“Ren’s mad, isn’t he?”
I exhaled loudly through my nose. If I knew what Ren was thinking, this would all be easier, but I didn’t. Since we’d returned to him after our blowup, he was back to being closed off. Unsure. It was as if he expected us to leave again at any time. He was trying, but Ren wasn’t like me and Oli. He didn’t show real emotion. His life was an eternal game of poker.
“No. Ren’s Ren.”
Oli made a sound in the back of his throat that I understood. It was half heartbreak and half stupid fondness. We hadn’t known Ren long, but he’d won our hearts and we cared about him.
“Come on. Let’s go back to my place. When Ren gets his head out of his ass, and he will, then he can find us.” I had a feeling it wouldn’t take long. Whatever Ren was thinking about, he wouldn’t tell us until he was ready. Whenever that would be.
I hustled Oli into my orange Jeep Recon and stripped off my shirt, passing it to him. When he opened his mouth to argue, I shushed him and slammed the door. The drive to Vert Island, where I lived with my Pa, wasn’t long from Ren’s apartment.
“How’s your mom?” I asked as we passed over the bridge to get to the island. Oli and I hadn’t talked about his mom a whole lot, and Ren and I hadn’t had the chance to meet her properly yet. While I’d seen her the one time I’d been to his house, we hadn’t sat down for a conversation. I didn’t know how much she knew about our relationship. Oli was close to his mom and helped her out when he could.
“Fine.” He huddled against the window, gaze stuck on the world around us. The water under the bridge was choppier than usual, but the wind was also blowing. “She’s seeing Dad tomorrow.”
I tensed. Oli’s dad was in prison. As far as I knew, he wasn’t getting out for a while. Oli hadn’t seen his dad in years becauseCain refused to let him visit. Oli wanted to connect with Cain, but his dad made no effort. In fact, he went out of his way to stifle the connection. I mostly knew all this because Cain was a Kings of Men biker and Barber’s club brother. He used to be the vice president before being locked behind bars.
“What for? I thought she hadn’t seen him since he went to the big house.” My grip tightened on the wheel.
“She hasn’t. She only told me yesterday, I guess so I wouldn’t be surprised. He wanted to talk to her, not me, so I don’t think she knows what he wants.” There was a sourness in his tone. He had a complicated relationship with his dad; although, it was mostly because he didn’t have one at all, even before prison entered the picture. Cain and Oli’s mom had been fuck buddies.
Oli was an accident.
Cain had never wanted to be a father.
This was all hearsay from Barber, of course. I’d never met Cain.
Oli huffed. “I hate that she’s going alone, but she doesn’t want me to come. I don’t think Dad wants me there.”
I clenched my teeth. “Then, he’s an idiot.”
Oli laughed again. “Maybe nobody wants me.”
“We want you,” I said without missing a beat. If I wasn’t driving, I’d reach over for him, but the wind had picked up and the Jeep was swerving too much already. “Ren and I love you.”
He snorted like he didn’t believe me, but he didn’t comment.
When I got home, I was going to send Ren a very pointed text that he wouldn’t be able to ignore.
I pulled the Jeep into the driveway of my Pa’s house and turned off the engine. I cupped Oli’s face, savoring the warmth of his skin under my palm. He leaned into my touch, eyes slipping closed.
“Repeat after me. Ren and KC love me.”
He didn’t open his eyes, but his mouth curved genuinely. “Ren and KC love me.”
“I am special to them.”
His smile grew bigger and some of the sadness bled out of his face. He finally opened his eyes and stared at me with gentleness I was used to from him. “I am special to them.”
“Good.”
Oli’s gaze flicked toward the house and he frowned. “Is that your pa? He looks mad.”
I shot a glance at the front door of my contemporary white house, with its square lines and walls of windows. Sure enough, Pa was there, arms crossed. I could count the number of times I’d seen Pa truly furious on one hand and this was one of those moments. Yet, I had no idea why.
“Fuck. Come on.” I slipped out of the Jeep, and Oli followed me. He met me around the front of the vehicle, and I threaded my fingers with his as we walked toward Pa.
Swallowing down the panic, I gave him a nod. “Hey.”