“Who’s who?” Parker asked, interrupting my speech.
I looked at him like he’d just told me that a Thunderbird was the best car of all time. “Does it really matter?” I asked in disbelief. “You’re both idiots.”
“It matters,” Dawson said in agreement. “Parker is Dr. Ruth.”
Parker shrugged, a smile tugging on the edge of his mouth. “Fine with me. She’s the sex expert, which is clearly befitting of me.”
“Dude, I made twins,” Dawson argued. “Clearly, I’m firing on all cylinders.”
“Yeah, five years ago,” Parker shot back. “But I don’t know, bro. You might be running out of gas.”
I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache swiftly developing. “Okay,” I moaned before Dawson could get in another quip. “I’m going to skip over the fact that you’re both morons and move on to my second point. Which is, why would you think that I did anything in this scenario?”
“You guys automatically assumed that it was my fault when Kinley and I weren’t talking,” Parker pointed out.
“Meaning?” I asked. “These are two completely different situations.”
“Meaning you’re a Cruz,” Dawson chimed in, “and as a Cruz, you have the propensity for sticking your head up your ass at inopportune moments. Like when your girlfriend is trying to apologize to you.”
I narrowed my eyes at my older brother. “How would you know that? Did Sage talk to Mickie or something? Because I know it was her who invited Sage to the funeral.”
He shrugged. “Mickie didn’t tell me anything. I just knew that something had happened with you guys, and she showed up today with regret on her face instead of anger. When you went down to the basement, you were the one who looked pissed, not her. I figured that meant that she probably messed up, came here to fix it, and you weren’t going to make it easy for her. And whenever she left and you still looked pissed—probably even more pissed than before—I just put two and two together. It wasn’t that difficult.”
“Besides, when it comes to fighting, we’re usually the biggest stubborn asses on the planet,” Parker said, throwing a look over his shoulder back at the house. “Don’t ever let Kinley know I said that.”
I hung my head, the headache now in full force. “Yes, we had a fight, okay?”
“About?”
I buried my face in my hands. “God, I don’t even know now. Something happened with one of her kids that kind of became personal to her. She had a rough childhood and still deals with…issues from that.” I would never reveal more than that. That was for Sage to tell, not me. I relayed the rest of the argument to them and how it ended with her giving me an out, telling me she needed space.
“And you gave her the space?”
“I kind of had to after what she found in my glove compartment.” They both went dead silent as they waited for me to continue. “She found a bag of coke.”
“What the fuck, man,” Dawson spat at the same time that Parker shouted, “What the hell’s going on, Mace?”
I shook my head at them, expecting their reactions, even grateful for them. That’s what I would be facing if I ever got into my old habits, which was never going to happen, anyway. But it was nice to know that they wouldn’t be kind about it.
“It wasn’t mine,” I told them. “I took it from Mom.” Again, they went silent, those words having a very palpable effect. “I went by to drop off groceries one day and went inside because it was really quiet. She was passed out on the couch and the bag was on the coffee table. Didn’t see any lines so I don’t know if she took any or not. I just got it away from her and stashed it in the glove compartment. I was going to flush it down the toilet but forgot about it. I wasn’t going to use it, I swear.”
When they didn’t question that, I knew they believed me and I was once again grateful. “She’s definitely going to that facility,” Dawson growled, sounding truly infuriated. “But putting that aside, so Sage found it and thought it was yours?”
“She didn’t give me a chance to explain,” I replied. “Just got pissed and left. Right after that was when you called to say that Sal was in the hospital. It was easy to give her space when I was basically at the hospital for five days straight.”
“So, what about today in the basement?”
I filled them in on everything that was said downstairs, even reluctantly admitting how I’d acted. “And you call us morons,” Dawson muttered when I finished.
I was growing impatient. “Well, you wanted to hear what happened so badly. Are you two assholes just going to stand there and criticize or are you actually going to try and help?”
Parker sighed in contentment and rubbed his hands together. “So glad you’ve come to us for our sage advice, brother.” He elbowed me, wiggling his eyebrows. “See what I did there?” Then, his eyes widened in horror and he shook his head. “Sorry, I think Kinley’s horrible jokes are rubbing off on me.”
“And still not helping.”
“Alright, alright,” Parker said, throwing his hands up, his voice taking on a more serious note. “Let me ask you this.” I gave him my attention. “What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to go through in your life?”
I answered immediately. “Withdrawal.” I’d told both of them that before.
Parker nodded once. “And what was that like? What did it feel like?”
A chill ran down my spine just thinking about those first weeks in rehab. “Fucking terrible. It was like going through one type of pain and ten minutes later, moving on to the next type, and then the next. It was a cycle I repeated over and over every single day. Then came the anxiety, followed by the depression. Though the craving was constant, non-stop. Even in my dreams. There were some days I just wanted to die. After a few weeks, it all wore off but the itch never really went away.” I lowered my head along with my voice. “It’s still there. Just not as strong.”
Though neither of them touched me right then, I could feel their silent support reaching out to me.
“Right,” Parker said. “Now, I can’t imagine what you went through, especially when it came to the physical pain. But I’m telling you right now, if you really love Sage, losing her is going to be just as painful as all of that, if not more so. At least with the withdrawal, those aches and shakes eventually went away. I mean, they were hell for you when you were going through it, but it’s not like you still get them now. And if Sage gets away? She’s never really going to leave you, man. You’re always going to have that constant pain with you, wherever you go. You’re going to have a whole other itch to deal with, and that one could very well eat you alive. Trust me. I only lost Kinley for a month and I almost went fucking insane.”
I remembered. I’d never seen my younger brother so messed up before, which told me more than anything how much he loved his girl.
“It’s just…” This was going to make me sound so weak. “What if this becomes a habit with us? Every time something goes down, we fight and yell and say shit we don’t mean. I don’t want to become one of those couples, like Sal and Mom. Constantly hurting each other until we end up hating one another.”
“You know how I know that’s not going to happen?” Dawson asked and answered without waiting for a response. “Because you’re not Sal, Mace. No matter what he ever said to you. No matter what you’ve ever said to yourself. You’re not him. None of us are. Hell, you hardly even yell now. I can count on one hand how many times I’ve actually seen you angry in the last ten years. And I may not know Sage really well yet, but I’ve got the feeling that she isn’t that type of person either. I mean, if she came here today, knowing that she was going to face all of us, unaware of how we felt about her, she’s clearly invested in the two of you. She cares, she loves you, and she obviously has balls, which I can respect.”
I laughed, mentally picturing Sage at her sassiest. Truth be told, I had loved her attitude from the moment I met her, so it didn’t seem right that I was upset over it now. She was a passionate person, fiercely em
otional, which I’d known from the very beginning. Just because she’d reacted poorly and said some stupid things didn’t mean that it was fair of me to completely berate her for those same emotions, just used in a different context. Sure, there were some things we needed to work on there, but I could help her with those. Hell, she’d asked me to help her. Everyone had flaws, so what gave me the right to crucify her for one slip up?
After all, I wanted those strong emotions from her—craved them. Like she said, we just needed to work on channeling them into something more constructive. Like sex. A smile crept over my face at the thought.
“There it is,” Parker mused. “The ‘damn, I think I figured it out’ face.” He smiled and slapped me on the back. “Glad Dr. Ruth could be of assistance.”
“Um, point of order,” Dawson argued, holding up a finger. “I believe Dr. Phil was also present for this session. You’re welcome.”
Parker didn’t lose the smile, though it morphed into one I recognized from his youth, particularly when he was doing something he knew he shouldn’t have been. His eyes flickered over to me. “That’s right. Detective Cruz is always at your service. How could we forget?”
I burst out laughing, remembering the cardboard cutout of Dawson at Christmas two years ago that Parker had showed up with. Dawson, however, didn’t appreciate the reminder. “I swear, if you don’t let that go…”
“What, big boy?” Parker asked in something akin to a southern belle accent. “You going to handcuff me? Take me downtown? Maybe beat me over the head with your big stick?”
“I don’t need a stick,” Dawson growled, glaring at our youngest brother. “I’ve got two fists right here and they’ve been dying to lay into your pretty boy face.”
Parker laughed as he dodged Dawson’s tackle. “Not the moneymaker!”
I let the two idiots wrestle it out as my thoughts ventured into more prudent areas. Like winning Sage back.
And this time, I was damn well going to keep her. Forever.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sage
“I approached the Dole residence but told Mr. Cruz to stay in the vehicle so I could handle the situation without instigating Mr. Dole,” I told the committee. “I wanted him to be present in case Mr. Dole reacted in a hostile manner. My sole concern was getting Katie out safely.”
A hearing was being held to basically determine what happened that resulted in my decision to physically remove Katie from the Dole house. It wasn’t a disciplinary hearing for me. It was simply to record the truth and determine what measures should be taken against Ed Dole, particularly in the legal sense.
In my opinion, Katie’s statement of events should have been enough to send the bastard away for the rest of his life, but they wanted other witnesses to corroborate her story. Hearing her explain what happened was one of the hardest things I’d ever had to sit through in my life. Though it could have been a lot worse, Ed still put his hands on Katie in an inappropriate way that had scared the shit out of her and I wanted him to burn for it.
“And what happened when you entered the residence?” the head of committee asked.
“I knocked on the door and when nobody answered it, I entered and immediately called for Katie. I saw none of the other family members and no one answered my calls, so I went up to Katie’s bedroom. After some coaxing, I was able to get her to open the door. She had locked it and barricaded herself in the corner so as to prevent Mr. Dole from entering. We quickly packed a bag for her and went to exit the residence. That’s when Mr. Dole appeared from his bedroom.”
This next part was difficult to say, mainly because it made me want to choke the life out of the man. “He proceeded to raise his voice, yelling at both myself and Katie. He then touched me inappropriately, I shoved him off, and Katie and I left the residence. Outside, Mr. Dole once again laid his hands on me by grabbing my arm, attempting to prevent me from leaving. After I forced him to remove his hands and said a few words to him, I left with Katie and Mr. Cruz and immediately took her to my home.”
“Were there any indications that Mr. Dole had a violent temperament or a problem with alcohol prior to this incident?”
That was one of the more frustrating questions. “Not to my knowledge, no. It was clear that he wasn’t the most attentive or caring individual, but I never witnessed any violent tendencies prior to this. I did, however, have concerns regarding his attitude toward his wife and the kids, especially after I smelled alcohol on his breath one afternoon. I reported all of this to Social Services immediately.”
How none of this had been spotted during his numerous application interviews just to become a foster parent, I had no idea. The more I thought about it, the more baffled I was and the more I began to think that perhaps some reform in the process was necessary. Especially when I thought back to Roy and how the hell he had been able to pass every step during his application process.
After another thirty minutes of questioning, I was allowed to leave and thanked by the committee for my diligence on the matter. Although the legal process with the case had yet to be initiated, I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders when I walked out of that room. Unlike with my experience, justice would be served in this case and the bad guy would pay for his crimes. At least Katie was now out of that home, Ed Dole would no longer be able to house and be responsible for children, and everyone could begin the process of moving on.
And Katie was going to be living with her sister.
##
“Katie!” Sabrina screamed as Katie flew out the door of the Nova and ran to her sister. “Sabrina!”
I exited the car and watched the two embrace each other. I was smiling, but there was no way in the world I could have held back the tears. I hadn’t seen Katie smile like that since long before they were separated. The sense of accomplishment that washed over me at the scene, the knowledge that I had done something good and right, reaffirmed my faith in the system, with myself, and with the whole of mankind.
Okay, that was a little dramatic. I never didn’t believe in the system. But these moments were the ones you cherished when the system wasn’t cooperating the way you needed it to.
Mrs. Frasier walked over to me with a smile that matched my own. “That may just be the best thing I’ve ever seen in all my years of doing this,” she said.
“No argument here,” I replied. “Thank you so much for this.”
“Oh, no. Thank you for working it out.” She watched the girls as Sabrina showed Katie her new skateboard and how she was learning to ride it. “I don’t think you know how much Sabrina missed her sister.”
I saw the glow on Katie’s face as she laughed at Sabrina when she lost her balance on the board, causing them both to giggle. “I think I have an idea.”
It was as if my thoughts were being voiced aloud when Katie’s head shot up, her eyes connecting with mine. She said something to Sabrina and ran over to me, her smile never leaving her face. I wasn’t prepared for the hug that almost knocked me off my feet. And I certainly wasn’t prepared for the tears that soaked my shirt, which her face was buried in.
“Thank you, Sage,” she whispered through her cries.
I stroked her hair, unbelievably thankful that everything worked out the way it should have. “You never have to thank me, honey,” I told her. “But if you ever need me for anything, ever, you know you can call me.”
She pulled back and looked up at me, her forehead creased. “Will I still see you?”
I straightened the strands of her hair I’d messed up. “Of course you will. I’m still your social worker. I’m still going to stop by regularly and we can hang out and talk about books if you want. Sabrina can play the piano for me.”
She smiled and my heart was nothing but a pile of mush at her feet. “And eat Hawaiian pizza?”
“And eat Hawaiian pizza.”
She nodded, her eyes darting to something behind me and her smile widened. “Good. Then, I’ll see you soon. By the way, your cute boyfriend is he
re.”
“What?” She ran off with a laugh and my body snapped around so fast, I practically gave myself whiplash.
There was Mason. Looking every bit the gorgeous badass in his faded, ripped jeans, heavy black boots, and white t-shirt. His arms were crossed over his chest, displaying his thick biceps covered in those mouthwatering tattoos. His face was covered in his five o’clock shadow and his dark blonde hair had that freshly I don’t give a fuck look to it that I loved.
He was staring right at me.
And because of this, it took me several moments to realize what he was leaning against.
Roxanne.
More like Roxanne 2.0. Oh my God.
She looked incredible, in her new purple color and sparkling new tires. He even put a cowl hood on her. And if I wasn’t mistaken, a brand new exhaust system had also been installed. Holy shit. That was way more than we had discussed.
I could feel him watching me as I took in my new car. We hadn’t spoken in days, and although I was concerned about the state of Roxanne, I hadn’t had the nerve to call him after the incident in the Masterson’s basement. I’d decided that I would continue to drive Frank’s Nova until I could gather up the courage to contact him.
Hallelujah that moment had never come.
I approached him slowly under the guise of checking out my car. But really I was just trying to stall facing him after my humiliating moment in that bathroom.
“How did you know I was here?” I asked.
He backed off the car, taking a step toward me. “Pierce told me where I could find you.”
I frowned. “Pierce? When did you talk to him?”
He smirked. God, he looked so damn good. “Long story.”
“What are you doing here?” I cringed, the question coming out harsher than I’d intended.
The smirk fell from his face, his expression transforming into one of regret and…love? That’s what it looked like but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. “I wanted to talk to you. Look, Sage I—” His words cut off whenever Katie and Sabrina both let out sharp squeals behind us. His eyes flew over to them and back to me. “Could we go somewhere? Just the two of us? So we can talk.”
The Art of Sage (Cruz Brothers #2) Page 24