“Happy birthday, Peyton.” I smiled as I gave her a hug and kiss.
“Thank you, Collin. Thank you all for coming tonight.”
Hailey placed her hand on my arm. “Hey, Collin. Long time no see.”
“Hey, Hailey.”
She looked at Amelia and gave her a smile. “I heard you two got married. Way to go. Congratulations.”
“Thanks.” I knew Amelia didn’t want things to be awkward, but they were. It didn’t matter how hard we tried, the history that Hailey and I once had would always make things awkward.
“This is my boyfriend, Marcus.”
He extended his hand and I shook it. “Nice to meet you, man. If you’ll excuse us, we’re going to get another drink,” I spoke as I led Amelia to the bar with me.
As the night went on, me, my dad, Jake and Henry were sitting around on the couch, drinking, talking, and watching our women on the dance floor.
“Dad, I think Mom’s drunk.”
“I believe she is, son. And I also think Amelia is.”
“Yeah. That last mojito put her over the edge. I told her not to drink it.”
I kept my eye on a guy who was hanging around on the dance floor and getting awful close to Amelia and my mom. Julia left to go to the bathroom and when she came back, she grabbed my arm.
“I need to talk to you now.” She pulled me from the couch and into the corner by the bar.
“What?”
“I was just in the bathroom and I saw Hailey doing coke.”
“Drinking a coke?” I asked as I leaned in closer to her.
“No, Collin. She was snorting cocaine.”
“Seriously?” I narrowed my eyes.
“Yeah. I’m worried about her.”
“Then talk to her, Julia. Don’t involve me. I don’t care what she does with her life.” I walked away and sat back down on the couch.
My dad tapped me on the shoulder and then leaned into me. “See that asshole on the dance floor next to your mother and your wife?”
“Yeah. I’ve been watching him.”
“I know exactly what he’s going to do and the minute he does, we’re taking him down.”
Sure enough, a few moments after my dad said that, the guy stood behind my mom and Amelia and placed his hands on their asses. A flame erupted inside of me and I could tell by the look on my dad’s face he was going to kill him. We both got up, grabbed the guy by the arms, and my dad pushed him up against the wall.
“I will rip your fucking throat out if you ever lay your hands on my wife and daughter-in-law again. Do you understand me?” He grabbed him by his shirt and shook him.
“Yeah. I get it, man. Back off.”
My dad let go of him and, as we started to walk away, the guy spoke.
“They were asking for it. They look like whores. I bet if you weren’t here, they’d be spreading their legs wide for me.”
Without even thinking, I turned around and threw a punch, my fist smashing into his jaw. He fell against the wall. Grabbing his shirt and pulling him up, my dad’s fist hit the other side of his face, knocking him completely on his ass. Security took the guy and escorted him out of the club.
“Still got it, Connor.” Peyton smiled.
“Sorry, Peyton.”
“Oh, please. I always did love watching you in action. Gotta love the Black men.” She winked.
My dad hooked his arm around me. “How’s your hand, son?”
“It’s fine, Dad. How’s yours?”
“It’s fine.”
“Connor, what the hell is the matter with you?” my mom slurred.
“Collin, what were you thinking?” Amelia asked with a stern look.
Did they not feel that man’s hands on their asses? “Babe, he touched you inappropriately and I wasn’t about to let him get away with it. What would you have done if some chick walked up to me and grabbed my crotch?”
Her eyes narrowed and she twisted her face. “I would have hit her.
“Exactly. So come on. Let’s enjoy the rest of the night.” I put my arm around her and pulled her into me. “Nobody touches your ass but me.”
Chapter 10
Connor
The week had come and gone, and we finally made it to the Hamptons. Julia and Jake joined us at the house while Collin and Amelia went to theirs. I was used to having the whole family stay at the beach house and knowing that Collin wouldn’t be there bothered me. Ellery told me not to worry because they were right down the street and we could see them at any time. We got the house cleaned up, opened all the windows to air it out, and we were hosting our first barbeque of the season with our family and some friends.
I looked out the window and smiled when I saw Collin on his surfboard in the water and Julia and Jake sitting in the sand with Brayden. It seemed like yesterday that Collin and Julia were babies. I walked down to the water and watched Collin as he surfed. A few moments later, he got out of the water and set his board in the sand.
“What’s up, Dad? Why are you just standing there?”
“Just taking in the ocean air and watching you surf. I guess I’m getting a little sentimental, that’s all. You and your sister grew up way too fast. We had some amazing times here when you were little.”
“We still do, Dad. Hey, I forgot to tell you. A couple of weeks ago, some kids knocked over a woman’s groceries on the street, so I stopped to help her pick them up. She looked at me and called me Connor. I told her my name was Collin and that you were my dad. I asked if she knew you and she seemed really nervous. She said she had me confused with someone else.”
“That’s odd. What did she look like?”
“Around your age. Maybe a couple years younger. She had dark hair and green eyes. She was pretty attractive for an older lady.”
My stomach twisted in the tightest knot possible and I swallowed hard. “Did you get her name?”
“No. Why would I?”
“No reason.” I put my hands in my pockets as I stared at the water.
“I’m going to go get changed before Mom and Amelia get back from the grocery store. I’ll see you soon.”
“See you soon, son.” I gave a nod.
I took in a deep breath as I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed Frank.
“Hey, Connor, what’s up?”
“I need you to find out if Ashlyn is back in New York.”
“Last I heard, she was living in Texas after she got released from jail. Have you seen her or something?”
“No, but I think my son did. Get back to me as soon as possible.”
“I’ll get right on it, Connor.”
I placed my phone back in my pocket as the burn in my blood heightened. The last thing I needed was that bitch back in New York. It was bullshit that she was released from jail. She got out three years early because of good behavior and she sought therapy. I had been keeping tabs on her when she was first released to make sure she stayed out of New York. How the hell was I going to tell Ellery? I walked back up to the house and Ellery and Amelia had just pulled up. Jake and I helped bring in the bags while Julia put Brayden down for a nap and went over to Collin’s.