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Zane slowly stands, his eyes on me.
Maybe he should be.The thought hits me like lightning hitting a chimney, shocking the entire house.
I return his heated gaze. “It sure sounds like he is. If it walks like a chicken, and talks like a chicken, it’s a chicken. Zane hasn’t done anything wrong. Don’t make it sound like he has.”
Zane’s chest rises and falls. He holds me captive with his eyes. I don’t know what he’s thinking, but I wish I did.
“I didn’t say that he had.” Debra stands as well.
I turn my attention to Debra. “If Ryker has an issue with this situation, he should talk to me about it. I don’t appreciate him calling in a third party. We can solve this between us and we don’t need any help.” I look back at Zane, who’s still watching me with intense eyes. “I think we should call it a night. Shall we drive home together?” I glance at Debra again. “Or is that unacceptable too, Debbie?”
“It’s Debra.”
Out of everything I said, I can’t believe that’s her response.
I head for the door. Behind me, I hear Zane say, “I’ll be here tomorrow morning to see Dad.”
“Call first to make sure it’s convenient,” Debra spouts.
“Nine AM. I’ll be here,” Zane announces, brooking no argument.
Zane catches up to me and we leave the house together. We climb into his Jeep and he takes off like the devil is on our heels. It’s still not fast enough.
Zane laughs into the wind. “Oh snap, that was fun. When you called the queen mother Debbie, I thought she was gonna blow a gasket.”
When I don’t laugh, he takes a deep breath and says, “I’m sorry, Mila. I don’t want to cause problems between you and Ryker.”
“It’s not your fault. Clearly, Ryker and I have several issues to iron out. My relationship is about me and him. Not me, him, and his mother. I’m so mad, I could spit.”
“I’d like to see that.”
I turn in the open Jeep and spit into the wind. Zane laughs harder than I thought he would at my actions.
“Why aren’t you upset?” I ask.
“I am. But this is the norm. I don’t expect any different.”
“You didn’t defend yourself. Why not?”
“It would be the same as spitting into the wind. Useless and it never ends up where you intend.”
He has a point. “I’m sorry you grew up facing that every day of your life.”
“I always had my father. I was never alone.”
“Still, it had to be hard.”
“I don’t think I realized what I was missing until I was a teenager. Before that, it was just my normal. I had no idea how dysfunctional we were.”
“You’re not dysfunctional. Debra is.”
When we arrive at Ryker’s penthouse, Zane finds an open spot on the street, parks his Jeep, and cuts the engine. Neither one of us bother to remove our seatbelts. We sit in the crisp night air, cooling off and breathing deeply.
“Hey, Mila.”
“Hmmmm?”
“Without Dad at full capacity, it’s not often that someone stands up for me. Thanks for that.”
