Page 22 of Cedar Edge
Fleeing from the room I slam the bedroom door shut, creating one more barrier between the threat and the people I care for. I’m moving towards the door, steady and ready to fucking ruin whoever this is when I hear a chilling sound. The most chilling sound one could ever hear.
“Logan River Everheart! You open this door right now or I swear I’ll call Acey and demand my spare key back!” My mothers voice cuts through the tension in my body and I let out a deep breath alongside a curse almost wishing it was an intruder. They’d be easier to contend with. “LOGAN!” She shrieks again.
Tarin Everheart is a force to be reckoned with on a good day, and on a bad day she’s a gods damn hurricane.
My mother sweeps into the cabin, the front door barely open, her cowboy boots hitting the wood floor with purpose as she drops the bags she had been holding onto the kitchen table. With one hand on her hip she cuts me a hard look that I can only answer with a sheepish shrug and a bashful smile.
“Hey mom, good to see you. Can I get you a coffee?”
She narrows her eyes at me before they flash to the gun still in hand. “Don’t you hey mom me! You are in big trouble!”
My father lets out a long sigh and I don’t need to look at him to know he has a soft smile on his lips and stars in his eyes as he looks at the woman he married. Where my mother is loud anddemanding, my father is quiet and relaxed. He likes to joke she needed him to soften the edges she often has. She likes to joke he needed her to give him the edge.
“Birdie give the man a moment.” He chuckles. I remember when I was little I would always ask why he called her Birdie and the man would never tell me. My mother only offering up, ‘because I sing so pretty for him’ which felt like a ridiculous joke because my mom sounds like shit when she sings.
She rolls her eyes, discarding the flannel she had draped over the tshirt dress covering her body. Pointing her finger at my father she narrows her eyes. “Don’t you Birdie me. He calls us in the middle of the night asking for help, you disappear into a storm without so much as a bye to me and then show back up looking pale as a ghost!” She turns her wrath back to me. “And you don’t bother answering any of my calls the next few days!”
“Sorry ma,” I say.
She shakes her head before she’s dragging me into a crushing hug. At 5’4 she just hits my chest but her hugs make me feel like I’m a kid again. I wrap my arms around her and squeeze back before releasing her and heading to the coffee pot. A peace offering if you will. That woman drinks more coffee than anyone I’ve ever met and honestly, after the past few days I could use some… fuck days? It feels like it's been months at this point.
“Your father told me you have a house guest,” she says slyly, as though my father didn’t tell herexactlywho is here. “So I brought her some clothes, figured she would be tired of wearing your stuff.”
I nod my thanks just as someone clears their throat, Law finally emerging from the room with Thea. “Morning Mom.” He says with a bit of a wince when she cuts him a hard look.
“Law! You are in on this too?!” She throws her hands in the air. “Neither of you could answer the door!? Couldn’t you have called and told us everything was fine?!”
“Birdie…” My father cuts her a look that's a clear warning. “I was just here, if anything was going on Logan would have called again. Everyone is okay.”
My mother utters something at my father but I can’t pull my eyes from Thea. She's tucked tight against Law’s shirtless chest. She has one of my sweatshirts tossed over her body and I suddenly want to make the clothes my mother brought disappear, forcing her to always wear something of mine.
“Busy huh? I see what kind of busy you were this morning.” She says under her breath. My father chokes on a laugh as my mother slaps me upside the head. Thea flushes as I desperately try to get control of the situation. But my mother is already sweeping Thea into her arms. “Oh Thea! We missed you so much! You can’t know how much we worried when you vanished!”
The two clutch each other and cry. When Thea finally pulls back from my mother, her eyes are red and watery. “It’s good to see you Mrs. Everheart.” Her voice is choked up and the sniffles kill me.
My mother narrows her eyes. “You know damn well it’s ‘mom’ when addressing me.” I watch as she looks Thea over, and as if noticing for the first time how pale and skinny Thea is she lets out a tut and pushes her towards the couch. “Alright you sit down and let’s get you some food.”
My father clears his throat. “Maybe this is a good time for me to check out Thea, before we start eating?”
My mother moves in a flurry, assuring Thea breakfast will be ready as soon as she is done with my dad.
“Does Ace know she's here?” My mom asks quietly, once they are out of the room.
Law winces as I shake my head. “I haven’t told him.”
My mother shakes her head with disgust. About to chastise me no doubt before Law steps in. “She was kidnapped, and theman who has held her isn’t stupid. We need to be smart about what we say over phones.”
She looks horrified but gives a curt nod, quickly packing away any emotions that won’t help the situation at hand. Any old lady of an MC knows how to compartmentalize and while my fathers MC may have long been run out of town my mother never forgot the skills.
“Acey needs to know she’s here. It won’t go well if he’s not prepared.” She adds.
I drag my hand down my face, unable to argue with her. But I also know if we tell him while he’s on a job he’ll hunt Royce down on his own and that kill belongs to all three of us.
Chapter Ten
“The more poisonous the more bitter the taste.”
-Fez Inkwright,Botanical Curses and Poisons: The Shadow Lives of Plants-
