Piece of My Heart (Fostering Love 4)

When I’d seen that guy reach out and grab a handful of Sarai’s ass, I’d lost it. He’d been lucky that all he’d gotten was a couple of punches. I’d wanted to knock him unconscious and then stomp as hard as I could on his hand. I was grateful that Clover had stopped me, but a part of me resented it, too.

I’d still been a little wired from the whole thing when I’d heard Sean being an asshole to Sarai, and he’d nearly felt the edges of my knuckles, too, if I was being honest. Sarai had held her own, though, even though it was clear she was rattled, and I hadn’t wanted to take away from that. I belonged to a family of strong women, and I knew from experience that sometimes a good man watched them fight their own battles. Since Sean had kept his hands to himself, so had I.

“Where did everyone go?” Sarai asked in confusion as we pulled into the grass in front of Sean and Hailey’s house.

The rows of cars that had been there when we left were mostly gone. I parked right out front, but when I got out, I didn’t grab the beer out of the back. It was too quiet.

When we reached the front steps, I noticed Clover sitting in a lawn chair in the dark, smoking a cigar.

“Figured I’d hang out until y’all got back,” he said, pushing himself to his feet. “But I’m pretty sure Ice Man in there is about to pass out.”

Just as Clover finished speaking, we heard Sean start shouting inside the house. I lifted my arm and blocked Sarai from the front door.

“Stay out here,” I ordered, reaching for the door handle.

“Uh, no,” she argued. She scooted between me and the door and pushed her way inside.

When we walked into the living room, Sean’s voice was even louder, but we couldn’t see him. It wasn’t until we turned the slight corner into the kitchen that he came into view.

Hailey was standing with her arms crossed over her chest, and tears were rolling down her face while Sean yelled, pointing at her.

“What the hell, Sean?” I asked, just as Sarai asked Hailey if she was okay.

“Hey, man,” Sean said, dropping his hand as soon as he realized we were standing there. “Thought you left.”

“Just to get more beer,” Clover replied from behind me. “I fucking told you that.”

It was the wrong thing to say. Hailey seemed to shrink a little as Sean scoffed.

“Soon as the beer ran out, everyone bailed,” he said, pulling out a chair and dropping into it as if this were the worst thing that had ever happened.

“I didn’t order enough,” Hailey said quietly. She grabbed a piece of garbage off the table and held it awkwardly in her hand like she wasn’t sure what to do with it.

“I thought Sean picked up the kegs,” Sarai said.

“He did.” Hailey shrugged. “But I had to order them first.”

“Told her to get four,” Sean said, rolling his eyes.

“I told you they only had two left,” Hailey replied.

“Because you waited until the last goddamn minute to order them.”

“Don’t talk to her like that,” Sarai snapped at Sean.

Sean’s scowl darkened as he looked at Sarai. He tilted his head a fraction, and his fingers tapped out a rhythm on the tabletop. I knew the instant he decided to take a verbal swipe at her, and I stepped forward, ready to stop him.

“Why don’t you sleep it off, Sean,” Clover said, disgust clear in his voice. “You’re being a douche.”

“That’s why you called him Ice Man,” Sarai said to herself. “Top Gun.”

“What did you say to me?” Sean asked Clover, getting to his feet. “Come on over and say that to my face.”

“I’m right in front of you, idiot,” Clover shot back, lifting his hands in the air in a come and get me gesture. “You’re being a douche.” He enunciated the words slowly and clearly.

Sean charged forward, but I stopped him before he reached Clover. In a normal course of events, I’d let Clover beat the shit out of Sean for being a jerk to the ladies, but we were in a very confined space. There was too big of a chance that Sarai or Hailey would get hurt if the guys got into it here.

“Come on, big guy,” I said, wrapping my arms around Sean in a bear hug. “Why don’t you sleep it off.”

“Fucking Clovis,” Sean muttered, the fight going out of him.

I half carried and half dragged Sean into the bedroom. All the beer he’d consumed had finally caught up to him, and he was practically passed out in my arms. Hailey followed us in, and as soon as I’d dropped Sean on the bed, she was there, lifting his feet to pull his shoes and socks off.