“School’s almost out,” Charlie said, leaning over the back seat. “We need to find Curt before he does something stupid.”
The minute the words were out of her mouth, a sense of foreboding hit me so hard that I felt it in my chest.
“Isn’t Travis on the baseball team with you guys?” I asked.
“Aw, fuck,” Draco said, throwing open his door. “Practice starts in ten.”
I pushed my way out of the back seat, exiting on Draco’s side. By the time I reached the trunk of the car, Charlie was leaning inside it, grabbing a baseball bat from one of the boys’ bags. My eyes widened, but I kept my mouth shut as she jerked her head toward the ball fields.
“Don’t go running,” Draco said to me as we strode toward the back of the school. He walked like he didn’t have a care in the world. “No need to draw attention.”
“Everyone’s attention is on me already,” I replied, looking around as the bell rang and kids started trickling out of the school.
“Not for long,” Charlie said darkly. As we walked, she flipped the bat, spinning it over her hand and wrist to catch it again. I’d watched her perfect that trick for years, but it hadn’t ever looked so menacing before. “When it starts,” she said, looking at me, “you stay way the fuck back.”
“What?” I asked, tripping over my own feet. “Wait, what the hell are you going to do?”
Chapter 7
Brenna
Present
“Hey, handsome,” I called over my shoulder as Dragon walked past the bathroom door. “Everything okay?”
“All good, baby,” he replied, backing up to stand in the doorway. “It all went smooth.”
“How’s he look?” I asked, setting down my makeup brush.
“Pretty much the same as when you saw him last month, I’d imagine,” Dragon replied, bracing his arms against the frame. “Better dressed, now.”
“Funny,” I said flatly.
“He’s good,” Dragon said, giving me a small smile. “Had that wide-eyed look that all of us have when we get out. Like he’s waiting for them to come chasin’ him, tellin’ him they made a mistake.”
“They made a mistake putting him in there in the first place,” I muttered, scooping my makeup and brushes off the counter and into the little basket where I stored them.
“Doesn’t matter now,” Dragon replied calmly. “He went in, did his time, and now it’s over.”
I scoffed. I’d been in this life as long as he had—longer, if we were technical about it—and we both knew that for our grandson, it would never be over. He could move past it, the strong ones did, but he would always be missing the years of his life that he spent behind bars. He’d always remember what it was like in there. The loneliness. The fear that he’d never admit to.
“What time are we supposed to be at Trix’s?” Dragon asked.
“Seven,” I said, glancing at the watch on my wrist. When the doctor had told me that my blood pressure was too high and I needed to get more exercise, the kids had bought me a fancy watch that connected to my phone and measured my heart rate. It was sweet of them, but I didn’t like the bulky thing. I was only wearing it because we’d be seeing the kids later.
“I better hop in the shower, then,” Dragon said, starting to strip right there in the hallway. “You grab me some clothes?”
“You realize I’m in here, right?” I asked in exasperation, watching as he pulled his shirt over his head.
“Looks like you already showered,” he replied, jerking his chin toward the towel wrapped around me as he unbuckled his belt. “Too bad.”
I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t hold back a grin when he was naked.
“Should’ve been here about fifteen minutes sooner,” I told him, moving past him into the hallway.
“Shoulda waited for me,” he countered, reaching under the towel to pinch my ass.
“Then we’d be late,” I called as I went into our room to grab him some clothes.
I was pretty sure the only reason he’d asked me to pick them for him was because he was trying to get me out of the bathroom. It wasn’t as if he had a variety to choose from. For as long as I’d known the man, he’d worn the same thing. Jeans in various states of disrepair, white t-shirts that I bought in a multipack wrapped in plastic, and in the colder months, either a quilted flannel or a hoodie—dark colors only. I’d once bought him a red flannel that sat unworn in the closet for ten years before I’d finally given it to charity. Even that had been too flashy for his tastes.
After I’d gathered his clothes and stacked them on the bed, I went to the closet to get my own clothes. We were just having dinner with family, nothing fancy, but it was almost Christmas, so I wanted to be a little festive.
I’d already pulled on a pair of jeans and a camisole when Dragon came into the room.
“You got dressed?” he asked, scowling.
“Well, I’m not going to our daughter’s house in a towel,” I replied reasonably.
He shot me a look.
“We don’t have time for that,” I said with a laugh.
“There’s always time,” he replied mutinously. “You were sleepin’ when I left this mornin’.”
“Sorry, baby,” I said, pulling a dark green sweater over my head. “I don’t want to be late tonight.”
“Not like anyone would notice,” he said as he started to dress.
“I would notice,” I said in exasperation. “You’ve already had your reunion. I spent all day at the clubhouse getting ready for tomorrow. I’d like to see my grandson, alright? If I wasn’t trying to give Trix and Cam some space, I would’ve been camped out at their house already.”
Dragon paused. “Shit,” he said, his eyes soft on mine. “Sorry, baby. I wasn’t thinkin’.”
I smiled at him. “I don’t mind that you still want to fuck me after all these years,” I said dryly. “We just don’t have time right now.”
“Listenin’ to you say the word fuck will never get old,” he said, his eyes crinkling in the corners as he smiled at me.
I turned to grab some socks out of the dresser and heard him hum in happiness behind me.
“You got me new socks,” he said quietly.
“You’re welcome,” I replied, moving to sit next to him as we both put on our socks.
As soon as both my feet were on the floor again, I sat with my hands on my lap and took a deep breath. “It’s finally over,” I said, staring at my hands. “Jesus.”
I wasn’t surprised as Dragon’s hand burrowed into the hair at the nape of my neck. “And we got through it, just like I said we would,” he replied, turning my face toward him. “Just like everything else.”
“He was so young,” I whispered, my throat tight.
“And he’s a man, now,” Dragon reminded me. “One that doesn’t want his grandma cryin’ all over him.”
“I know,” I said, swallowing hard.
“You gonna be able to keep it together?” he asked, leaning forward to kiss me softly.