Page 99 of Hard Corps (Selected Sinners MC 7)

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

Late Summer 2015, Austin, Texas, USA

“There should be two options, but according to him, there’s only one. I guess I see his point,” I said.

“The attachment to home?” she asked.

“Basically. That’s the home he married my mother in and raised his children in. There aren’t many people who stay in a home that long, and he has. He doesn’t want to leave,” I said.

My father was going to require someone to be with him at all times, at least for a while. Although Alicia had been with him for the entire time he had been out of the hospital, it was time for her to return to Ohio, or she was going to lose her new job.

I realized using a home healthcare company was an option, but I felt it would be insensitive and selfish on my part. Going to Kansas, however, seemed impossible. My options, however, were limited. It was Friday, and Alicia had to be to work on Monday. I had dodged the subject as long as I was able and it was time for me to make a decision. I sat across from her and buried my head in my hands.

“What do you want to do?” Katie asked.

I raised my head from my sweaty palms and glanced in her direction. Sitting on the couch smiling, it was as if she was immune to my concerns and worries. Either that or she knew something I didn’t.

“Want to do? Stay here and not have this problem,” I said.

She narrowed her eyes slightly. “Don’t call it a problem, Alec. It’s not a problem. Look at it as an opportunity.”

I choked on the thought. “An opportunity?”

“Yes. You’ve been separated from him for what? Ten years? And now you’ve finally either forgiven him or yourself, however you want to look at it. It’s an opportunity for you to get to know him again, and for him to catch up on everything with you,” she said.

I leaned into the back of the chair and crossed my arms. “And what about you?”

“What do you mean what about me? I’m going with you. What else would I do?” she asked.

The night I asked Katie on a date, her father’s message to me was clear. You’re not from here. And I ain’t lookin’ to have my daughter taken from me, Mr. Jacob. Not now or ever. As far as I’m concerned, she can leave Texas when I’m dead, but not before. Taking her with me, even for what I believed to be a temporary resolution to his condition, would likely be met by a hell no response.

“Your father made it clear that he didn’t want me to take you from here. He was adamant about it. Me staying here in Texas, and you never leaving. He said you could leave when he’s dead.” I said.

She chuckled. “Sounds like something he’d say. But, is your father going to require your assistance forever?” she asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t think so.”

“Neither do I. So, you’re not taking me from here. Or from him. We’d be going there for a while to take care of your father. We’ll be back,” she said.

I nodded my head in agreement, knowing damned well it wasn’t that easy. I was going to have to talk to her father, and I was quite sure his opinion wasn’t going to be the same as hers. The thought of leaving, in general, had kept me from sleeping for the last ten days. The thought of leaving her, even on a temporary basis, seemed impossible for me.

But taking her seemed equally impossible.

I felt sick to my stomach.

“I’ll talk to your father,” I said. “Either way, I’m going to have to be there Monday.”

“We’ll be there Monday,” she said.

She stood from her seat and walked into the kitchen, not seeming to understand just how much leaving was bothering me, even if it was on what we believed to be a temporary basis. She poured a cup of coffee, sauntered back into the living room and sat down.

“What?” she asked as she sat down. “You’re making a big deal out of nothing.”

“We’ll see how he takes the news, I guess,” I said.

She sat and studied me for several minutes as she drank her coffee. As she lowered her cup to the table beside the couch, she maintained eye contact with me.

“It’s Casey, isn’t it?” She asked.

“What?” I asked, even though I heard her clearly.

“Casey. You don’t want to leave him,” she said.

She was right. All things considered, I knew I could leave Texas. As a combat Marine, I learned not to become too attached to anyone or anything, because in a moment’s notice, things can change. People disappear. Some change units, others get killed, and, as time passes, yet others are discharged. I loved Shane and Ripp as brothers, but I could leave them if need be. Leaving Casey, however, seemed to be an impossibility.

I felt if I left I would be doing what I had condemned my sister for doing.

I crossed my arms in front of my chest, fully realizing she was correct in her assumption about Casey, but not willing to discuss it. “I don’t want to leave. It’s that simple.”

“I guess we need to go talk to my dad,” she said.

“We’ll go as soon as I’m done with this cup of coffee,” I said.

I stood from my seat and walked into the kitchen. I only had two days to decide whatever it was we were going to do. Talking to her father was the next step, and something we had to do without exception. His response to our request may very well allow both of us to travel to Kansas on a temporary, or semi-permanent basis.

And I knew as sure as I was standing there that of everything I had to do throughout my entire life, leaving that child was going to be the most difficult of them all.