Page 35 of Judge
She calms slightly, wiping a tear from her eye. “That-” she jabs a finger in their direction, “-is your old girlfriend, Chelsea Masters.”
I whirl back around in the direction they went trying to get another look before spinning and marching across the field, trying to catch up with Kaia and her short legs. “What the hell happened to her face? She blinked and her ears moved!” I hiss.
Kaia cackles as she stomps away from me, “Don’t know, don’t care. Obviously her carpet peddling husband makes too much money.”
She comes to an abrupt stop, staring into the gazebo, directly at my parents who have come to support the twins. She jumps when I place my hands on her shoulders.
“Shit. Shit, shit, shit. What am I going to say to them Leo! I’m not prepared!” Her eyes are wide and the sassy woman from a moment ago is replaced by one on the verge of a meltdown.
“Look at me,” I demand, turning her in my direction. “It’s going to be fine. They understand. They just want to have a relationship with the twins, OK?” I choose not to tell her about the whole soulmates thing. She’s only just started looking at me without trying to kill me with her eyes.
She squares her shoulders, head held high, taking a deep breath before letting it out.
“You got this, trust me.”
Kaia
I definitely do not have this. At the time getting away from Leo seemed like the best thing to do. Having Aunt Daisy need help meant I could get out of town and get my head straight. Before I knew it I had been gone so long that coming back pregnant, with my tail between my legs was not an option. Stupid pride. Argh.
Leo leads me toward his parents, laughing with Pops and Mama Debs at the drinks stand. There are kids running around and I can see Leo’s mom Annie’s head swivelling this way and that, probably trying to find the twins in the mass of kids. Hergaze swings until it lands on me, her eyes growing wide as her hands raise, covering her mouth.
She stares a moment before rushing over to me, wrapping me in her arms, holding on tight like she used to when I was a kid after my mom died.
“I’m so sorry I never told you!” The words bubble up out of me as I cling to her, bursting into tears. She grips me tighter, rocking me from side to side.
“It’s OK, Kaia. Leo explained everything. If he hadn’t been a DUMBASS -” she says loudly over her shoulder, directed at her son, “you would have stayed and we would have helped you.”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, pulling back to run my hands over my cheeks, sniffling pitifully.
“Sweetheart, you did what you had to, and what I’ve heard is that you did a fabulous job.” Annie bends a little, her taller frame angling down so she can look me in the eye, a genuine smile stretching her face. “You did good, girl. Now, why don’t you introduce me and Chuck to our grandbabies?”
I nod, wiping my face, once more, taking a deep breath and blowing out all the years of regret and fear over how Annie and Chuck would react. Instead of being pissed, Annie embraced me, and now I’m snuggled into the crook of Chuck’s arm. Leo’s soft gaze finds mine, his crooked smile playing on his lips. I exhale once more, looking around for the kids who are standing with Tank and Mira.
Catching their gazes I wave to them. Annie-Bella bounces over. I mean, why walk when you can bounce happily from one place to another? Jax lopes behind her, his long legs eating up the distance. They stop in front of me and before I can say a word Annie-Bella’s eyes grow comically wide.
“You’re my meemaw, aren’t you?” she whispers. Annie nods at her, her lips quivering as she stares at Annie-Bella in wonder.“And you must be my gramps!” Annie-Bella says in a stronger voice.
“Yup, sweetheart, that’s me.” Chuck grins wide, chest puffed out with pride.
There’s a pause, static in the air before Annie scoops my daughter up in her arms, Chuck doing the same with Jax who doesn’t fight it. He leans into Chuck’s large body, holding on tighter than I expected.
Jax and my father were close, closer than any two people I have ever met. When Dad passed away Jax struggled with his grief, his anger, his hurt. Watching him with Chuck heals something in me. We may have lost my dad, but Jax still has Leo’s dad in his life. In actual fact, he has more than just Chuck. He has Pops and Mad Dog and I’ve seen how he behaves with them. It’s like he’s found a place, just like I felt at the farm.
There’s some tears, and a lot of hugging. The DRMC all watch on with goofy smiles on their faces. It’s clear that Leo and his parents are well loved.
“See, wasn’t as bad as you thought it would be, huh?” Lovely asks, nudging me with her shoulder as I watch the twins with Leo and his parents.
I roll my eyes, but then grin in her direction. As soon as I got here I was whisked away by the Girl Gang and I told them my fears. Obviously we did an intense advice circle. Some advice was great, some, like Chewy’s, was a lot less helpful. I don’t think moving away never to be seen again is a good option.
“So, ladies, I did a quick loop, and aside from that ginger kid’s awful mom, there are three others who could be problematic.” Blanche says, bouncing Tess in the front pack on her chest.
“What do you mean by ‘problematic’?” I ask, brow raised.
“They’re judgey assholes,” Nat fills in for me.
Following where her finger is pointing, I let out a long groan. “Those are Chelsea’s friends.”
“Well, I have my eyes on them,” Ana says, glaring in their direction. “They complained to that guy in the bright top.”
