Page 33 of Redemption

“I asked her why you didn’t love us anymore. Why you stopped coming home like Alexa and Levi’s daddy. She said you still loved Calla and me, but I told her I didn’t believe her. But she cried a lot before that, too, but that time was my fault.”

His stomach twists as he looks at his son. The truth he can’t ignore. “I never stopped loving you, Noah. Or Calla. I was just really busy.”

“Mama told us. She said you loved me and baby Calla. But she never said you love her. Did you stop loving Mama? Is that why you never came home?”

Jesus Christ, this kid just twists the fucking knife in his chest. “I will never stop loving your mama.”

“Me, neither. I know to go and take care of her now. She’s easier to take care of than Calla who just screams her head off. It hurts my ears, but I’ll try, Daddy.”

Karmen looks at him with a look of pity, and he just closes his eyes, taking a deep breath. It’s like peeling back an onion, except each layer reveals something worse than before, and he’s nothing but raw and in pain.

Pulling out his phone, he finds Shep’s number and calls it.

“Yeah?”

“Hey, I can’t make it tonight. I have the kids, and they need me tonight.”

Shep pauses a moment until he finally says, “Okay.”

“Can I ask you a favor?”

“Depends.”

“I’m going to send you Lex’s number. Have Brock run a trace on it. She got a new place, and she’s had a rough week. I think she could use a visit from you tonight or tomorrow.”

“You don’t know where she lives?”

Sniffling, he sighs. “No, I don’t. Not until she’s ready to tell me. She had a hard time saying goodbye to Calla, and I think she needs you.”

“You want me to go and check on your wife?”

“I want you to go and check on your friend. It was obvious she doesn’t feel like she has any within the club anymore, and I really want her to know she does. Starting with you.”

“I still fucking hate you.”

“I know. Thanks, Shep.”

Hanging up, he sighs. “Do you want me to put her in the car seat?”

Karmen looks with shock. “You turned down something for the club?”

“I saw how upset Lex was to lose time with the kids. And I have a lot of time to make up for. The club will be fine without me for a night.”

“There just might be hope for you yet, Colt,” Karmen says. “Sure, go ahead and get her into the car seat.”

He takes his daughter and walks outside. There may be hope for him, but he doesn’t think there’s hope for his marriage. He might just be screwed.

Chapter 13

Griffin’s Beach

Lex

Lex sits at the kitchen table of her rental place with a bottle of wine in front of her. The home may not be large, but it has enough space for her and the kids. They each have their own room, and she feels accomplished. Accomplished but sad.

This wasn’t how she imagined her life ending up. Being a single mother still madly in love with her ex while working and paying bills on her own never entered her mind. Neither had walking away from the man she married and loved with all her heart. But life’s a bitch sometimes.

With the kids at Colt’s for the weekend, she can drink her dinner. She can drown her sorrows in the alcohol just like he did in Black Valley with no one to take care of besides herself in the morning. The thought depresses her more than it comforts her, but she still takes another drink from the glass.

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