“How are you?” she asks, looking up at me with concern etched on her face.
“I’m okay,” I reply, kissing the top of her head. I hate that she has been worrying about me. I know she didn’t necessarily want me to follow in Talon’s footsteps—she had a different vision of me going to college and getting a degree instead of becoming a biker. But she made this world our own, so she can’t hold it against me. “I thought I’d drop in and say hello before I head to the clubhouse.”
She turns off the stove and starts fixing our plates. “I’m glad you did. I tried calling you yesterday and when you didn’t answer, I was worried.”
“I know, Mom. I was out with Dice and then I forgot to call you back,” I explain as I sit down at the breakfast bar. Dice only just got patched in this month, but he’s a pretty cool dude. He’s levelheaded, loyal, and I’ve grown to trust him. Every time I’ve needed him, he has come through, and I know he’s going to be at my side when I become president. We have several other prospects waiting to be patched in, and these are the men who will help me carry on the Wind Dragons legacy.
Over the last year, Arrow has had me there the entire way, helping choose who I want to be a part of the MC. I have a lot of pressure on me to be the man the MC needs, and it’s hard to do that with my own personal life going to hell. But I’ve always lived and breathed the MC, from back when I would watch my dad come home wearing his Wind Dragons cut. I knew this is where I wanted to be, and now it’s the only thing I have left.
She places a plate down and sits next to me. “Cara came over yesterday and we had a big talk. That’s why I called you.”
I freeze. “What did she say?”
No one knows the truth about my decision with Cara. That I didn’t cheat on her. That I couldn’t even think about sleeping with another woman.
I mean, I did let Trisha kiss me at the club, so there is that. But it’s only because I knew Cara was there and that if I was going to follow through with my plan, she’d have to see it to believe it. Trisha may have kissed me unexpectedly, but I couldn’t have planned a more perfect time. I saw Cara see me and I purposefully didn’t push Trisha away. But I hated the kiss. And thinking back on it, I’m fucking ashamed that I did that instead of talking to Cara and being honest with her about our relationship.
I know Cara, though. She’s loyal, and she would have fought for us. But I knew she wouldn’t fight for someone she thought had betrayed her. I knew that, and I used it against her. Who does that to a good woman? A coward—that’s who. I’m well aware that if I told someone the truth, especially my mom, she would’ve talked me out of it.
“Nothing, just that she promised to continue to come around and that you and her are in a good place despite the circumstances.”
Typical Cara, not saying a bad word against me. Mom loves Cara, always has ever since she was a child. I know this whole breakup has to be hard on her, too.
“I’m sorry, Mom. I know you love Cara like your own daughter.”
My mom and Cara’s mom, Bailey, were neighbors, and became best friends even before the Wind Dragons entered any of our lives. This is so much more than a normal breakup. Our whole lives and families are intertwined. Another thing I failed to think about when I put this plan into action.
“Don’t be sorry. Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be,” she replies, forcing a sad smile. “But we never did talk about what happened.”
I stop eating my eggs and look up at her in surprise. “What do you mean? You know what happened. Cara fell in love with some ex-cop.” Yes, I’m putting the blame on Cara here, but this is my mom, and if there is one person I should still have on my side, it’s her. Besides, what could there possibly be left to talk about?
“Rhett, honey, there has to be more to this story. You always loved Cara, you’d do anything for her. I don’t see how you could let her go like that...”
I’m thankful in this moment that no one has told my mom why Cara and I broke up. If my mother were to think of me as a cheater, it would hurt almost as much as it hurts to see Cara with another man. I don’t really care what the guys think, but the last thing I want is for my mother to look at me with disappointment in her eyes. There’s no way Mom would be okay with me treating any woman like that, and especially not Cara. She would be telling me that she raised me better than that.
“Mom, it wasn’t meant to be. There is nothing left to talk about.” I orchestrated my own heartbreak because I’m a selfish fuck. End of story.
“But Cara says that you’re being supportive of her new relationship and that you handled it well...”
This makes me feel even worse. They say a person’s true character is shown when you break up with them, and Cara is just further proving she has a heart of gold. I mean, if I ignore the whole moving-on-so-quickly thing, that is. Yes, she has every right to fall in love, but did it have to be so soon after we broke up? I never once thought that she would do that.
But hey, maybe I never really knew her at all.
And maybe she never really knew me at all. Because if she did, she’d have known I never would have been unfaithful to her. But she believed it, and I let her.
And now it’s both of our realities.
“Yeah, Mom, I’m doing super.”
I give her a kiss and head to the clubhouse, the only thing I have left in this world.
Chapter Three
Con
The next night after our shift, Jamie convinces me to head out for a few drinks. We go back to my house and get changed first, and then go barhopping. We have a cocktail at every venue we stop at, which is kind of fun, but also probably not very smart because we are mixing drinks.
“This one is the best one so far,” I say after another sip of the espresso martini. “It’s delicious.”
Jamie nods in agreement, pressing her pink lips together. “It’s good. Strong, though.”
“Exactly.” I grin, taking another mouthful. Maybe I’m at the stage where everything tastes good. “I’m glad you convinced me to come out tonight,” I admit, placing my empty cocktail glass on the bar and turning to face her. “I think I needed it.”
“I think so, too. You’ve been so stressed out and...brooding.”
She’s right, I have been extremely stressed out, and just not feeling like myself. I’d never admit it out loud, but maybe seeing everything Cara has is making me realize how little I have. And I’m not talking about material things. I’m talking about a life filled with love, surrounded by quality people and security. I have none of those things. Yeah, Jamie is a good friend, but she’s not my best friend. I’m just one of her many friends. I don’t have anyone in my life who would put me first. I’m no one’s favorite person. And that realization was hard to come to when I saw Cara with her boyfriend, Decker, and her best friend, Clover.