“Point is," Easton interjected, “that being stupid doesn’t mean you give up. Complicated doesn’t mean you quit. You figure out how to fix it.”
“There’s another complication,” I said finally, finishing the last of my glass and letting my head fall into my arms.
Easton’s hand landed heavy on my shoulder. “Nothing we can’t fix. Come on, I’ll drive you back to Blue’s.”
Before I could answer, my phone buzzed on the bar, screen lighting up.
Easton pointed. “See? That’s her right now. Blue.”
I groaned, shaking my head. “It’s not.”
I flipped the phone over without even having to look. The number glared up at all of us.
North Dakota.
“It’s her sister. She’s been calling for weeks. Probably wants back pay for child support I never gave her.”
The words hung there, heavier than the bourbon.
And for the first time all night, both of my brothers looked scared.
Chapter Fifty-Four
MILES
It hadn’t takenme long to know West and Blue were full of shit.
On the way to Loxley’s show a few weeks back, I rode with Grams and Gramps, and they said the same thing. They thought there was more to it, too. But the truth was, West never did things the way people expected him to. And if West was finally feeling something real, then he needed to figure that out for himself.
So we let him. We treated their relationship like it was real because when it came down to it, it was.
Everything had been going well. But I knew the day would come when he’d get stupid, and I’d have to help pick up the pieces. That was just what we did for each other. It happened to all of us eventually. But leave it to West to throw in a plot twist none of us saw coming.
“You fucked Blue’s sister?”
“Twenty years ago, apparently. I found out tonight that she’s the girl I was with… that night…” West swallowed hard, refusing to finish the sentence, but Easton and I both knew exactly which night he was talking about.
The night our parents died.
He’d never talked about it. Not where he’d been, not what he’d been doing. But we always knew he’d snuck out and met up with a girl.
West glanced between us like he needed confirmation we were tracking what he meant without him having to spell it out. I gave him a slow nod, letting him know I understood.
“So wait.” I cleared my throat, trying to bring this back to the actual story. “Are you trying to tell me you’ve got a kid? Who’s not really a kid, because it’s been twenty years?”
“No.” His voice came out as a low grit. “I’m telling you I have a complication. A girl I had sex with twenty years ago is calling me, for what I suspect is backpay on child support.”
Easton leaned forward, brows up. “Isn’t that the same thing?”
“Not even close,” West snapped. “Because I don’t have a kid with her. And she damn well knows it.”
“You sure?”
He shot me a look like I’d just insulted his IQ. “I was young and horny, not stupid. I knew how babies were made, and I know I didn’t leave anything behind that night. I was too damn messed up by the sirens I could hear in the distance.”
That shut me up.
“So why is she calling now?” I finally asked. “And what makes you think it’s about a kid?”
