Only for You Page 6

  “Who?” I can’t help but ask. Cole mumbles their name and I gasp in shock. For some reason I’d always assumed Crystal’s last name was Morgan, like Cole’s. “The Dr. Daniel Newton is your granddaddy?”

  “Yeah,” Cole says, and then looks away. “You know him?”

  I shake my head. “No, but I visited his church once, with my parents, but they decided not to go back due to the message.”

  Cole’s granddaddy had preached on positive scripture, praying for prosperity and happiness, something my parents thought was going against everything they’d been taught.

  “There’s no such thing as a Bank of God,” my dad had muttered after church. “And giving people false hope is wrong. Besides, I didn’t like his smile. Too toothy. And he dyes his hair.”

  “Davis,” my mom had snickered. “That’s not very Christian to say.”

  “I’ll pick one of those prosperity scriptures and pray on it.”

  We’d all laughed, even if I really didn’t know what any of it had meant. I’d only been twelve at the time.

  Never in a million year would I have connected the Newtons to Cole’s family.

  “You really picked a winner, Cole. All high society with none of the class. Hell, it’s like you picked your momma, without all my little problems,” Crystal says, a smirk in her voice. Anger too.

  “Rae has nothing to do with you and me, with what you, your parents, or Everett did. Got it?”

  “You have mommy issues. Got it.”

  Never in my life have I wanted to smack another human being so hard. Not even Jaxon.

  “Jesus,” he mutters, and then his voice rises. “Did Everett get this place for you after you sold him my brother? Does this house belong to him? Because, damn it, Crystal, if I’m paying rent to the son of bitch… I’ll—”

  “No!” She shakes her head, tears making her mascara run. “No. He took my baby and didn’t give me a red cent. Just paid for the hospital bills and a bus ticket.”

  “Then who?” Cole strides to her, taking her by the wrist. “Who the hell am I paying rent to?”

  “Me.”

  Chapter Eight

  Cole

  “I own this house,” Officer Ford says. “A leasing company handles everything for me.”

  “Who are you?” Rae asks. She doesn’t know of my longstanding relationship with the man, mostly because I’ve kept her away from him by keeping my temper in check.

  “He’s Brent Ford, local cop, and frequent arresting officer.” I don’t know what to believe anymore. I don’t know what to think, what to say… all I know is that this is the most surreal, most embarrassing, experience of my life, and Rae’s here to witness it all.

  “Oh. Well, Crystal hasn’t done anything yet, except if you count trespassing,” Rae says, and I want to kiss her. I want to hug her and take her and Kelly away from all this. For once, there’s someone on my side.

  “My name is still on the lease,” Crystal points out.

  “Only because it’s too inconvenient to take it off,” I point out.

  “But your money hasn’t been anywhere near it, which makes him a sub-letter,” Rae says, and I wonder where she’s getting her information.

  Ford steps in front of Crystal, and for once, he’s not wearing his uniform around me. He looks like any other guy in his late thirties, wearing jeans and a button down. “Crystal didn’t come here to make trouble. She came here to apologize.”

  I laugh. “Quit yanking my chain.”

  “And she’s here to say good-bye. We’re leaving for Colorado tomorrow, and I’m escorting her personally.”

  Automatically, I grab Kelly from Rae. “Not with her, you’re not.”

  Crystal moves from behind Ford. Her face is soft for once, and I think the tears and emotion are genuine in her eyes. “I’m not going to take Kelly with me.” She reaches out, cupping my little sister’s face. “She’s better off with you.”

  “But what about—?” I can’t even finish that sentence. I’m too damn terrified that the more I say, the more likely Crystal is to change her mind. But I don’t want to be able to keep my sister safe from her mother, then the state turn around and take her away from me, because Crystal fled the East Coast.

  “It’s been taken care of. I know the lady in charge of CPS and she’s agreed, along with Judge Solomon, to give you temporary custody of Kelly while your mother’s getting help. Real help, from people that won’t be swayed by her parents’ money or influence,” Ford says.

  “Why are you taking her? Why are you helping us?”

  Ford looks at my mom, and I’m pretty damn sure I see love there. Or something pretty close. Maybe insanity, because any man willing to put up with my mother while knowing everything about her has to be crazy.

  “Because it’s the right thing to do,” Ford says.

  Yeah, she’s screwing him six ways from Sunday. I want to be mad, but I don’t have it in me anymore. At least Ford seems to respect her, and I know he won’t abuse her, which means I won’t end up in jail

  So, in the grand scheme of things, it’s a win-win for everyone.

  “I wanted to spend Christmas with you guys,” Crystal says as my brother walks in the door. He freezes, taking in the scene. “Parker.” She runs to him, giving him the hug she stopped giving me years ago. For some reason I think she feels sorry for him, sorry for Kelly too, but doesn’t know how to fix things without fixing herself first.

  Rae’s hand slips into mine and I shake it away. “I think you need to go.”

  Hurt flashes in her blue eyes. “Why? There’s no need to be—”

  “I need you to go.” This painful family reunion of sorts is going to happen, and I plan on Crystal answering all of my questions, including who Parker and Kelly’s dads are. There can’t be any more surprises in my life.

  I want normal and boring.

  Only the girl I love is a Country Music Star, not exactly normal and certainly not boring. But I harden my heart against the pain on her face. I can’t focus on her right now.

  “Okay.” She stands on her tiptoes and kisses my cheek. “Text me later. Nana would like for y’all to come to Sunday dinner tomorrow.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  Rae stares at me. “Don’t do this,” she whispers. “Please don’t close yourself off from me. What your mom said doesn’t change the way I feel about you.”

  I exhale, pass Kelly to Parker, and steer Rae out to the front porch, grabbing her coat along the way. She can’t drive yet, and I’m not that much of an asshole to make her walk, so we trudge out to my Jeep.

  In no time flat, we’re sitting in her Nana’s driveway. Puffs of hot air are coming from Rae’s sweet lips.

  “I’m scared,” she says. “I’m scared that you’re scared, that this is the end of us, and you’re using your family as an excuse to—”

  “My family?” I shake my head and bark out a laugh. “Have you seen my family, Rae? My mother sold a baby, not adopted… fucking sold because my sperm donor promised to come live with us.”

  Rae exhales. “Cole… Jaxon,” my jaw clenches at the sound of his name on her lips, “he’s two years—”

  “Don’t,” I warn her.

  “So you’re going to punish me, punish us, because of your mother’s actions?”

  I glance away, unable to hold her gaze any longer. Her nana’s house catches my eye. It’s cozy, decorated with Christmas lights, with nothing out of place. It looks homey, perfect for a family. Perfect for any family not like mine.

  Finally, I turn my attention back to Rae. “Look, my family’s not normal, healthy, or anything like yours. Hell, I’m not normal. None of us are. We’re fucked up, screwed up…But, if we’re really lucky, Parker won’t get some girl pregnant and drop out of school to get a full-time job, Kelly won’t end up pregnant like my mom at seventeen, or with some loser who beats the shit out of her, because if he does, then I’ll go to jail for killing him.”

  “Why do you say stuff like
that? Like your family’s entire future is written in stone statistics?” she cries.

  “Because it’s true, damn it.” I unbuckle my seat belt and hers, grabbing her by the shoulders. “You think I’m going by statistics? You think I’m just making shit up in my head? Well, here’s one really dirty, dark secret that no one knows about, except Crystal. The first girl I ever had sex with got pregnant. She couldn’t tell her parents, so she told my mother, and my mother took her to a clinic in Charlotte. When Crystal came back, she informed me that she’d just done the world a favor by ridding it of another Morgan bastard. That’s how much she hates me. That’s how much she hates my dad. I was fifteen years old. Fifteen. The worst part though, was that the girl I got pregnant thought my mom was doing her a favor.”

  “I didn’t even know she was pregnant. I never had a choice, never got the chance to be there for her or even try to help,” I add, barely keeping it together. “Women, every last one of you, are on my shit list. All y’all do is go around bitching about how bad men treat you, never realizing that you’re treating your sons exactly the same way. But we’re supposed to take it, right? Because we’re men and it’s what we deserve.”

  Rae’s face goes as white as the rare snowfall we had this morning.

  In my head, I know not every woman thinks or acts like my mother, but my head isn’t the one in charge right now. It’s my heart, or what’s left of it. And this is how I’ve been treated my entire life by Crystal, no matter what I do or say to her. No matter how hard I try to get her to love me, or for fuck’s sake, tolerate my presence.

  “I—I—”

  “Just get out,” I say, letting go of her. “Just get the hell out of my life.”

  She shakes her head, her kissable mouth mutinous. “I don’t want to go.”

  I reach across her and open the door. “Get. Out.”

  “Or what? You’ll hit me?” She tips her nose in the air.

  “This isn’t the time to make a point about what morals I have in certain areas of my life.” I press on her back, inching her closer to the door. “Get out of my Jeep, Rae.”

  “No.” She scoots forward and climbs over the console in the middle before I know what’s happening, landing in my lap with an awkward thud. “I’m not leaving, and you can’t drive like this.”

  I let my head fall against the seat. This act of defiance is equal parts funny and heartbreaking.

  “Last time you said I gave up without a fight. This time, I’m not giving up at all.”

  I cup the back of her head, fixing my gaze on her. She thinks she’s won. I can see it in her pretty eyes. “You don’t have to give up, because there’s nothing between us. I’ve had my fun, fucking around with a pretty little thing like you, but you’re not worth the trouble. No piece of ass is.”

  “Are you serious?” She blinks at me. Despite her bravery, her mouth is trembling.

  I cave, like a sandcastle under the tide rushing in, unable to keep up the pretense. I’ve never treated a girl like this, and I’m not about to continue this reaction to my problems and hurt her any further. Breaking up with her is one thing, but lying to her about what she is to me—entirely another.

  “No.” I wrap my arms around her, holding her close. “No, damn it. I’m not serious. I’m a no-good piece of trash that says shitty things to the girl he loves most in this world. You’re right, baby. I’m scared as hell, about a lot of things.”

  “Don’t be scared of me, of this,” she whispers, her entire body shaking in my arms. “We’re tougher than anything the world can throw at us, especially when we’re together.”

  Chapter Nine

  Cole

  It wasn’t easy to leave Rae at her Nana’s house, with only an apology and a kiss for being an ass. It seems all we do is fight and make up. Something that I know bothers her.

  Something that sure as hell bothers me.

  But as I drive away, all I can think is that I missed my chance to make a clean break, to make Rae hate me and therefore go back to her old life with arms wide open. Maybe even back to Jaxon—though I doubt that one.

  However, it doesn’t mean he won’t try to get her back. I saw the look in his eyes when they sang together. No matter how engaged he is to Callie, my brother wants Rae.

  When I get back home, my mother, Ford, Parker, and Kelly are sitting at the kitchen table, eating slices of the homemade pumpkin pie Rae had brought over.

  “What did I miss?”

  “What took you so long?” Parker asks, finishing up the last of his.

  “Had to take Rae home.”

  “Her Nana’s isn’t that far away,” Ford points out.

  Crystal pins her gaze on me. “She’s Violet Givens’ granddaughter?”

  “Yeah, and—?”

  “Miss Violet was always nice to me. She made Kelly’s coming home from the hospital outfit.” Not what I expected my mother to say, but today is full of surprises. “Guess you screwing her granddaughter is better than the thank you card I forgot the send.”

  Now that, I totally expect from her. “We’re not done talking, Crystal.”

  Parker comes to stand in front of me, his green eyes serious. “I don’t want to know, Cole, and it’s not your place to find out for me.”

  “So you want to go through life, not know anything but what she chooses to tell you?”

  “You’re Brent’s, so is Kelly,” Crystal says.

  Ford chokes on his pie. “Excuse me?”

  Parker echoes him.

  Crystal bites her lip and then places her hand on Ford’s. It’s the most contrite I’ve ever seen her. “They’re yours, but I didn’t want you sticking around. I know you would have. You would have done the right thing by us, but I was too messed up with wanting Cole’s daddy and other things…”

  Ford’s face turns dark. “Damn it, Crystal. I asked you... I believed you when you said you didn’t know who their dads were.”

  “That was your first mistake,” I point out.

  “Shut up, Cole,” Crystal snaps.

  Ignoring my mother and me, he stares at Parker and then at Kelly. I knew Ford was a Hispanic dude, but I never thought he was The Hispanic Dude.

  Parker abruptly rises from the table and comes to stand beside me.

  “I’m sorry,” Ford says to Parker. “If I had known…” His words trail away. He and my mother exchange a look.

  “I’m sorry,” Crystal whispers and my gaze flies to her face. She actually sounds sorry. “And I understand if this is something… if what I did makes you leave—”

  Ford shakes his head, leaning over to take my mother in his arms. “I’m not happy, but I’m man enough to admit that I should have done more.” He turns to the three of us gathered near the table, Kelly sitting and Parker standing, his face ashen. “When we get back, things will be different on my part, at least.”

  “But your last name is Ford,” Parker says, his voice all thin.

  “Actually it’s Flores, but my granddad changed it when he emigrated from Cuba,” Ford says. “He wanted to sound more American.”

  “So there’s a possibility that I could be related to Pit Bull?” Parker grins. “Sweet.”

  I know my brother. The more outrageous stuff he says, the worse he feels. And all of this is my fault.

  “Could be worse,” I say and Parker gives me this are-you-shitting-me look. “You really could be Everett’s.”

  A ghost of a smile flickers. “Yeah, guess you drew the short stick on that one.”

  “Cole,” a little voice whispers, and I turn my attention to my baby sister. She’s still sitting at the table, her wide-eyed gaze going from me to Parker to Ford, then back again.

  Walking to her, I kneel by her chair and hold out my arms. “You okay, bug?”

  She goes to me, without hesitation, and I stand up. “I don’t want a new daddy, just you and Parker.”

  Ford clears his throat. I glare at him and Crystal. “I think we’ve had enough drama for today.”

  �
��I think it’s time for us to leave,” Ford says, rising from his chair. He pulls out my mom’s and she looks up at him, adoration all over her face. “We have a lot to discuss on the way.”

  “You always did know what’s best for me.”

  “No, you know what’s best for you, only you choose to ignore it because it’s too hard.”

  “I’ll try harder,” she says softly. “For you.”

  It could be worse. She could still be fixated on my dad or the next hit. She could want to take Kelly and never come here again.

  Ford shakes his head. “No. Not for me. Only for you. And that’s another thing you’re going to learn at Winding Creek. Now, give Cole the money.”

  She digs into her pocket and pulls out a folded piece of paper, spreading it out and placing it on the table. It’s a certified check from one of the local banks. “This is what I took from you, minus what I’m using to pay for Winding Creek and what I’ve been living on.”

  I hadn’t forgotten about the money she stole from The Double Deuce. Despite her owning it, she’d never worked in it and so, when she cleaned out the bank account and ran, I never thought I’d see it again. And I sure as hell never thought she’d be paying me back.

  It’s why I didn’t bring it up in the first place. Better her say or get what she needs, and then leave, than argue and fight over what she took.

  “Thanks,” I mutter, then grab the check and shove it in my pocket. As soon as the bank is open, I’m depositing it.

  They move to leave, but Crystal pauses beside me. She tips up my chin, staring at me. “You turned out all right, huh?”

  If she wants me to forgive her of the sins she’s committed against all of us, it’s not happening. At least not today. Maybe not even twenty years from now. Right now, I’m okay with that.

  “I’m me.”

  She looks me up and down. “Yeah, you are.” Then she pats me on the cheek, the most physical contact I’ve had from her in years, and the little boy inside of me wants to go after her. Wants to hug her and ask her why. But the man I’ve become won’t let him, because neither of us will like her answer.