Page 123 of Addiction

Asher

“How is Wade doing?” Nora asks as I sit in the booth of Hot Tuna with her and Ava having a morning catch-up while she waits for Makenna.

“He’s still quiet.” I sigh.

I’ve hated seeing him so down these last couple of days. We haven’t seen Raymond since the incident at the gym, but I’ve half expected the police to show up at Wade’s door.

I’d given him and his father the space they’d needed, but the longer the conversation had gone on and the more heated it had become, the more I’d wanted to charge over there and drag the asshole out by the scruff of his collar. Thankfully, Mark could see my anger bubbling and stopped me from interfering because I may have done some serious damage to the man.

The look in Raymond’s eyes when he’d made eye contact with me had unnerved me. It had been like I was a parasite he’d wanted to squash under his shoe.

“It’s understandable. He’s just had his whole life turned upside down for no reason.” Nora says. “What I don’t understand is why come and cause trouble just for the sake of it?”

I wonder the same thing but then I refer back to my old self and how I’d always acted. “Sometimes when you have a grudge or some kind of vendetta with someone, the idea of causing even the smallest amount of pain or upset is enough for you to act unreasonably. If Raymond hadn’t seen Mom at work and gotten talking about good practice, Raymond wouldn’t have even known Wade was here. When he connected all the dots after hearing about Pop, his only mission then was to upset the apple cart. And he has. So, in his eyes, he’s won.”

“Mom feels responsible for all of it.”

“It’s not her fault. Wade knows that.”

“I know, but you know what she’s like. She’s been as upset over it as Wade has.”

“I’ll talk to her about it,” I say, stuffing the last piece of my doughnut into my mouth. “Meanwhile, it’s about time you woke my niece up. I haven’t had cuddles in a while.”

“Come live in our house, and you can have all the cuddles you want during the nights when she is up screaming because she’s teething. So, no. I will not wake her.”

“And I agree,” Grayson says coming over to our table and kissing Nora on the head. “What time is Makenna arriving?”

“Now,” I say as she walks in.

“Hey, beautiful people. It’s a fabulous day to build sandcastles.”

“Ava can barely sit up yet let alone build castles,” Gray says.

“Who says Ava is building them? I was referring to myself.” She grins. “Anyway, let’s get this show on the road.” Makenna claps her hands and picks up Nora’s purse, hurrying her along. They say their goodbyes and head out the door right before Grayson jumps in the spot that Nora was just sat in. I’d come down here today to get some work done, but so far, I’ve not achieved anything other than drinking coffee and eating doughnuts.

“I’m thinking of asking your mom if she’ll have Ava overnight so I can take Nora away. I want to give her a break. Are you around to help if Fiona needs it?”

I can’t help but smile. “Of course, I’m around. Why not make it two nights; Wade and I will have Ava the other night?”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. Wade would love it. We both would.”

“Man, that would be great. I feel so helpless sometimes being here as often as I am.”

“The next thing is whether you’ll be able to get Nora to leave Ava for that long.”

“I can work on it.” He stands flipping the bar cloth over his shoulder. “Thanks, man. I’ll get everything sorted and let you know when it’s happening. You’re the best.”

“You’re a good guy for her, Gray. You work hard for both those girls.”

“I do it because I love them.”

* * *

I open the door to the office and find Rodriguez casually sitting in my chair with his legs crossed at the ankles on the desk. His gold cufflinks glisten in the light and annoyance ripples through me as I wonder how he even managed to get through the doors of the gym.

I study his face: the two black eyes and the swollen nose. My guy did well.