Page 18 of Animal's Reformation
The old man shook his head. “Nope. I’m saying it only gets worse.”
“Fuck … That’s something to look forward to.” Animal laughed. “You wanna a beer?” he asked his dad as he rose to his feet.
“I could go for one.”
“Where’s Mom?” Animal walked into the kitchen and took out two cans of Coors.
“Out with some friends. She has it hard with me like … this.” His dad shifted in the chair.
“Bullshit.” Animal popped the top and handed the beer to his dad. “Look at Savannah and Ryder. They’re together all the time. They go out to dinner, even to nightclubs, and on the weekends, they’re always doing something with Timmy. Don’t think that Mom never being around is your fault. She’s always put herself first—you were the one there for us, Dad … not Mom.”
“Watch what you say about your mother. She had a hard time growing up with that crazy mother of hers and no dad. Anyway, we got it figured out, and I’m glad she’s able to enjoy herself—that’s what I want for her.”
Flashes of anger streaked through Animal, but he held his tongue and guzzled half his beer instead. For as long as he could remember, his father had been the one to read bedtime stories to him and Jada, take them to the park, on hikes, help with their homework—the whole nine fucking yards. His old man had been both mother and father to them, and he never once complained. All Animal remembered about his mother was how she’d loved creating drama, craving to be the center of attention all the time. When Jada had entered high school and had all the guys panting after her, his mom had the fucking gall to be jealous of her.Her own fucking daughter—what kind of a damn mom isthat?
“There’s my sweet granddaughter.” His dad’s voice broke through Animal’s thoughts, and he looked over and saw Lucy standing next to Jada, smiling. “Come on over here, sweetheart, and let your grandpa see you better.”
Lucy darted her eyes from the older man to Jada then to her dad. Animal winked at her and tilted his head toward his dad. “Do as Grandpa says.”
The girl walked over very slowly, and once she was close enough, her grandfather held out his weathered hand and she placed hers in his palm. Warmth spread through Animal as he watched his dad and daughter holding hands without her flinching or scurrying away as she’d done on numerous visits to his parents’ house. Maybe Lucy was beginning to trust them all a bit more.
“The cornbread will be out of the oven in fifteen minutes. Why don’t you watch some TV with Grandpa?” Jada asked as she shuffled to the kitchen.
“What should we watch?” Lucy asked.
“Whatever you want,” Animal’s dad replied.
“While you two figure it out, I gotta make a phone call.” Animal pulled out his phone and ambled to the den and closed the door. When he was young, the den had been his favorite room in the house. He used to close the door, then take out all the maps his dad had of almost every state in the country. Animal would sit in the leather wingback chair and imagine riding a motorcycle on all the back roads depicted in the maps. For as long as he could remember, his dad had owned a Harley, and as soon as Animal had been old enough, his father would nestle him safely on the back of his bike and they’d go for long rides in the mountains and valleys. So it’d just been natural that when Animal had turned eighteen, his dad had bought him a used Harley for his birthday. And once he’d slid onto the smooth leather seat, Animal knew he’d found his calling—to ride and live the biker lifestyle.
Animal called Jax and asked if he’d like to come by the following day with Paisley to hang out with him and Lucy. Jax readily agreed, and even offered to bring over enchiladas for lunch made by Cherri, his old lady. After he’d hung up the phone, Animal flipped open the laptop and clicked on the screen. He wanted to check out one of the games Jax had mentioned that Paisley was crazy about. Animal thought Lucy might like it, too, so he decided to order it before it slipped out of his mind.
He blinked as the brightness of the screen hit him right between the eyes, and then squinted as he became accustomed to the light. Then, a sultry, smoky background greeted him, replete with a sexy woman standing behind a bare-chested, buffed guy. The woman’s body was pressed against the man with her hands on his chiseled pecs and her stockinged leg on his hip, held firmly in place by his hand.Discreet Passionhighlighted in red blazed across the top of the image.What the fuck?Animal’s gaze darted to the right of the screen and landed on a drop-down menu box with several categories: woman seeking man; man seeking woman; one-night stand; friends with benefits; boyfriend/girlfriend; husband/wife. There was a place to sign up for a free membership and one to log in. He clicked the log in button and it instantly brought him to a profile page—his mother’s to be exact. Animal ground his teeth together and clenched his fists as he skimmed over the page. Pictures of his mother in various seductive poses assaulted him, and he sucked in a sharp breath.
“How the fuck can you do this?” he gritted under his breath. The pictures of his mother were not accurate. She’d photoshopped her face from when she was in her twenties onto a body that was lean, slightly curvy, and pretty stacked—definitely not hers. He grabbed a piece of paper and pen from the middle desk drawer and jotted down the name of the site and his mother’s profile name and ID number, then he snapped the cover shut and leaned his head back against the chair.
Animal couldn’t even process all of it at that moment, and when he thought of his dad sitting in the wheelchair by the fire while his wife was out carousing with some fucking douchebag, it made Animal want to smash the computer to smithereens. He wondered if his dad knew about his mother’s fucking extramarital activities, or if—
“Dinner’s ready,” Jada said, opening the door wider.
Animal scrubbed his face with his fist and stood up.
“Wow … you look super pissed right now. What’s wrong?” Jada stepped into the room and closed the door behind her.
“Do you know whereMom”—he grimaced when he said the word—“is right now?”
Jada folded her arms over her chest. “I told you, she’s out with friends.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know. Maybe dinner?”
“You’re bullshitting.” He held his hand up in the air. “Don’t say you’re not. I can tell by the way you’re clutching the shit outta your arms.”
A strained silence stretched between them for several seconds until Animal broke it.
“You know, don’t you?’ he asked.
Jada nodded. “I’m guessing, so do you.”
