“Oh, I assumed Zane told you guys.”
“Told us what?”
“Let me get my stuff inside, and then I’ll tell you everything?”
“Oh. It’s… oh.” Is all she says before she nods her head. She walks over to the car with me as Lynette pops the trunk. As I reach over, I gasp as a sharp pain shoots through me. Gripping onto the lip of the trunk to stabilize myself. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
“She’s not.” Lynette says as she hugs Ella. “I should go.”
“Thank you.” I whisper before she hugs me, tightly.
“You take care of yourself. And let us know if you need anything. You’re family now.” She smirks before she looks back at Ella and then glances at me.
“Come on.” Ella touches my arm as she calls out. “Jag!” She calls out and a man who’s around my age, and I’m pretty sure was here when we went to South Dakota, comes out the door. “You remember, Tate?”
“Oh, yeah.” His eyes widen. “Hi.”
“Great, I can see that I am gossip around here. Maybe this was a bad idea.”
“Not gossip.” Ella and Jag both say.
“It’s my kid.” She tells me before he looks back over. “Can you grab her bags and carry them inside, then can you call Z and ask him to come back?”
“Yeah, mom.” He shakes his head.
“Oh.” She stops as we walk up the few steps again. “Don’t tell him why, yet.”
“Obviously.” He laughs. “I mean, her husband is already following everyone right now. And we both know that Z will love nothing more than to rub it in.”
“Darren doesn’t know yet.” Ella and I both say.
“Oh.” Jag nods his head before he lifts both bags as if they weigh nothing and carries them up the couple of steps and into the clubhouse.
I follow both Ella and Jag inside of the clubhouse and into the lounge. I sit down at the bar and Croft smiles at me. “It’s been a while.”
“It has.”
“I’m glad you’re back.” She laughs before sliding me a glass across the bar. Instantly, I lift it and sip it before I can hear Ella gasp and reach out.
“Tate… what are you…” She trails as I set the glass down and look over at her. “Oh, no.” She pauses, sighing. “Do you need anything?”
I press my lips together as I just look down at the drink, sitting in on the bar, and sighing. Although, I am glad that she’s intuitive enough to connect the dots.
“Do you have any food? All I’ve had is hospital food for the last two days.”
“Of course.” Ella moves off of the stool and I can see her walking into the kitchen as Jag talks on his phone.
It’s only me sitting in the lounge now. “Can I ask you a question?” I look across the bar at Croft, who fills my glass again. “I haven’t seen you in what, 3 years. How do you remember me?”
“I don’t know if I should answer this.” She laughs.
“I mean. I’m not dumb. Or naïve, no matter the fucked up situation that I have currently found myself in.”
“Tate, it’s like this. Z is… Z. There’s really no other way of explaining it. He doesn’t spend time on people.”
“What does that even mean?”
