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“Thanks, man. I appreciate it,” I answered for Riven, who seemed to be coming out of it some.
“I gotta go see my PO,” was all he said, then turned and went for his truck.
“Fuck.” I ran a hand through my hair.
“Sorry, Parrish. I wasn’t thinking. I know how it can be for people, and that’s partly why I’m trying to reach out to him. It was real hard on my cousin. He ended up doing something dumb and getting his ass thrown right back inside.”
I wouldn’t say it out loud, but that was my worry for Riven too. Not that he’d deserved to be there in the first place, but he wasn’t innocent either. And he was so angry now, such a quick trigger. I was scared he would do something dumb…and I shouldn’t be. It wasn’t my business. If Riven screwed up, that was on him, but I felt an obligation to him now, like I owed him something because of Dad, Bill, and Rex’s shit.
I squeezed Wayne’s shoulder in support. “It’s not your fault. Thank you for being cool about it, though. Riv’s been through a lot. I’ll talk to him.”
“Yeah, I heard he’s tight with your family. Your dad was talking about it at the Homestead.” Wayne wasn’t a lifer in Clayton, so he hadn’t been around when we were young. He didn’t know how close Riven and Rex used to be. I didn’t know how much he even knew about what Riven had supposedly done.
“What did he say?” I asked, forcing down the words I really wanted to say. Why was Dad talking about Riv?
“Not much. Just that Riven got out. How he was like a father to him and tried to steer him right, but Riven always had a temper. I figured it was just him talking shit. You know how he gets. I know he’s your dad, but he can’t pretend to be a real upstanding citizen.” Wayne laughed.
Motherfucker. Of course Dad would try to manipulate the past and make it like he and Rex were always the good guys and Riv wasn’t. People’s memories could be easily altered, especially by someone like my dad. He would have them remembering things exactly as he said they happened rather than how they did.
“Thanks again, Wayne. I appreciate your understanding. Riven is a good guy. Don’t let anyone tell you different.”
He frowned, probably because he could tell I was saying that my dad was full of shit. “Sure, man. I hear you. See you next week.”
After we went our separate ways, I couldn’t stop thinking about Riven the whole way home. The man was on my mind way too much. I took a shower as soon as I got home, and just as I got out, my doorbell rang over and over again. “Goddamn it.” It was always something.
There was no ignoring it, so I tugged on a pair of jeans and went for the door. Bec was there with Sophie and Lainey. Her eyes were ringed red, and it was clear she’d been crying.
My gaze dashed from her to the girls, then back again.
“Uncle Parrish!” Lainey wrapped her arms around my legs in a hug.
“Hey, kiddo. It’s good to see you.” I hugged her back. “Come in.”
“Mommy said she would take us to get ice cream, and we stopped by to see if you would go with us. Daddy didn’t want to,” Lainey said, making my heart break for her. Becca did a pretty good job of shielding them from who their dad was and tried to make up for the fact that he didn’t spend time with them, but there was only so much she could do.
“Yeah, of course. Let me finish getting dressed real quick.”
They came in while I tugged on a T-shirt, socks, and shoes. I ran my fingers through my wet hair, and then we climbed into Becca’s car and went to get ice cream.
Scoops was right next to the grocery store. It was a local ice cream shop with a fenced outdoor play area in the back. I grabbed Sophie out of her car seat, nuzzling her chubby cheeks, and we went inside.
“Okay, what do you ladies want? My treat.”
“No, Parrish. You don’t have to do that. You do enough for us.” Bec squeezed my arm.
“I know I don’t have to, but I want to.” I wanted them to have positive men in their lives, and so far, I was the only one. The last thing I wanted was for these little girls to grow up and think they had to be with a man who treated them the way Rex did Becca.
Everyone got a bowl, since it was a lot less messy than a cone, before heading out back. We sat at a table, Sophie getting more ice cream on her face than in her mouth, but it was cute as hell.
