Ryker (Steele Brothers #1)

by Cheryl Douglas

  “I didn’t think they were still seeing each other.”

  I knew that wasn’t even relevant right now, but I was still trying to wrap my head around how this had happened. How I’d let it happen. If something happened to our son, Mac would never forgive me. I’d handed him the keys to that car. Maybe it was stupid, too much temptation for a kid his age, who was hungry for his first taste of freedom. But Zane was a good kid. I was so sure I could trust him.

  “I didn’t either. But you know how teenagers are, Ryker. They lie to their parents. They sneak around.”

  “Yeah.” I sure as hell had when I was Zane’s age, which should have made me too savvy to let something like this happen to my own son.

  “Is your truck missing?” Dan asked. “I assume that’s what he was driving?”

  “Uh, no, I don’t think so.” I couldn’t tell Dan I’d given him the keys to his very own car that night. I knew it would come out eventually, but I needed time to process what had happened before I admitted my mistake. “There was another car here. He must have taken that.”

  “Oh, okay. Well we’re on our way to the hospital. We’ll see you there.”

  I wanted to know why Mac hadn’t been the one to call me as soon as she got the call from the hospital, but I knew I would get my answers soon enough. As would she. I just hoped when she found out about the part I’d played in this, she wouldn’t hate me.

  ***

  Cole and I rushed into the waiting room on the third floor, where the front desk receptionist had directed us. Mac was sitting next to Dan’s wife, talking quietly, when we approached.

  “Hey,” I said. “How are the kids?”

  Mac stood up, reaching for me. “God, Ryker. How the hell did this happen? It doesn’t make any sense. He must have been driving someone else’s car. You don’t think he stole it, do you?”

  My gut twisted painfully at the secret I would now have to share. “Are they going to be okay?” I asked Nancy, Dan’s wife, as I put my arm around Mac’s shoulders and drew her into my side. “Please tell me it’s not serious.”

  “It’s not, thank God,” Nancy said, flattening her hand against her chest. “Cuts and bruises mainly, but Zane has a couple of broken ribs. I imagine that will keep him out of commission for a while.”

  I was sure she meant out of trouble. I would never wish pain on my own kid, but maybe his being incapacitated meant we’d be able to keep an eye on him until we figured out what the hell was going on with him. It wasn’t like him to lie and sneak around behind our backs, and I had to know whether this thing with Brittany was an isolated incident or a disturbing pattern that was developing.

  “Were there any other cars involved in the accident?” I asked.

  “No, thank God.” Nancy shook her head. “When Dan called you about finding Zane with Brit at our place, we honestly thought that was the end of it. Obviously, we were wrong.”

  “Wait a minute,” Mac said, raising her hand. “You found the kids together? When? What were they doing?”

  Nancy shot a guilty look in my direction when Mac stepped out of my arms, putting some distance between us.

  Before I could explain, Nex walked into the waiting room. I’d called him on the way and asked him to spread the word to our brothers, mainly because I needed a little reassurance that everything was going to be fine and I hadn’t just made the biggest mistake of my life, giving our son a car without telling Mac.

  “Hey,” Nex said, giving Mac a hug before shaking my hand. “How are they?”

  “You didn’t have to come, Nex,” I said. “I told you I’d call as soon as I found out what was going on.”

  “Screw that,” Nex said, putting an arm around Cole’s neck. “I wanted to be here. How are they?”

  “They’re gonna be okay,” I assured him. “Just banged up a little.”

  “Thank God,” Nex said, raking a hand through his hair.

  “You guys hang out here,” I said to Cole and Nex. “I’m going to take Mac outside for some fresh air.” I needed to explain this to her without an audience, in case she started screaming or crying or hitting me.

  “Yeah sure, take your time,” Nex said. “I’ll text you if the doctors want to talk to you.”

  “I think it’ll be a while before we can go in to see them,” Nancy said. “They’re still patching them up and taking X-rays to make sure they didn’t miss anything with their preliminary examination. Dan just went down to the cafeteria to get us some coffee.” Holding up her phone, she said, “You guys want anything? I can text him.”

  “No, thanks,” we said in unison.

  “We’ll be back in a few,” I said to them, linking my hand through Mac’s. She was tense, angry, but at least she didn’t try to pull away. I assumed that meant she was at least willing to listen to my side of the story before she condemned me.

  She was silent on the elevator and the short walk through the corridor, but as soon as we were outside, she asked, “What the hell was Nancy talking about? When did they find Zane with Brittany? And why didn’t you tell me?”

  I walked her over to an isolated bench on a grassy patch away from the Emergency Room doors, where we would have some privacy. After we sat facing each other, I reached for her hands. “Dan called me the night you and I got into it, after you left my place. You were already upset, so I didn’t want to bother you with it. I talked to Zane about it the next day, and I honestly didn’t think it would be a problem.”

  She pulled her hands from mine, inching back on the bench. “What the hell were they doing when Dan and Nancy walked in on them? Please tell me they weren’t having sex. They’re way too young for that.”

  Mac may have been too young for that at sixteen, but I hadn’t been. I didn’t think this was the right time to remind her I’d been sexually active at their age, especially since I happened to agree with her. Emotionally, they weren’t ready for this kind of commitment, even if their raging hormones sent them a different message.

  “They were just messing around, I think.”

  “You think?” she asked, sounding outraged. “Ryker, we can’t afford to be complacent about this. What the hell happens if he gets some girl pregnant? What about his plans for college and his future?”

  I didn’t think Zane was irresponsible enough to let something like that happen, but I never would have imagined he’d take the car out without a driver’s license, either. I didn’t even want to think about what the ramifications of that mistake would be.

  “Dan said they came home before…” I couldn’t even look Mac in the eye. I could tell she was furious with me. She was his mother. She had every right to know about this, and I’d kept her in the dark. Maybe if I had told her, we possibly could have prevented this fiasco from happening tonight.

  “I don’t believe this,” she said, resting her forehead on her upturned palms. “I knew he was over there a lot, but usually with Cole, and always when Nancy or Dan were home. I wouldn’t have let him go over there if I’d known they were alone.”

  “You weren’t home. You couldn’t have known what they were up to.”

  “No, I wasn’t home,” she said, glaring at me. “But I should have been. Look at the kind of trouble he gets into when I’m not watching him.”

  “Come on, Mac,” I said, resting my hand on her back. “He’s sixteen. We can’t watch him every minute of every day. We have to trust him.”

  “Trust him?” she asked, sounding slightly hysterical. “After the stunt he pulled tonight, you want me to trust him?”

  Seb pulled up to the curb in front of the bench, even though it was a No Parking zone, and hopped out. “Hey, Nex called me. How’re the kids?”

  “They’re gonna be okay.” I loved the way my brothers all rallied when one of us was in trouble, but right now, I just needed some time alone with Mac, to explain and beg forgiveness.

  “Jesus, I can’t believe this,” Seb said, scraping his hands over his face. “I felt terrible when Nex called. If I hadn’t delive
red the car today, maybe—”

  “The car?” Mac asked.

  “Yeah.” Seb grabbed her hand. “I know the fact that he was driving your dad’s car only makes this worse, hon. If I can piece it back together, I will. I know how much it means to you and your mom.”

  “Wait a minute,” Mac said, shaking her head. “What are you talking about?”

  Seb dropped her hand. “He, uh, wasn’t driving your dad’s old Mustang tonight?”

  “He couldn’t have been.” Mac rubbed her eyebrow as though she was trying to ward off some pain. “That car barely runs. Besides, how…?”

  “Seb,” I said, shooting him a look. “Can we have a minute? I need to explain this to Mac.”

  “Sure.” He raised his palms, mouthing “Sorry” before he jumped back in the car and drove away, presumably to find a legal parking spot.

  “Please,” Mac said, clutching her chest as she bent over. “Please tell me you did not give our sixteen-year-old son a car without talking to me first.”

  “I wanted it to be a surprise.” Judging by her expression, it was the worst kind of surprise. “I knew how much Bill loved that car. I had Seb restore it so it looks brand-new.” It looked brand-new. I had no idea whether it would even be salvageable now. God, what a mess.

  “My mother knew about this?” she asked, sounding horrified. “She was in on this?”

  “Yeah, but don’t blame her. I asked her to keep it a secret so we could surprise you. I thought you’d love seeing your dad’s old car looking the way he would have wanted it to.” I almost wished I’d taken pictures that afternoon in case she would never have the opportunity to see it looking like that again.

  “I would have. But you had no right to give our son a car without talking to me first.”

  “You’re right. I’m sorry.” There was no way to spin this so I came out looking innocent. I hadn’t intended for anyone to get hurt, but they had, and I couldn’t take it back. “If I had it to do all over again, I’d do things differently, believe me.”

  “Really? Would you have told me about Dan finding Brit and Zane together?”

  “I told you why I kept that to myself, baby. I—”

  She stood. “That’s just it, Ryker. For this to work, you can’t keep things that affect our family to yourself. You need to treat me as your equal, not some clueless little twit who needs to be protected from all the things she can’t handle. It’s insulting, and I resent it.”

  I jumped up, reaching for her wrist when she walked away. “I’m sorry, about everything. Don’t let this come between us. Please.”

  She looked at me as though she didn’t even know me, the frown drawing lines between her arched brows. “I wasn’t the one who drove this wedge between us, Ryker. You were. Now kindly leave so I can take our son home to recuperate.”

  Nex texted me, letting me know the police were inside and wanted to talk to us. “I’m not going anywhere.” She could tell me to stay the hell away from her and I would have no choice but to respect that, but no one, not even Mac, could keep me away from my son.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Mackenzie

  I was so physically and emotionally exhausted, I barely registered the questions the police were asking Zane. Thankfully, Ryker was there to step in when need be. In spite of the fact I asked him to leave, I was glad he’d stayed. He’d always been the voice of calm and reason in the face of tragedy or turmoil, and I needed his quiet strength tonight.

  The police treated him with respect, which didn’t surprise me. Everyone treated Ryker with respect. They told us Zane would face a fine and would be unable to get a driver's licence for some time, which after this stunt, seemed like a reasonable punishment to me. They said he could even be looking at community service, depending on the judge. The car had been impounded, and Ryker would likely face fines as well since the car and insurance had been in his name.

  “Thank you, officers,” Ryker said, shaking hands with both of them as he walked them to the door of Zane’s hospital room. “Needless to say, we’ll be keeping a tight rein on him for the foreseeable future.” He shot a scathing look at Zane, almost making me feel sorry for him. Almost.

  Once the police were gone, Ryker turned to face Zane, his hands on his hips, his face drawn tight with anger and frustration. “What the hell were you thinking, taking that car out without a license?”

  Zane winced as he shifted in the bed, trying to find a position that would ease the pain. The mother in me wanted to reach out to him, to comfort him, but the disciplinarian in me wanted to throttle him for being so reckless.

  “I’m sorry,” Zane said, closing his eyes. “I know it was stupid. It was just supposed to be for an hour or so. Brit and I were gonna grab a bite—”

  “I thought you weren’t seeing that girl anymore. Don’t you care that she has a boyfriend?” Ryker demanded.

  Again, news to me. The surprises just wouldn’t stop coming. I felt like my son and husband had some sort of secret life going on and I hadn’t earned the right to be a part of it. It felt like a slap in the face after all the years we’d preached about the importance of honesty in our home.

  “She dumped him,” Zane insisted, his eyes opening as he stared at his father, daring Ryker to challenge his assertion.

  “You believe that?” Ryker asked, rolling his eyes. “How do you know she’s not playing you again?”

  “I don’t think that’s really relevant right now,” I said, cutting in. I couldn’t believe they were discussing Zane’s love life when we clearly had more pressing problems to deal with. “You broke the law tonight, Zane.”

  “I know.” He exhaled slowly, clearly struggling just to breathe through the discomfort. “I was an idiot. I made a stupid mistake, and I’m gonna pay for it. I get that.”

  “You sure as hell are,” Ryker said, pacing back and forth. Given the small room and his long strides, he couldn’t go far.

  “I’m sorry about the car,” he said, looking from me to Ryker and back again.

  I was tempted to say it was just a car, that the important thing was that he and Brittany were okay. Of course that was the most important thing. But I couldn’t deny my heart hurt at the thought of our last link to my father being gone because of my son’s carelessness.

  “Let’s just hope Uncle Seb can work his magic on it,” Ryker said, glancing at me. “I’m sorry about the car too, Mac. If I’d known there was even a chance he could be this irresponsible, I never would have given it to him. I feel terrible about this.”

  I knew he did, but there was so much to think about, so much to process, and I just couldn’t deal with it tonight.

  “Don’t blame Dad,” Zane pleaded. “This was all my fault.” When I broke eye contact with Ryker, Zane asked, “Did I screw everything up? Are you guys not gonna get back together now, because of me?”

  I didn’t want to add to Zane’s distress. He already had enough on his plate. “How many times have we told you that honesty is the most important thing?” I asked, stepping closer to his bed. I set my hand against his forehead, just like I used to when he was little and I was testing for a fever. “Without trust, we have nothing.”

  “Yeah,” Ryker said, his voice raspy. “Your mom trusted me to be honest with her, and I wasn’t. That’s on me.”

  I knew Ryker could have tried to defend himself again, to remind me that the car was to have been a surprise or he was only trying to protect me by not telling me about Zane and Brittany. I was glad he didn’t make that mistake again. If he had, I may have exploded.

  “You’re willing to forgive me, right?” Zane asked, his blue eyes pleading for understanding.

  “Of course I am,” I said, sighing. “You’re my son.”

  “If you’re willing to forgive me for my bonehead mistake, why can’t you forgive Dad?”

  I knew how excited both Zane and Cole were about their dad moving back home, and as much as I hated the thought of disappointing them, I refused to be coerced while I stil
l had reservations.

  “This isn’t about forgiveness,” I said, knowing anything I said now would fall on deaf ears.

  “Right,” Ryker said. “It’s about trust. It’s about honesty. Your mom has every right to be upset with me, Zane. If you guys want to be angry with someone, be angry with me. I screwed everything up.”

  “No, you didn’t!” Zane grabbed his left side when his ribs protested. “I screwed up. I did this. I messed around with Brit and asked you not to tell Mom about it. I took the car out and smashed it up.”

  Zane asked his dad not to tell me about Dan’s call? Interesting. It didn’t excuse the fact that Ryker had kept it to himself, but it did shed more light on the situation.

  “We’re not getting anywhere with this,” Ryker said, raking a hand through his hair. “We all need to just take some time and regroup.”

  I was grateful that he understood I needed time to process what happened and seemed willing to give it to me. If he’d tried to push me, I would have pushed him away.

  “I’ll take Cole home with me,” Ryker said. “If that’s okay, Mac?”

  “It’s okay.” According to the doctors, Zane would be able to go home as soon as the X-rays came back and they’d cleared him.

  “I’ll call to check on you tomorrow,” Ryker said to Zane.

  “Dad, I’m sorry,” he said, meeting his father’s dejected gaze.

  “Yeah, so am I,” Ryker said before walking out. “So am I.”

  ***

  Zane spent most of the weekend in his room, mad at himself, mad at me, mad at the world. So when Sunday evening rolled around and Ryker was due to bring Cole back, I waited in the backyard for him, where I knew we would have some privacy.

  I heard his footsteps on the patio stones behind me, so I set my e-reader aside, and looked up at him.

  “I just went up to check on Zane. He said I could find you out here.” He sat down on the edge of the lounger next to me, linking his hands between his knees as he dropped his head. “All weekend I’ve been thinking about what I did, what I wanted to say to you, how I could fix this mess, and I just keep coming back to the same thing: I’m sorry.”