I just needed to convince myself of that fact and I’d be just fine.
My bus didn’t leave for another hour, so I stretched out on the bench and closed my eyes, using my backpack as a pillow. Still hungover from the ungodly amount of alcohol I’d consumed, my head spun as I lay there hating myself.
My problem isn’t just that I’m stubborn, it’s that I’m stupid, too.
What did I think was going to happen when Daine found out I was his secret kid? Did I think he was going to be happy to hear the news? How naive was I?
I felt like a fool. I should have known better.
What I needed to do was accept the fact that I was all alone in this world. That I had no family. Nobody to turn to in times of trouble, nobody to celebrate the good times with. Just like Daine had said during his speech that I’d interrupted. I was just like him. I’d have to make my own family out of friends.
I thought about Oklahoma and what was waiting for me there. I searched my mind, but I couldn’t think of anything good. Just a bunch of painful memories. I’d put all my hopes and dreams into this town, leaving all of that behind, convinced I’d be able to start a new life here.
Boy, was I wrong.
At some point, I drifted off to sleep, the sweet relief feeling like much needed medicine.
Half an hour later, I felt someone sit down beside me. Irritated, because I’d searched for a long time for solitude, I sat up and grabbed my backpack to search for another place to sleep.
“You like sleeping on benches, I guess.”
I turned and froze in my tracks when I saw Daine sitting there.
“What are you doing here?” I growled.
“I could ask you the same thing.”
“I’m going back home.”
He nodded, thoughtfully. “You said your Mom died?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he replied.
“Thanks,” I shrugged. “Cancer.”
“That’s awful.”
“Yeah.”
“You have any other family?”
“Just you, apparently.”
He nodded again, looking over at me with a faint smile.
“You look like me.”
“You wish,” I replied, wryly. He laughed, and it was my laugh.
“Look, you took me by surprise. To say the least.”
“Probably wasn’t the best time to spring that news on you.”
“No, it wasn’t. And while it’s certainly shocking to hear that I have a son, it doesn’t mean you have to leave.”
“You don’t need me in your life, Daine. There’s no room for me. That’s obvious.”
“Well, it’s not like you’re a toddler I have to take care of. You’re a grown ass man. Stick around. Let’s try to get to know each other and see what happens.”
I looked at him, unsure if he was serious.
“C’mon, man. You already ruined my reputation and told everyone my secret,” he said. “Now everyone knows I lied about never sleeping with a woman.”
“Sorry,” I muttered.
“It’s cool. But come back, okay? You can stay at Tillie’s, or get your own place, whatever you want. But let’s see where this goes.”
I paused, tempted.
“I’m not looking for you to take care of me. I can take care of myself,” I insisted.
“I know you can.”
“I’m not looking for a hand-out.”
“I know that, too. You have a job at Tomcats as long as you want it. The girls loved you, remember?”
“Yeah…”
“C’mon, let’s get out of here. It smells like piss.”
He grabbed my backpack and started walking away, just assuming that I’d follow him. I watched him stride away and recognized my own walk.
“Shit,” I muttered, standing up and following him out the door, my heart skipping a beat.
CHAPTER 31
TILLIE
Finn and Daine came back from the bus station while I was in the kitchen with Richie. The low hum of the TV sounded from the den. The house was still a mess, inside and out, from the party last night, but the cleaning crew was coming later. For now, we were all gathered around the coffee pot nursing our hangovers.
My heart filled with joy when I saw them together. Finn’s note had left me with dread knowing he was hurting. We hadn’t gotten a chance to know him very well, but if he was really Daine’s son, then we would welcome him into the fold with open arms.
Fox and Blaze came in a few minutes later, ribbing them both about their behavior last night.
“Finn, you ever had a drink before?” Fox asked with a wink.
“Yeah, yeah,” he said. “I had a little too much.”
“I’ll say,” Fox said.
“I can’t believe I missed the whole thing,” Blaze said. “So you’re the offspring of this guy, huh?”
“Apparently.”
“What a trip,” Blaze said. “So Daine what else did you lie to us about?”
“I didn’t lie. I didn’t know!”
“You said you’d never been with a woman,” Blaze teased. “Big lie right there. And did I hear you cried afterwards?”
“Shut the hell up!” Daine shouted. “You’re embarrassing me in front of my son!”
Everyone laughed and it felt good to know the ice was broken between those two. If Daine had a son, he needed to be with him. Everything else would be worked out somehow.
“That was some party,” Fox said. “We should do that again someday.”
“Not for a while, please,” I said, laughing. “It’ll take us a year to clean up from last night.”
Richie grabbed my hand and kissed it and I smiled over at him.
My life was beautiful and amazing and there was nothing that could take away the family we were building.
“Meeting you was the best thing that ever happened,” I whispered.
“Ditto, baby,” he said. His eyes drifted past me, focusing behind me, as he wrinkled a brow.
“What?” I asked, turning to see what he was looking at. TMZ flashed my ex’s face bigger than life on the television. “Oh, god, he looks terrible.”
Reggie was an asshole and he’d done his best to try to make my life miserable over the last few months. He hated the fact that I’d spent my divorce settlement money to open Tomcats, but considering he’d left me high and dry for a younger woman, I didn’t really care what he thought.
“Looks like they had the baby,” Richie said, watching me carefully, as another picture flashed onscreen, this one a picture of the smiling, happy, new family. Reggie’s arm was slung over his new wife’s shoulder and she held a pink, wrinkled baby in her arms.
I stopped, holding my breath as I waited for the wave of pain to knock me down. But it never came. I inhaled, feeling free and clean and happy, despite the fact that my painful past was staring at me from the television.
A slow, satisfied smile spread across my face as I realized what had occurred.
I was free. The chains had lifted. The pain had dissipated.
There was no more misery.
No more depression and disappointment.
I looked around at my new family with pride and love.
“I fucking love you guys,” I said out loud. One by one, they looked at me in surprise and I knew they saw what I’d become.
Happy.
Purely, simply, happy.
The doorbell rang, and Richie ran to answer it. A moment later he came back with anger rolling off of him and a package of papers in his hand.
“What is it, babe?” I asked.
“It’s Reggie. He’s suing us for ownership of Tomcats.”
“He can’t do that!” I cried.
“He’s doing it,” he shouted, slamming the papers on the counter. “He wants it all! The building, the land, the business, the profits…everything!”
“What a prick!” Daine said.
“Who’s Reggie?” Finn asked.
; “I’ll fucking kill him,” I said, rage filling my veins.
Reggie’s spent most of my life making me miserable. Leaving me wasn’t enough for him. He wanted my blood, too.
“I’ll kill him,” I seethed…
TO BE CONTINUED
IN TOMCATS, BOOK THREE
COMING SOON!
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
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TOMCATS [BOOK TWO] Page 9