Page 68 of Clashing
New customers provided an excuse to get away from him while I tried to sort out that interaction. At least we’d spoken, but I cringed to think that this would be our new normal. I glanced back at him, surprised to find him already staring. Except he snapped his head forward the instant our eyes met.
This was a shitty new normal.
Chapter twenty-one
Worth the Risk
Ryker
LifewithoutScarlettwasunbearable. Before we stopped, I slept well half the week. Without her, I was back to nightmares and tossing and turning. Back to doom and gloom. Back to storm clouds without the bursts of lightning she emitted.
A whole week passed without seeing her. She said she could be normal but avoided me. I didn’t see her until the day her mother arrived, and she was so excited to see her mom, she didn’t notice me.
Then she did, and it was awkward as fuck. I wanted our banter. I missed her attitude and sass, missed everything about her that had driven me nuts.
Even my dogs missed her. Every time I came home, they’d wait at the garage door like they expected her to show up. It irked me. Why were they so attached? She was only here a few times a week at most.
Not anymore.
I caught glimpses of her on her way to art class. She spent a lot of time at the house with her mom and Dan. I’d see her return to her apartment at around eleven each night. If she looked at me, she’d offer a timid smile.
I hated the fake cordiality. Most of all, I hated how much I missed her. Not because I wanted her body, which I did.Badly.But more than anything, I wanted our normal. I wanted her sarcastic remarks and ferocity. I wanted to fight with her, piss her off, have her piss me off. I wanted us to yell at each other, then make up in bed like we’d done over the last few months.
The following Sunday was Father’s Day, and a lot of our crowd stayed home with their children. Some brought their kids with them if they were over twenty-one. I didn’t see Scarlett and didn’t expect to. I’d stopped in to visit Dan and he feigned annoyance that Scarlett insisted on doing Father’s Day for him every year.
“She makes too big a deal out of it,” he grumbled while her mom, Diana, smirked a knowing smile.
For all his complaining, he was excited to see what she did for him this year and I swallowed back a throb in my chest because I already knew what she’d done. That charcoal drawing of Roxy. Just like that, I was transported to before we ended things.
All that to say, since I wouldn’t see her going up and down the stairs or working the bar like she usually did on Sunday, I almost didn’t bother coming in. However, Fred, one of our guys, got real depressed on Father’s Day.
He refused to discuss it, but his daughter had died overseas serving in the Air Force. No one knew her name. Fred was closed off about it. But I wasn’t stupid.On a day like this, he shouldn’t be alone.So, he sat at the bar with me, and we drank and talked like normal.
In fact, more guys sat at the bar to be closer to Fred. They cracked jokes and got half-assed chuckles out of him.Better than nothing.Even my spirits lifted a little until—
She walked in.
A white sundress clung to her curves and complemented her golden skin.Damn, she looks good in white.She approached us and gave me a small nod before addressing Fred.
“Here,” she said, extending a box with a card on top.
Fred stared. Blinked. Spun on his barstool to face her. His lips twisted down and our whole group silenced.
“Just because your daughter’s an angel daughter doesn’t mean you’re not still a dad.” She pecked him on the cheek, then opened the small box. “Happy Father’s Day.”
A cupcake readHappy Father’s Dayin elegant blue frosting. He made no move. She set the cupcake on the bar and held out the card. I almost thought he wouldn’t take it, but he did. He opened it, and for the first time in my life, I thought he might cry.
“Thanks, Scarlett.” We all pretended we didn’t hear the waver in his voice.
She threw her arms around him. He hugged her while we snapped our open mouths shut. Fred never showed affection, nor did he respond well to anyone bringing up his daughter. But Scarlett hugged him, and he hugged her back, and the rest of us gawked like baffled weirdos.
As if that wasn’t surprise enough, when she pulled away and turned to leave, he spoke up. “Do you want to see a picture of her?”
Someone nudged me but I didn’t move. Scarlett faced him, expression soft and welcoming. She nodded and the two of them sat at a table where he pulled a picture out of his wallet.
“How did she do that?” Nick asked, staring after them.
She’s a fucking angel.“I have no idea.”
