Reed's Reckoning

“Now what did you want to tell me about your day?” His face falls and I know something is wrong.

“Hate to ruin a perfect moment between us, but you need to know.”

I continue to hold onto him and nod my head for him to continue.

“Mom said Cara is going crazy; both in a good and bad way. At first, she was furious with me, saying I treated her like shit when she came over to apologize that night. She stayed that way about a week. Then she went totally opposite. Crying and carrying on about how could she do what she did and not even know she had a nephew. Mom was scared at first that Davis brought up the pain of her miscarriage, but now she thinks Cara truly thought she was doing the right thing.”

“I can’t imagine how your mom must feel to be in the middle.”

“She’s not in the middle. Her feelings are anger and guilt. She’s so mad at Cara for her actions and then what happened afterwards, but she also feels responsible.”

“That’s crazy! Amy didn’t do anything!”

“She thinks she failed Cara as a mother. We never came down hard on her because she was so delicate and we were grieving my dad in our own ways. Cara always craved the need to be liked and accepted, hence, ganging up with Alex Moore and her crew.”

“Well, I disagree and will tell her that.”

“I’m a little worried she’ll show up this weekend.” He says with concern in his voice.

“She wouldn’t.”

“Ari, she calls and texts me every day. The only response I give her is ‘I’m not ready to talk’.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“We have been busy and she’s not really a subject I thought you’d want to talk about. The level of damage she caused is still too fresh in my mind to be civil.”

“You know you can talk to me about anything right?”

He doesn’t answer but nods slightly and grabs my hand. We walk back to the house quietly, each lost in thought. I’m not sure I will ever forgive Cara Matthews. But one thing’s for sure, Reed absolutely has to.

Chapter 25

Reed

“When’s that woman of yours gonna wise up and dump your ass for a real man?” Bobbie says loud enough for Ari to hear him. She shakes her head smiling and turns back to the woman she’s sitting with.

“Watch it, Bobbie. She’s one hundred percent mine.”

“Don’t see a ring on her finger.” He goads me.

I’m about to reply when there’s a screeching from the back porch, and Sissy and Shani run towards Ari like she is their long lost sister. They embrace and squeal loudly. Lamar and Dwayne come out behind them carrying armloads of shit.

“Fuck, seeing that she is already in with the wives, that ring won’t be far behind.” Bobbie says and I wink, grinning.

I wave to the guys and see several more teammates walk out. Ari wasn’t kidding about her annual Fourth of July party being a big deal. Sophie, Katy, my mom, and her have been cooking and getting ready for days. Luke came over this morning and helped me put up three tents on the beach. He unloaded games and set them up for adults and kids. We already decided we were going to kick ass in corn hole today. Each person that has come in has brought some sort of food and every surface in my kitchen is covered.

Katy invited her book club and they have stayed mostly under the porch. Luke and I both have tried to avoid them since they have wondering hands. One lady felt up my front while commenting on my muscles while another pinched my ass. Ari saw the whole thing and laughed at my horrified expression.

Several of the bank employees are here, and unfortunately, one of them is the receptionist. She’s tried to get my attention in different ways but I am dodging her too. When she took off her cover up and exposed her bright pink thong bikini there were gasps from most of the women. Sophie actually went to talk to her and I heard her say something about a family party and kids present. The woman didn’t cover up but did lie down so her ass wasn’t exposed.

All together with our friend’s kids there were about ten children building sand castles and squirting water guns. A few of the soccer kids are here including Miles. I felt a ping of guilt thinking about taking Davis to my place so much during the fall. I know he’ll miss his best friend, but hopefully he’ll enjoy the other kids he meets.

I watch Ari from a distance and my heart explodes with pride. She is not only beautiful, but also has an aura that people flock to. Her excitement over this party was infectious. Even I wanted to jump out of bed this morning, and get today started. Which is rare because I never want to get out of a bed with Ari in it.