Page 55 of Conan
The day goes on like that. High chairs for both the girls, a walker for Brooklynn because I find it odd she’s held as much as she is instead of them letting her have tummy time or be mobile in other ways. It’ll help give her a leg up and strengthen her muscles so when she’s old enough to begin walking, she’ll be ready.
Midas finds a bunch of other things he thinks will be entertaining for them, one is an inflatable ball pit-like thing—I can see Hadley having a blast in that, and Brooklynn too once she starts ambulating.
We took those carts up front once they were loaded down and we grabbed six more, one per child to fill up to the brim with clothes, shoes, and underthings. Our last stop is in health and beauty, where we might’ve gone a little bit nuts buying frou-frou things for the two little girls, along with items that the preteen and teen boys will like. Luna chooses their shampoos based on how good they smell which has me rolling my eyes, but I don’t say anything because she’s liable to burst into tears. Instead, I keep doing searches on my phone to see what boys that age would like, as well as what’s appropriate for an infant. When we finally make it up to the register, I feel sorry for our cashier. The guys make quick work of laying things on the conveyor belt as Risk heads to the front of the store to where we stashed the other carts and brings them to us.
Along the way, I notice his steps falter as he stares off to the right. I follow his gaze and see one of the prettiest women I’ve ever seen. She is stacked in a way that reminds me of a fifties pin up model.
“Who’s that?” I ask, elbowing Luna.
“I have no clue, but I have a feeling our Risk just fell in love at first sight, or he knows her,” Luna remarks. “The way she’s looking at him, I’d say it’s the latter.”
“She looks ready to bolt,” I state. “Think there’s history there?”
“I’m pretty certain there is,” she whispers. “It must’ve been from back in the day, because I haven’t seen her around town. Have you?”
“Nope. Sure haven’t,” I reply then turn to Midas and whistle. “Midas, do you know who that is?”
His head lifts at my words and curses under his breath. “It’s McKenna.”
“Who is she to Risk because he looks like he’s about ready to swallow his tongue?” I ask.
“His wife. Let’s just say they didn’t part under the best of terms,” Midas informs us. “It was a whirlwind romance that ended just as quickly as it started.”
“What happened?” I probe, my nosy nature taking over.
“Not my story to tell, ladies,” he mumbles, his eyes swiveling between the two with worry etched on his face. “Let’s try to keep those two apart so there’s not an explosive confrontation for the entire town to witness.”
“If they would still go at it, there’s some heavy feelings involved for both of them,” Luna points out.
“Luna,” Midas sighs, “don’t go trying to play matchmaker, okay? When I say those two are better off apart, I’m not joking. We had to physically separate them the last time they crossed paths.”
That idea does not sit well with me, so I leave Luna to watch over the scanning of our things and walk over to Risk, leaning into his side. “You alright?”
“Feel like my heart's just been ripped out of my chest,” he confides. “I both love that woman with all of my heart but I hate her just as much.”
“They say love and hate have a fine line between them,” I convey. “What happened between you two that turned love into hate?”
“I fucked up,” he admits. “I was young and dumb. I thought I had to be one way to keep the respect of my brothers. Let’s just say I acted like bikers are portrayed and as a result, I lost her.”
“What did you do?” I continue, now it isn’t about being nosy, it’s about trying to help a friend figure out how to fix a wrong.
He clears his throat, his eyes still fixated on her when he answers, “I went out with our more free-loving brothers, met a girl, got drunk off my ass and wasn’t thinking straight.”
“Oh!” I whisper-shout. “When you say you screwed up, you mean youreallyfucked up, don’t you?”
“In the worst way a man committed to a woman could,” he tells me. “Worst mistake of my life.”
“Do you think you could redeem yourself with her? Is she the forgiving type?” I ask.
“Could you?” he asks me, harrumphing.
“If I’m being honest with you, Risk, probably not. But then again, she’s not me. I’ve been betrayed by nearly everyone in my life, once I give trust it’s given without any strings, and if thosestrings were to be clipped, I doubt I’d be forgiving. Especially if it was Conan that did that to me.”
“Then you just answered your own question, Demi.”
“I suppose I did. I’m sorry, Risk. I wish I had words of wisdom that’d fix this for you, but I’m drawing a blank. Once trust is broken–”
“It’s broken,” he continues my statement.
