but your enemies closer. But it doesn’t bother me. She’s doing it for you.” She paused a beat. “She’s the mother I should’ve been. She’s the mother you should’ve had.”
I should’ve reached for her. I should’ve had words of reassurance at the tip of my tongue.
I didn’t move.
“You don’t owe me anything, Samantha,” she added after a moment. “I used to think you did, but Mason’s words hit me hard tonight. You don’t. I’m letting you go. Officially. We’re going to move. James and I talked about it tonight. Mason brought up the house, so you guys can have it. I know Helen’s coming back at some point. She’ll want to see Mason and Logan and if it’s before they go back to Cain, I know you won’t want to be there when she does. James and I will be gone by the end of next week. You can move in then.”
Mom…
I almost said that word.
She patted my leg before standing back up. “If you ever want to get coffee, I’m here. I’m here for anything you need, okay? But you never have to do anything for me. You never have to see me. You never have to talk to me. If you see me in a store, you don’t have to say hi. You can walk past me like we’re strangers, and I will never get angry with you. I’m letting you go, Sam.” She cupped the side of my face, and her thumb brushed over my cheek. “You’ll always be my baby girl,” she said lovingly, “but I’ll be whoever you want me to be.” She bent down, and I closed my eyes as she kissed me on the forehead.
I reached up, bringing my fingers to rest where she’d kissed me as she went back to the elevator. I tried to remember another time when she’d kissed me like that.
I couldn’t.
The elevator opened. She stepped inside, and the doors closed.
I sat there for another hour.
“Sam.”
I was finally leaving the hotel when I heard my name. Becky rested against Logan’s Escalade. She twisted her hands together and straightened as I drew near.
“What are you doing here?” I looked around. The lot was full of cars, but it was relatively quiet, like the lobby. A party bus pulled up to the front entrance, and a bunch of people staggered off it, laughing loudly.
“It was Adam.”
“What was?”
“Adam’s the one who turned in that video of Mason. He saw that one of the workers there had his phone out, and later he tracked him down. He edited the video so it looks like Mason attacked that guy for no reason. Here.” She held out a flash drive.
“What is it?” I took it.
“It’s the rest of the video. It’ll show that the guy’s about to hit you and Mason is just protecting you. It should get him off.”
“Why are you giving me this?”
“Because Adam’s wrong with what he’s doing.” She looked away. Shoving her hands in her back pockets, she looked like half the person she’d been. “I’m really sorry, Sam.”
I laughed. This had become the night of apologies somehow. “I… Why did Adam do that?”
“Because he’s still mad about how Mason humiliated him in high school.” She lifted her head, and her eyes swam with tears. “Because he knows you guys are behind getting his dad arrested, and because of Logan’s threat to go to law school with him.” She stopped and took a breath. “Adam’s not thinking straight right now. And he’s angry because…” She took another deep breath. “He’s angry that I broke off the engagement. He’s blaming you for that.” She nodded to the flash drive still in my hand. “He wanted to hurt you guys. This is me trying to make it right.”
She started to go, but I stepped forward. “Wait. You broke up with him?”
She nodded, her lip trembling. “He thinks it’s because his dad’s in legal trouble, but it’s not. I’ve always loved Adam, even before I loved myself. And I’ve always chosen him, but I’ve been thinking a lot over the last week. I still love him. I think it’s just in my DNA, but I don’t know. I think I need to start doing things for myself, you know? I can’t marry a guy and have our entire life already mapped out. I know it’s sudden and random, but—” She lifted her shoulder and rested her cheek against it. “Maybe it’s the fight with you guys. I’m just so tired of it. I don’t know if Logan’s really going to do the whole law school thing, but when he said that, it was like I got a wake-up call. Adam’s always going to fight someone. Whether it’s you guys or someone else. He hates Mason, and it’s like he chooses guys at school to hate, too. I was shocked when he said he wanted to make things right with you guys, but it was all a sham. Adam did know what Caldron was supposed to do. James insisted the two boys worked together, and it was his job too. He was supposed to distract Mason, too. He wanted to do it by being friends with him, but we all know that didn’t work out. I’m sorry.” She went back to twisting her hands together. “This is a lot of talking, and I’m probably not making any sense.”
“No. You are.”
She stopped twisting her hands and held still as her eyes found mine. She almost looked like a statue, like someone I used to know when life was simpler.
“I can never be friends with you. I know that now. I’ve been missing you all these years and thinking what I could have done differently, or what I could still do differently, but that opportunity is gone. Even if Adam’s my ex, I still have to be on his side. It wouldn’t be right to end things with him and then try to be friends with you again. That’s, like, unnecessary betrayal, you know?”
“So what are you going to do?”
She shrugged again. “Stay away from Adam until the end of summer. Try to figure out what I want to do. I went to that college because he went there. I think I need to decide if I want to stay there or transfer, and then go from there. Anyway…” She gestured to the flash drive, which I’d put into my pocket. “I hope that helps get Mason free. He might deserve to be in there for something else, but not this.” She paused, then took a breath. She tried smiling, but it faltered. It didn’t quite meet her eyes. “Goodbye, Sam.”
I nodded. This was my second goodbye in the last two hours. And this one really was a goodbye. I knew I’d still see my mom at some point, but I honestly didn’t know if I’d see Becky again.
“I missed you,” I said. And I meant it, thinking back over the years. “I missed our friendship, and I was happy when I thought I’d gotten it back this summer. I’m sorry things turned out the way they did.”
“Yeah.” She sighed. “That’s just how it is, huh?”
“Yeah. I guess.”
She began backing away and held up a hand. “Bye, Sam.”
I waved back, but I waited until she’d gotten in her car and left. Then I said, so quietly, “Bye, friend.”
Mason was released Monday morning, no charges pending.
The flash drive did what Becky said it would do: It absolved Mason of guilt. It showed Caldron about to hit me, and it wasn’t alone. Logan ended up going with Mark when he went to see Keifer, and they got him to release the carnival’s video recording. Garrett had been right. Apparently, they had security cameras set up, and the footage helped back up what the first video showed. The cops were now looking into pressing charges against Adam instead, but Garrett wasn’t sure if that’d happen. He told us that afternoon, after Mason got out, that any charges against Adam were none of our business. We shouldn’t go looking to start trouble because we had enough already.
I agreed with him.
I was just thankful Mason was out, and nothing had come of his stint in jail.
“So everyone’s all good, Jeeves?” Logan asked.
He received a round of weird looks in return.
Seeing our reaction, he jerked a shoulder up. “What? I like the name. Sue me.”
“Uh, yeah.” Garrett narrowed his eyes just briefly. “Everything’s good, Jeeves.”
Logan grinned. “Sam, I think I like this dad more than the other one.”
“Thanks.” I frowned. “I won’t tell David.”
Logan shrugged again. “Tell him if you want. He knows Malind
a holds my heart in their twosome fearsome.”
“You’re starting with that stuff again?” Mason asked.
“We need a new name since Nate is more in the fold. Are we back to the foursome fearsome?”
“Stop thinking about it.”
“Why?” Logan asked his brother.
“Because I can tell it’s upsetting you.” Mason’s hand settled more firmly on my hip, slipping under my shirt. Logan made a sound, but Mason ignored him. “Thank you, Garrett, for coming down and helping us.”
The two shook hands.
Garrett’s gaze fell on me. “You know I’d do anything to help you guys.”
A warmth trickled through me, and I felt my throat choking up. “Thanks, Garrett.”
Mason and Logan stepped back, so it was just my biological father and me. He turned to face me, his arms out at his sides, and I stepped into them. “Can you start calling me Dad?” he asked.
I nodded, my head moving against his chest. And when we let go, I felt some wetness on my face. “Yeah, I mean, I wouldn’t want to confuse Sabrina,” I teased, wiping the tears away.
“Ah, little Seb.” His fondness was evident. “She’s so busy. I always wonder if you were like that, too. She looks like you.”
“Except for the blond hair that’s almost white.” I brushed some of my black hair off my shoulder.
“Yes, but her personality is like yours.”
As much as a two year old’s could be. But I grinned.
He gave Mason and Logan a wave and headed to his Audi.
As he left, Logan clapped his hands together, jumping up on the curb. “And now it’s just the threesome fearsome again.”
Mason’s gaze was hooded. I didn’t look, but I felt him studying me as he said to Logan, “I told you to stop worrying about that. It’s the three of us. Nate’s close, but he’s not you or Sam.”
Logan let out a breath of air, jumping back down. “Yeah, okay. I should go. Taylor talked about going back to see her friends. They called last night; something happened up there.”
Mason focused more fully on his brother. I could feel the tightness in my chest lighten as he did. “Are you going with her?” he asked.
“I might,” Logan admitted. “No offense, but I’ve got a feeling the two of you are going to do the ‘couple’ thing the rest of your time here. Unless you guys want to go back, too?” His eyes lit up. “Yeah! You should. Mase, your internship’s done. Dad’s not opening the hotel while you’re here anymore, and Sam, you don’t have a job. Come on. Let’s all go back.”
The reason he wanted to go was obvious. Taylor was there. And the reason we’d come to Fallen Crest was Mason’s internship. He needed that credit.
“Your dad will fill out all your internship paperwork, right?” I asked.
“He already did. The only thing I need from him is a grade.”
Logan barked out a laugh. “God, our dad sucks. You’re going to have to go in and kiss his ass.”
“I know. I’ll apologize for the speeches, too.”
“Fuck that. He knew what he was doing when he tried to force us to give him nice ones.”
I remembered what Analise had said to me. I hadn’t told either of them about that conversation. They knew about Becky, but I’d kept quiet about the reason Becky had found me at the hotel in the first place. I’d tell them when things quieted down.
“I think he’ll do the right thing and give you an A,” I told him.
Logan gave me an incredulous look, and Mason just pressed his lips together.
Their doubt was obvious.
“Okay. Right, Sam.” Logan shook his head.
I shrugged. “I got a feeling.”
“You okay?”
Mason’s question came out of nowhere. I turned to look at him, momentarily speechless. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because Mason was in jail for almost forty-eight hours,” Logan offered.
Mason frowned at his brother. “We’ve done longer.”
“Hey.” Logan cocked his head to the side. “You said you were going to see your mom. Did you?”
Here it was. This was my opening to tell them she was officially letting me go. I opened my mouth, ready to share the joyous news…and nothing. No words came out.
“I did, but nothing happened,” I said instead.
Mason’s eyes narrowed.
“It doesn’t matter. That flash drive Sullivan gave you and the video Keifer added was all we needed.” He clapped Mason on the shoulder. “You’re out, and I think we’ve learned a valuable lesson.”
Both of us waited.
“We should always have our own camera guy around. You never know what lengths some piece of shit might go to the next time we’re busting heads.”
Mason shook his head. “Or we could try to stop getting into physical fights. If any of that video gets leaked to the NFL, I could be out before I was even in.”
“Nah.” Logan brushed that off. “You’re good. Everything’s all good.” He snapped his fingers, pointing at us. “And on that note, I’ve been thinking about Taylor since I told you guys she wanted to head back. Now I’m hard.” He glanced down. “You guys are my ride, so can we go? I’d like to spend some time with her before we hit the road tonight.”
“We didn’t need to know some of those details.” Mason went to the driver’s door as Logan reached for the back door handle. I went around to the passenger side.
As we all settled inside, Mason asked, “You guys are leaving tonight, then?”
Logan was looking at his phone. “Yeah, and she just texted. Something went down with Jason. He got jumped.”
“Logan.” Mason’s tone held a warning. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
“Like jump the guys who jumped him?” Logan finished sending a text and slid his phone back in his pocket. “No. You’re right. I’d never defend that little piece of shit, but the problem is that he’s Taylor’s family, and you know we are about family. Totally don’t do shit to help each other out. That’s us. That’s the Kade motto: don’t do shit.”
Mason pulled out of the parking lot. “You can tone down the sarcasm. I’m not saying don’t help. I’m saying don’t physically fight. Get it done a different way.”
“I know. I know, but it’s so damn satisfying when the other guy is on the ground because of you, you know?”
“I know.”
I looked over. Mason’s voice had quieted.
“We got off track this summer,” he continued in a more normal voice. “We tried going right before. We need to get back to it. You have a future, too, you know.”
Logan smirked. “Damn right. I’m going to be a lawyer. It’ll really piss Quinn off if I get there ahead of him, too.”
I turned around in my seat. “You’re really going to follow through with that?”
“Fuck yeah.”
“That’s a lifetime commitment to fucking with Adam Quinn.”
Logan looked at his brother, their eyes meeting in the rearview mirror. “I know, but it’s not about just fucking with him. Maybe it was getting hauled in that night, or you being arrested a second time, or even just Quinn saying he’s going to be a lawyer. I don’t know what it was, but that’s what I want to do. I want to be able to stick it to anyone I fucking please, because I know my way around the law and they don’t.”
That made sense, and the subject was closed.
When we got home, Logan didn’t sequester Taylor in their bedroom for the next hour like he planned. Instead, they made plans to take off.
Mason and I were in the kitchen when Nate appeared. He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. “Uh, Logan and Taylor are packing. What’s going on?” He pulled out a chair and sat across from me at the table.
Mason straightened from the fridge where he’d been grabbing a diet soda for me. Letting the door close on its own, he handed me the can and leaned against the counter. “They’re heading back. Something’s up with one of Taylor’s friends.”