Page 19 of Kai's Hunger

Kai shrugged. “It’s nothing,” he reassured me, his gaze straying to the doorway again.

I decided not to push. It was none of my business. As I scooped up a chunk of potato, commotion from the other side of the room caught everyone’s attention. I looked up to see Wyatt and Miggs coming back into the room. Neither of them appeared too happy, but at least no one was bleeding. I supposed that was a good sign. Wyatt took the seat at the head of the table and Miggs sat in the chair across the table from me. He glared at me a moment, then dug into the roast. Everyone started talking at once and soon the earlier tension dissipated.

Kai cleared his throat and pointed his fork at the quieter brother at the far end of the table. “Trakker towed your van to a local garage.”

I peered down the length of the table and saw Trakker smiling at me. “Uh, thank you for doing that. To be honest, I’m a little worried about the cost.”

Trakker winked and dug into his potatoes. “Bridger is reasonable. He’ll give you a fair price. Won’t he, Kai?”

My shoulders slumped. “Jeez, my insurance is bound to go up after this.”

Kai nudged my shoulder with his. “You don’t need to worry about all that right now.” He glared at Trakker. “Drop it.”

“I can’t drop it,” I complained. “I need that van if I have any hope of starting a new life.”

“New life?” Cage asked, his curiosity obviously piqued.

I didn’t see what it would hurt to tell the guys my plans. Considering we were about to be roommates for the time being. “I’ve decided to leave Walnut Ridge. I’ve lived there my entire life and I wanted a change. Lately, it became ... difficult because of my family.”

Cage snorted. “Yeah, family can be a pain in the—”

“Cage,” Kai warned. “Clean up your language or I’ll muzzle you.”

I laughed. “It’s fine. Your brother is right. I’ve been under my mom’s thumb for too long. Partly my fault, I suppose, for being such a pushover. She and my sister know how to manipulate me. Leaving that toxic relationship behind seemed to be my only way to find myself.” I looked around the table and realized everyone had stopped eating and watched me. My cheeks heated. “Does that make sense or am I just rambling?”

Kai reached for my hand and squeezed. “We understand, Lily. It’s not always easy to cut ties. It takes a lot of courage, I think.”

His praise swept through me and it felt good. “I don’t know if it’s courage or desperation that drove me.”

As I broke off a bit of beef with my fork and started to bring it to my mouth Wyatt, the oldest brother, asked, “Where were you headed?”

I cringed. “It’s embarrassing to admit, but I didn’t have a destination. I just wanted out.”

Miggs cleared his throat, catching my attention. When our gazes met, he asked, “They made it that hard for you?”

What harm could it cause to tell them? I’d gotten this far with my pathetic life story. In for a penny. “My mom is an alcoholic and prescription drug abuser. My sister has shown signs of following in her footsteps. I’ve tried to get them help, to be supportive. I’ve even brought my mom to an alcoholics anonymous meeting.” Remembering the hate-filled lecture from my mother on the drive home that day would be etched into my memory forever. “Needless to say, it didn’t take.”

Miggs’s gaze warmed. “I’m sorry. A mother is supposed to nurture and love their children. Yours doesn’t sound like she did a very good job.”

That was putting it mildly. “Yeah, so, I guess I got tired of cleaning up her and Victoria’s messes.”

Kai patted my arm. “That life is behind you now. You have a bright future to look forward to.”

“If I can get my van fixed,” I muttered.

No one said anything more and the conversation turned to chores. Cage was complaining about doing the dishes, but Wyatt shut him down with a look. It intrigued me that all the brothers seemed to look to Wyatt as more of a father figure rather than a brother.

Kai stood, then he reached for my empty plate. “Finished?”

“I am, but please let me clean up,” I implored, snatching my plate out of Kai’s grasp. “It’s the least I can do considering all you’ve done for me.”

Kai glared down at me. “It’s Cage’s turn to clean. Besides, you’re injured, Lily. You should rest.”

Cage cleared his throat and offered me a lopsided grin. “Hey, if the lady wants to clean, who am I to stand in her way.”

A few of the guys laughed, but not Kai. “She isn’t your maid,” he grumbled before turning his attention to Creeg. “Shouldn’t Lily be resting?”

His brother tilted his head at me. “Still no headache?”

---