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She was gone.
Harper was gone.
And she hadn’t even stuck around to say thanks for the ride.
Rolling onto my back, I threw an arm over my face and let out a frustrated groan. Last night was supposed to be an exorcism, but now I was pissed and horny.
I hadn’t expected her to run out on me. But then, I hadn’t expected her to blow my mind quite the way she had, either.
Holy shit.
The sex had been incredible. We’d spent half the night going at it, finding new ways to make each other come apart.
I’d thought—
Fuck, what was I saying? This was a good thing. Harper was gone, and it saved us any awkward good mornings or goodbyes.
I should have been thanking her, so why did I feel so fucking annoyed?
My cell vibrated, and I grabbed it off the nightstand, hardly surprised to see my brother’s name.
SB: Are you awake, Mase?
MB: Yeah, buddy, I’m awake.
SB: Why did Dad leave us?
Shit. It was too early for this. I ran a hand down my face, trying to figure out how to play this one.
Dad was a sore spot for Scottie. He worshiped our old man. Put him on a pedestal he didn’t deserve. Mom and I were partly to blame for that. We’d wanted to protect him from the truth—that Samuel Steele was a worthless piece of shit who didn’t deserve his son’s adoration.
Deciding this warranted a conversation instead of a text, I called him.
“Hey, bud, how’re things?”
“Okay, I guess,” he said flatly.
“What’s wrong?”
“I heard Fenton saying some things at recess the other day.”
Fenton Jones was a mouthy little shit that I’d rather Scottie didn’t hang around with, but friendships were a difficult thing for him to navigate, and it wasn’t like he had a line of kids wanting the privilege of being his friend.
“What things?”
“He said his dad saw Dad out with another woman and kid.”
Fuck.
“Said that they went to the new skate park across town. Mase…” He was quiet for a second, and then, “Did Dad leave because he’s got a new family now?”
Anger flared inside me. No child deserved the shit my old man had pulled, but it felt ten times worse, given Scottie’s situation. He didn’t understand the nuances of relationships. He didn’t understand that Samuel Steele was a coward who didn’t deserve even an ounce of Scottie’s attention. But he was still his father. His blood. His DNA.
Scottie understoodthat,and it was all that mattered to him.
“Mase?” he whispered. “You can tell me the truth. I can handle it.”
Jesus. What the fuck was I supposed to say? He was growing up too fast. Maturing in his own Scottie-way. But it was a risk I was unwilling to take because I would always protect him, no matter what.
