Never Tied Down (The Never Duet #2) (27 page)

   “I saw your mother in that picture, and I saw you, and I read the article that was framed alongside it that stated your mother and stepfather had passed, and that they were survived by you and your brother.”

   “They were on their way to visit me in New York, headed to the airport.”  He nodded, taking in my words.  “I wasn’t in that crash.  But it left my brother mentally disabled.”

   “Obviously, the article left me with a lot of questions and a lot of panic.  I didn’t know what to do, who to call, how to get ahold of you, so I hired a private investigator, and three weeks later, I had your address.”

   “How long ago was that?” I asked, shocked to think that my father had hunted me down.

   “Five years.”

   “You knew where I was five years ago?”  A tiny jab of pain pierced my chest.  It was small, but it was there.  I’d always figured my father had run away and never looked back.  It had never crossed my mind that my father had known where I was at all, let alone known where I was and still hadn’t come to find me.

   “You have to understand that until I saw that article, I had convinced myself that I didn’t deserve to know anything about you, let alone your address or what was going on in your life.  I was going to let you live your life, even if it killed me.  I told myself you were happy and with your mother, and until I found out that wasn’t true, I was going to let you be.”

   “I don’t know what to say.”

   “You don’t have to say anything.  I know what you must be thinking, that I didn’t care enough to come find you.  That’s so far from the truth, Kalli.  I didn’t want to disrupt your life more than it already had been.  The PI told me about the settlement you got, that you were already doing a great job of taking care of your brother, and that everything seemed to be all right.  And the last thing I wanted to do was cause any more upset.  So, I stayed away.  But I paid that PI every six months for an update.  Nothing intrusive, I only wanted to make sure you were okay.”

   “You’ve been checking up on me for five years?”  This was beyond anything I could have imagined.

   “Checking up sounds bad.  I was simply making sure you were all right.  That you had what you needed, that you weren’t drowning in debt, or foreclosing on your house, fighting an illness.  Stuff like that.  I didn’t want to impose on your life, but I wanted to know you were okay.  If that was wrong of me, well, I’m not sure I’d take it back.  It’s what led me here, back to you.”

   “So, your PI told you that my brother had died.  How did that change anything?”

   He didn’t answer right away, just looked me right in the eyes for the longest time.  Then, he finally said, “I guess I didn’t want you to feel like you were alone.”

   I’d felt alone, in one way or another, most of my life.  The only time I hadn’t was when Marcus was alive and Riot was in my life.  Those few weeks had been gloriously happy and full.  But as I drew in a deep breath, feeling the air filling my lungs, pressing my chest outward, I knew there was room enough inside me for more love.  I hadn’t lost Marcus’ love, it was still within me, but I had an empty chamber that had been waiting for my father to fill it.

   I could be mad at my father forever.  I could tell him I never wanted to see him again, but the hole would still be there, and I would always be partially empty.  I was too young when it happened to appreciate my mother’s death as a sign that you shouldn’t ever take life for granted, but Marcus’ passing definitely was starting to settle that notion into my heart.  All my life I had wished my father would come back and tell me it had all been a mistake and that he’d loved me all along. 

   And here he was, doing exactly that.

   “And now?” I asked, hoping he would understand what I was asking so I didn’t have to say it out loud.

   “And now I’m hoping you’ll let me be your father again.”

   “It’s been a really long time since I was someone’s daughter.”

   “You’ve always been my daughter.”

   I smiled at those words, because regardless of the entirely crappy way he’d left, it was nice to know he’d thought of me, that he’d regretted the decision to leave.  If there was one thing I was guilty of, it was pushing people I cared about away.  Perhaps we were both done pushing love away.

   “Where do we go from here?”  My voice was quiet but strong.

   “I think we take it slow.  I’d like to spend some more time with you, perhaps drive up again in a few weeks.”  He looked hopeful, as though he were afraid I would turn him away.

   “Listen, I’m glad you guys are going to reconnect, and I understand you need to take things slow, but I’m not going to be taking it slow.  I need your phone number and we’re going to become best friends,” Rachel said, pulling her phone out of her purse.

   I laughed out loud.  “You remind me a lot of my friend Megan.”  I gave her a warm smile.  “I’d love to be your new best friend.”

   Riot’s arm wrapped around my shoulders, bring me closer to his side, and then his lips brushed against my temple.

   We spent the next few hours in that coffee shop getting to know my sister and my father.

Chapter Nineteen

She Took Me With Her

Riot

   The next couple of weeks were spent watching Kalli come completely out of her shell.  I’d seen her unreserved in the past, seen glimpses of her true nature when she wasn’t busy protecting and guarding the walls she’d built around her heart.  But ever since she’d reconnected with her sister and father, it was as if she’d found the key to unlock the best parts of her.  It was amazing to watch, like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, spreading its wings in the sunshine, tentatively testing out its ability to fly.

   She really had become best friends with Rachel.  After about three days, I stopped asking who she was texting when she’d stare at her phone and laugh uncontrollably.  The next weekend after they’d met, Rachel had driven back up to LA and spent the weekend with Kalli while I worked.  I had to admit, for two women who hadn’t spent a day together in their whole lives, they were eerily similar.  They laughed at the same things, had the same taste in almost everything, and sometimes even said the same exact thing at the same time.  It was astonishing to watch, but even more exciting to watch the way the relationship lifted Kalli up.

   Kalli also spoke to Kevin often.  Not daily, but enough times during the week that he was up to date.  Sometimes their conversations were short—just check-ins.  Other times it would be hours of her listening to him tell stories from when she was younger that she couldn’t remember, or her telling him about her life previous to their reconnection.

   I listened to her tell him about the day Marcus died.  I was sitting on the couch reading a script, her head was in my lap, and she was telling him about the phone call she’d gotten in the middle of the night.  I paused when I realized what she was talking about and slipped one hand down into her hair, gently running my hand down her golden tresses, trying to offer her comfort without being intrusive.

   She told him the whole story, the entire thing.  Even what came after his death—the months and months of solitude and sadness.  Then I listened to her tell him the story of us, and how we’d reconnected.  My fingers had been trailing through her hair the entire conversation, but when she started talking about our relationship, and how I’d helped her even if it was by letting her heal on her own, my fingers moved to her shoulder then down her arm.  I needed the contact.  The words were for her father, but it felt good to hear them nonetheless.

   She hung up the phone with him after the emotional conversation, said nothing to me, but twined her fingers through mine, and napped on my lap until I was ready for bed.  When I tried to move gently from under her and carry her to bed, she sleepily wrapped her arms around my neck, then pressed her lips to mine, kissing me with ease and patience, as if she knew she had an entire night to use her lips on me.

   I placed her tenderly on the bed and she never let me go, pulling me over her as she leaned back onto the pillows.

   Slowly, we both removed each other’s clothes, and with more tenderness and devotion than ever before, we made love.  I watched as Kalli lazily slid onto me, leaning down to take my mouth in a kiss as she rode me with ease, her eyes never leaving mine.  My hands wandered her entire body, the silkiness of her skin smoothing under my hands, her curves and angles giving my fingers the most gorgeous playground.  I ached to touch her everywhere and knew I was blessed because she allowed me access to all of her.

   Sex between Kalli and me had always been incredible, but looking back it became apparent there was always something missing, something she always held back, even if she didn’t know she was doing it.

   Now, there’d been a shift in her life, as if something jarred her so tremendously that a missing piece had become dislodged and fallen back into place.  So when I watched her climb that physical high, looked upon her as she brought us both to our climax, it was the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen.  I’d loved the broken Kalli, would have followed her to the end of the earth, but I loved this Kalli more because I didn’t have to follow her anywhere—she took me with her.

   Later, as we lay wrapped around each other, still naked, very much entangled beneath the blanket, she whispered, “I wish I’d been able to feel this whole when I still had my whole family.  Sometimes it’s hard to feel this happy knowing they’re not here.”

   I kissed her hairline and said, “Try not to focus on what you’ve lost, Kal.  Try to focus on what you still have.”

   A few days later when Kalli mentioned off the cuff how it would be nice to spend Christmas with her new family, I wasted no time arranging for just that to happen.

   We arrived at my parents’ house on the morning of the twenty-fourth, after a lazy morning in bed, complete with lazy morning sex, which spilled over into clean-up shower sex.  The drive up to my parents’ house was calm and happy, and Kalli held my hand the whole way, asking me silly questions and making me stop at every viewpoint.  I acted as though it was a hassle to stop and look at the beautiful sights with her, but in reality I’d always leap at an opportunity to take a breather and appreciate the scenery with the most important person in my life by my side.

   Another big development was waiting for us at my parents’ in the form of my sister’s baby daddy, Jordy.  As Kalli had predicted, once he learned of his unborn baby, nothing could stop him from coming to be with Halah, and together they had told my parents.  Just as I had predicted, my parents were shocked at first, but quickly settled into the idea of being grandparents, especially when Halah mentioned she wanted to leave her job for good and stay in San Francisco.  Nothing could have made my mother happier than hearing that her baby was coming home, and that she was going to
have
a baby. 

   My parents had graciously opened their home to Jordy, offering the couple a place to stay until they figured out life as a family.  Although, I was pretty sure my mother was hoping they’d stay until after the baby was born.

   So on Christmas Eve, as I sat around our giant kitchen table with Kalli, my sister, her boyfriend, and my parents, it felt right as rain to be laughing and playing Clue, which was a Christmas Eve tradition we’d not been able to fully enjoy ever since Halah left for her cruise ship life.

   When the doorbell rang, I exchanged a knowing glance with my mother, then put my hand on Kalli’s back.  “Why don’t you go get the door, babe.”

   “You want me to get the door?” she asked, eyes wide and confused.

   “Yeah, go,” I said, giving her a gentle tap on her ass as she hesitantly stood up and walked through the house.  I listened to her footsteps until I knew she was at the front door. 

   “What the…” I heard her say quietly to herself.  “Are you for real right now?” 

   I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing, but my smile was as big and full as my heart.

   “Surprise!” Rachel shouted, right after I heard the door open.  Screaming and jumping ensued, and then I heard Kevin’s distinct voice say, “Merry Christmas, baby doll.”

   The house was quiet for a moment, and even though I wished I could see Kalli embracing her father as I knew she was, I was glad they were having the moment together.

   When they all finally came into the kitchen, Kevin’s arm slung around Kalli’s shoulders, her face was flushed and her cheeks were wet.  She left his arms and came straight into mine, caring nothing about everyone else in the room as she pressed her lips against mine.

   “I know you’re behind this,” she said, her lips still pressed to mine, refusing to break our connection.

   I kissed her again, but then pulled away and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.  “You said you’d like to spend Christmas with your family, so here they are.”  Her hand ran down my cheek, her eyes, full of love, staring directly at me.  I kissed her nose, but then moved her off my lap so I could stand and shake Kevin’s hand.  He introduced me to the woman at his side, his wife, and told me her name was Sharon.  It took all of twenty seconds for Kalli to introduce Rachel to Halah and the three were thick as thieves. 

   I spent the rest of the night listening to the three girls laugh, watching Kevin as he took in the sight of his two daughters spending a holiday together, tasting Ma’s spiced cider, which Halah was terribly upset she couldn’t have, and stealing glances at Kalli as she spent a night in a room filled with people who loved her.

   When it was time to turn in, we showed Kevin, Sharon, and Rachel to their rooms, then I led Kalli to my childhood bedroom where she spent an hour showing me exactly how grateful she was for my surprise, while I forced her to remain silent as I made her come multiple times with various parts of my body.

   The next morning, Kalli woke up like a child, excitedly shaking me awake, telling me it was Christmas morning.  I groaned and got out of bed, laughing as she threw her hair into a messy bun and went to wake up her sister.