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Chapter Fifty-seven
Rayne
Rayne spent the first half of the day caring for Mike and doing his weekend chores. Each time he’d gone into Mike’s room, he’d found him laid back in the recliner, staring blankly at the baseball game on television, watching the screen but his mind appearing miles away. Nothing Rayne had suggested managed to get him in a better mood or at least stop him from thinking of his son eloping.
He stood in Mike’s doorway with his yoga bag on his shoulder. “Mike. Why don’t you go sit outside and watch the game on the patio? There’s a nice breeze out today.”
Mike didn’t open his mouth, just shook his head.
“All right then. When I get back this evening, how about we get in the hot tub out back and see what the night brings.”
Mike looked as if he was barely listening to him.
“I’m leaving to meet Chelsea at the fitness center, then I have to swing by the grocery store to get some lunch stuff for this week. Do you need anything?”
Mike shook his head again.
Damnit. How long was this going to last? The hurt and betrayal Mike was experiencing made Rayne feel it as his own pain. This wasn’t going to do. He went over to Mike and leaned down to press a tender kiss to his lips that he barely returned.
Oh no, this isn’t going to do at all.
Rayne pulled Mike’s truck into Bishop and Edison’s neighborhood, relieved when he saw their cars parked in the driveway. He hated to intrude this way, but when it came to Mike, he was finding there was nothing he wouldn’t do. He still had an hour before vinyasa started, so he hoped it was enough time to get through to Bishop.
Rayne walked up the driveway, and by the time he got to the door, Edison was opening the screen for him.
“Hi, Rayne.” Edison’s smile was bright enough to rival the sun. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to talk to you and your husband.” Rayne grinned. “Congratulations.”
“I don’t know how he talked me into doing that.” Edison was damn near giddy as he held out his left hand and stared at the shiny gold band on his ring finger. “But it really didn’t take much convincing, to be honest.”
“I didn’t know if you would be back home or still on the oceanfront.”
Edison led Rayne farther into the house. “It’s tourist season—the hotel prices down there are crazy. We just wanted to spend our wedding night there. We’re planning on a real honeymoon next month.”
“I understand why you guys did what you did, trust me. People usually elope because of family drama, so—”
“That was exponentially more than just family drama, Rayne,” Bishop said when he came into the living room. He had on a pair of black ball shorts and no shirt, looking like a carbon copy of his father. It was a mindfuck for sure, but Rayne didn’t stare; besides, he was prouder to have the original version.
“I get it. But Bishop,”—Rayne lowered his voice, treading carefully not to overstep his bounds—“your wedding meant so much to your father. Did you ever stop and consider what eloping would do to him?”
Bishop gaped. “Do to him? It was that stranger that showed up claiming to be my mother that made me do that.”
Rayne nodded. “And somehow, Mike was punished for it.”
“I didn’t punish anyone. It’s our life; it’s supposed to be our day. When I proposed to Edison, all we ever wanted was a small, quiet ceremony and maybe a backyard dinner with family and close friends, that’s it. None of that shit we walked into yesterday. My dad should’ve known what I would do.”
“Trust me. He didn’t.” Rayne sat in Edison’s eat-in kitchen. It smelled as if they’d had pancakes and bacon for breakfast as well. “I’ve never seen him like that last night, and I don’t ever want to again.”
“You might as well get used to it.”
“Excuse me?” Rayne tried to keep the irritation out of his voice.
“If you’re going to be with Mike, Rayne, you should probably get used to his mood swings, which usually range from pissed-off to furious—there’s not usually much joking and laughing in between.”
I’m working on that. “Oh, he feels a lot more than that, Bishop, but no, he’s not a man that shows his true emotions.”
“But you see them, don’t you? He trusts you with them,” Edison said with a slight crease in the center of his forehead.
