this shit with Mom again." Damon glanced out the window, feeling all of seventeen again. "Let's talk about something else. Seriously. You have nothing to worry about. Karen loves you. I've seen it over and over again over the last six months."
"I know. I'm just being stupid. Seems weird having you get married and Matt in a relationship." Another soft sigh. "I don't know... I guess it's a good thing, but it fucks me up a little."
Damon chuckled before reaching over and squeezing his dad's shoulder. "Well, it shouldn't. You should be proud and relieved."
"Proud of you and relieved for Matt or the other way around?"
Damon smiled and pointed to the airline’s sign. "Both for both of us. That's our turn there."
They rode in silence the rest of the way to the terminal, but Damon couldn't help but notice how withdrawn his dad was. It was almost as if he was waiting for Karen to leave him for the thug that left her and Bethany high and dry.
He was being ridiculous. There was no way in hell that would happen.
Not in a million years.
***
"Hey, you!" Damon walked toward his brother, Matt, as the big oaf jogged off the plane and used the rope as a hurdle.
"I'm home!" Matt wrapped Damon in a tight hug and lifted him off the ground as Damon grunted. Matt might have been the little brother, but he wasn't little at all. Not by a long stretch.
"Hi, son." Damon's father moved up and wrapped Matt in a hug as soon as Damon released him. Matt's smile was so big, it had to have hurt his face, but he didn't seem to notice.
"Sick of Seattle already?" Damon asked as they walked toward baggage claim. He could only imagine that Matt would have one to two bags. He was a groomsman in the wedding and Karen might kill him if he didn't have his shoes and accessories that she and Bethany had picked out and shipped up to Seattle. Why in the fuck they expected Matt to keep up with anything was beyond Damon.
"No, it's beautiful up there, but there's no place like Texas. It's early spring, and it feels like heaven." Matt gave a goofy grin and glanced over at their father. "Where's Karen and Bethany? I figured they would be with you guys."
"Too much to drink last night." Damon's dad shook his head. "These are some wild women your brother, and I have chosen."
"Me too. Erica is..." Matt let out a long whistle. "She's something else."
"So, how did the showing go last night? You sell out?" Damon wrapped his arm around Matt's shoulders, ignoring the fact that his brother was a tiny bit taller than him.
"I sure did. Jonathan actually had a pre-sale, so by the time everyone got there and the show got started, we only had two of my paintings still for sale. The man is a genius." Matt pulled away from Damon. "My bag’s already coming down the shoot."
"Good. Go get it." Damon reached out and pulled Matt's backpack off his shoulders. "I'll take this one."
Matt started toward the baggage claim and glanced back. "You excited? Terrified? Exhausted?"
"I'm good. Peaceful, funny enough." Damon gave his brother a warm smile, excited to see the nugget-head for a week. Though he would never say it in a million years, he missed Matt like crazy.
"Peaceful, huh?" Damon's father moved up beside him. "I don't think I've ever heard you use that term when referring to yourself."
"I have Beth. I'm good. She's honestly all I need."
"Now that's new." His father glanced over at him. "I'm going to get the car. I'll meet you guys up front."
"Really? Playing chauffeur? You're a billionaire, Dad."
"Yeah, but not the typical one. You're not either." He walked off, turning back to wink at Damon before he disappeared into a sea of bodies.
"Where did Dad go?" Matt stopped beside him with a big suitcase fit for a horde of women traveling together.
"He went to get the car." Damon backed up and let his eyes move across the suitcase. "What the fuck are you doing with a bag that big?"
"What? This?" Matt said in a high-pitched voice. "Leave me alone. I need my stuff!"
"Oh shit. Seattle is changing you." Damon reached out to take the suitcase as Matt swatted him again.
"Naw, I painted you and Bethany something and didn't want it jacked up on the flight, so I brought Erica's luggage."
"And what's she going to use?" Damon moved toward the exit.
"Mine, I guess. Should be interesting." Matt laughed. "I wish she could have come down with me, but she's working on something for Dad."
"You guys doing okay?" Damon wasn't sure where things laid after all Matt and Erica had been through. For rough starts, theirs took the cake. Well, Kendal's and then Matt. No one seemed to have a normal courtship. Maybe that meant the relationship would last?
"Hell yeah. She's my lady, and I'm her man."
Damon couldn't get his hand up fast enough to tell Matt not to start singing Celine Dion. He belted it, and Damon simply walked beside him, ignoring the looks they got. A few people gawked, and several clapped, but Matt enjoyed himself nevertheless.
"I see you're still on strike?" Damon held the door open for his brother and stifled his smile.
"To grow up? Oh yeah. That's never gonna happen."
"Not even for Erica?"
"She loves me just the way I am. It's one of the reasons I keep her." Matt moved toward the car as their father pulled up. "Don't tell her that though. She thinks she's doing charity work by keeping me."
"That's because she is." Damon snorted and moved toward the trunk. "Dad needs to give her a raise. Someone should show her some appreciation."
"Oh, I do." Matt wagged his eyebrows. "I could give you details."
"Nope. I'm good." Damon lifted his hand and walked to his side of the car.
They would be in their eighties, and Matt would still be as childish as he was when they were teenagers. It was just part of his charm.
Chapter 29
Four Days Later
Bethany
The week had been far too much fun with Matt back home. Shopping and movie watching, eating out and going through old photos had been the go-to activities. Damon had been there for the majority of the time but had to slip off to the office every once in a while. With Matt home, it was hard to be upset about Damon needing to work. The only problem was that the week went by far too fast.
Bethany woke up on Thursday morning and lay in the darkness beside Damon, her mind racing with the fact that they were going to be married on Saturday. She was thrilled and yet terrified. She was just learning how to be a good girlfriend to the wayward alpha male. But
being his wife?
"Is there any difference?" She rolled onto her side and reached out to run her fingers down his arm. His muscles flexed, and he groaned softly as she traced his bicep.
"You talking to yourself, sweetheart?" He was still half-asleep from what she could tell.
"Maybe." She moved up behind him, pressed her chest to his back and leaned down to kiss his neck below his ear. "I was coaching myself on how to be a good wife to you."
"And what was your advice?" He yawned loudly and moved over, rolling onto his back and reaching for her.
"I don't know, honestly. Do you have any advice?"
"Of course I do." He licked his lips and moved the covers, leaving his hard body on full display. "Let's start with you crawling up here to sit in my lap. I'm the kind of man who loves to have his woman in his lap whenever possible."
"Easy enough." She moved onto his lap, spreading her softness over him and rolling her hips. She rarely slept naked, but he'd talked her into it the night before. His warm skin pressed to hers throughout the night had her convinced that it might be the only way to sleep in the bed with him.
"And then all you gotta do is love me." He reached up and palmed her breasts, squeezing before tugging at her nipple.
"And how would you recommend I do that?" She leaned toward him and pressed her hands to his chest as her hair cascaded forward.
"Take me into you and make love to me." He reached up and pulled her down, gripping her ass with one hand and tangling his fingers in her hair with the other as he kissed her deeply.
The idea of morning breath being a problem left her as he shifted his hips and impaled her. All conscious thought left, and she let her need take over.
They worked their hips against each other as she pressed her hands to the bed, and he touched every part of her.
"It's as simple as this?" Beth asked before sitting back up and lifting up to work the full length of him with her body.
Mister Big Stuff_A Single Mom Friends to Lovers Novel Page 91