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Maeve sighs and closes her eyes, then keeps talking.
“I haven’t told him all of it yet,” Maeve says.
“I seriously didn’t know,” Rachel continues.
“Hold on.” I hold up a finger, and Rachel stops talking. “Maeve, finish it.”
“She came home,” Maeve continues. “She walked home, Hunter. She was acting odd and said she didn’t feel good. Said that Carla and Danny were making her uncomfortable, and she just wanted to come home.”
“Whoa.” I shake my head. “Danny was there?”
“Yes,” Rachel whispers.
“That’s not the worst of it,” Maeve says. “Apparently, they made a blended drink for themselves and added edible marijuana to it. Then, without cleaning the blender, they made a virgin drink for Rachel.”
“Except it wasn’t virgin,” I finish for her.
“No,” Maeve agrees. “It wasn’t.”
“They were high and acting so stupid. I didn’t want to be there anymore,” Rachel says, picking up the story. “I was mad, actually. So, I just left. But when I was about halfway home, I started to feel really weird. I couldn’t call Maeve because I forgot my phone at Carla’s.”
She’s back to calling her Carla. That’s good.
“She was pretty stoned when she got here,” Maeve says. “Meg Montgomery is a nurse and evaluated her. She just had to sleep it off. So, she did.”
“Did Carla ever call here last night, wondering where Rachel was?”
Both girls just blink at me, and that’s all the answer I need.
I don’t know that I’ve ever felt so much fucking rage in all of my damn life.
I have to leave the room. I want to yell and throw a fucking fit, and that won’t solve anything. It will likely only upset everyone more.
I stomp out the open back door and make it all the way to the cliffs before I realize that Tom has followed. He moves a bit slower, but he joins me on the cliffs.
“I’d wager that you’re good and angry right now.”
“You’d win that bet.”
He nods. “Maeve said she didn’t want to call you when it all happened because you were in the middle of doing your job. The fight was still going, and it was live television.”
I blow out a breath and shove my hands through my hair with frustration.
“She still should have called.”
“I don’t disagree. It’s a scary thing that I’d say no one expected to happen. It scared your daughter, and that’s the truth of it.”
“Are we sure this isn’t another stunt of hers?” I ask and turn to Tom. “Rachel was famous for pulling shit like this when we lived in Seattle.”
“T’wasn’t, no.” Tom shakes his head. “She asked Fiona and me to come to breakfast this morning and told us about it. She said Maeve slept with her all night to make sure she was okay.”
“I’m grateful that she did that. And I’m damn disgusted that she had to.”
“You have two good girls in there, son. I know you’re angry, and you’ve got good reason to be. I’d be livid meself. But it’s not their fault. You need to take this up with the person responsible.”
“You’re right.”
I pull my phone out of my pocket as Tom walks back toward the house and dial Carla’s number.
“Hello?”
“What the fuck were you thinking?”
“Huh?” I hear her fumbling around. “What time is it?”
“Rachel’s safe, in case you were wondering.”
“Of course, she is. She’s with me.”
“No. She’s fucking not. She’s home, where she belongs. Because you and that asshole, Danny, were too high last night to know what the fuck was going on. There was enough of the drugs still in the blender that it made my daughter high, as well.”
“What are you even talking about?” she demands. “You’re making all of this up.”
“No. I’m not. And I have witnesses. You’re done, do you hear me? Fucking done. You won’t have any contact with Rachel. You won’t come to see her. You signed over your rights to her years ago, and you have no place in her life. If you try to keep up this stupid charade, I’ll make your life a living hell.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“No. I’m telling you how it is. Stay away from my kid, Carla. Or you’ll regret it.”
I hang up and turn to find Maeve walking toward me.
“I’m sorry,” she says before I can say anything. “I should have called, but I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what was right. And all I wanted was to keep my eyes on her in case something went really wrong.”
I reach for her, tug her into my arms, and hold her tightly against me.
“I just love her so much,” she keeps going and sniffles against my chest. “And I was so worried. I want to punch that bitch in her smug little face. She called me a gold digger for fuck’s sake, Hunter.”
“What?” That makes me laugh. “Of all of the things you are, babe, a gold digger isn’t one of them.”
