Blaze & Bind (Surrender to Them 10)

1

Rachel

Rachel

“Dad, are you okay?” I walked in the kitchen to find my father leaning against the kitchen counter with a look on his face that suggested he wasn’t.

“No!” He tossed his cell phone on the counter and shook his head. “Your idiot brother has fallen in love.”

“Really?” I tilted my head to the side. “Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Sure, if he was a responsible adult instead of an immature child.” Dad exhaled sharply. “He eloped—he freaking eloped.”

“Wow!” I blinked in surprise. “So, Billy got married?”

“Yes! They drove to Las Vegas and got married last night.” He turned towards me, and his jaw tightened. “I guess my new daughter-in-law, whatever her name is, doesn’t have a lick of common sense either.”

“Maybe they’re a perfect match?” I tried to put a glimmer of hope in my voice.

“They might be, but apparently they like Vegas so much they’re going to stay there.” He walked over and grabbed his coffee cup. “Which means I’m stuck with his damn lease.”

“Oh—right.” I nodded in understanding. “You signed for it…”

“I never learn.” He shook his head back and forth. “Just when I think he’s got his life together, he goes and pulls this shit. Why can’t he be responsible like you?”

“I’m sorry, Dad.” I walked over to pour a cup of coffee. “Figures he would pull this at the start of your vacation, too…”

“Yeah, and I’m sure he’s behind on his rent, just like he was when he moved out of the last place in the middle of the night.” Dad’s lip twitched in disgust. “I guess I’ll go see his landlord this morning and straighten everything out. I always have to clean up his messes.”

“You’re going to miss your flight.” I looked over at the clock on the microwave. “Dad, you really should be on the road already.”

“I don’t even know if I can afford a vacation now…” He sighed and shook his head angrily. “I sure as hell can’t take a hit on my credit because Billy decided to walk away from his responsibility after promising me, he wasn’t going to do it to me again.”

“Come on, Dad. I know this sucks, but you’ve wanted to go on this trip for months. All of your old college buddies are going to be there.” I reached out and put my hand on his. “Let me handle this business with Billy.”

“No, this isn’t your burden.” He sipped his coffee and put the cup down. “I’ll handle it.”

“Dad—seriously.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “I got this. I’m on break from school, and I don’t even have to work today. Please don’t miss your flight because Billy is an idiot.”

“I don’t know how I got everything so right with you and so wrong with him.” Dad looked at his watch. “Okay, but call me if there’s an issue or if you need money. I guess things aren’t going to be screwed up any more than they already are in a week.”

No, they definitely won’t, and I’m sure the landlord can wait another week for his money—not that I’m convinced Dad should have to pay for another one of Billy’s mistakes.

Dad hugged me and then bolted for the door. He still had time to make his flight if the line to get through security wasn’t too long. He had been looking forward to the trip for so long that I really didn’t want him to have to cancel his plans because my brother was an immature dumbass. I sent Billy a rather angry text message as soon as Dad was gone and then headed upstairs to shower. I had never actually seen my brother’s apartment, but I knew where he lived. It was in a decent part of town, and way too expensive, but my brother always managed to get what he wanted. Dad talked a good game, but every time Billy came crawling back, there was another handout waiting for him on the table.

My brother and I might as well have been polar opposites. He was four years older than me, but he didn’t act like it—and it had always been that way. I believed in carving my own path, being as self-reliant as possible, and I never took anything from my father unless I absolutely had to. Billy, on the other hand, would have taken Dad’s last dollar if he could. Even when he wasn’t begging for money, he was making things more complicated than they needed to be. Every time he showed up, it was supposed to be the last time, but it never was. I wasn’t sure it was ever going to change either. Billy dropped out of college, barely held down a job when he had one, and neither of us should have been surprised that he randomly ran off to Las Vegas to get married. It was just another tick on a list of irrational decisions he had made, and that list was far too long already. Never mind the fact we had never even met the girl that now shared our last name. I wouldn’t have known my new sister-in-law if I passed her on the street.

I can’t fix that, so I’ll do my best to correct the situation with the apartment. Maybe I’ll get lucky, and his landlord will be understanding…

I had more time to fume on my ride across town. Billy knew how much the trip meant to our father, yet he didn’t even think twice about dropping a bombshell on him before his flight was supposed to leave. Why couldn’t he wait a week? Why did he have to be such a selfish prick? My anger was at an all-time high when I got to the apartment building, so I took a moment to settle down before I walked inside. The man at the front desk pointed me in the direction of the landlord’s office, and I prepared to humble myself. It wasn’t his fault that my brother skipped town, but I needed him to be understanding of our situation. At least it was a decent looking place. I hoped that meant they didn’t have trouble finding tenants—that might help my case. I got to the door and gently knocked until I heard a voice inside.

“Come in.” The voice was gruff, and when I pushed the door open, I saw an older man with gray hair sitting behind a desk. “Are you here about the ad?”

“Ad? No sir.” I shook my head back and forth as I entered. “I’m Billy Lawson’s sister—he has an apartment here.”

“Billy Lawson? I don’t think—oh, that’s right. Your Dad signed the lease. I remember now.” He nodded as he made the connection.