Colorado 02 Sweet Dreams (54 page)

“You are not going to deal with one more thing from
that
woman!
” I declared rather loudly.

I turned back and threw open the door.

“You want this?” I announced to Neeta the second my foot hit the wood of the deck. “You got it!”

Her upper body listed forward. “Bring it on, bitch,” she slurred and I was pulled up short with taking my second step toward her when Tate’s open hand planted itself in my chest and his other arm came up and hit the advancing Neeta in hers.

She fell back a step then two then hit the railing and stopped. When she did she looked to her left and right with confusion as if she didn’t know where she was.

I stilled and stared.

Tate sensed my stillness, dropped his hand and studied Neeta.

“You blitzed?” he asked in disbelief and her head tilted back but it took it a long time to do this. Once it did, it took even longer for her to focus on him.

Then she said, “Whas it to you?”

Tate’s head turned to look at the drive. I followed the direction of his gaze and noted that Neeta’s car, top still down, headlights still on, driver’s side door open, interior lights on was beeping because she left the keys in the ignition. She also parked with her bumper butting a tree across Tate’s drive.

“Oh my God,” I whispered.

She’d driven there hammered.

My eyes went back to her and before I could speak, Tate did.

“You drove here drunk?” he asked.

“Got things to say to you,” she answered.

“You drove here
drunk?
” Tate repeated, his voice lowering to a growl.

“Gimme Jonas,” she slurred.

Tate had his side to her but he turned fully to face her and I felt those sparks of fury flash off him.

“Let’s forget for a second you coulda hurt someone else, you coulda hurt
you.
What’s Jonas gonna do without a Mom?” Tate asked.

She waved a hand in the air and said breezily, “Relax, I’m fine.”

“You’re plastered,” Tate returned.

She dropped her hand, her eyes narrowed, she leaned forward clumsily and stated, “I’m
fine.
”

Tate leaned forward too. “And I asked a fuckin’ question. You’re not much of a Mom but you’re still his goddamned Mom. He loses you, no matter you’re shit at bein’ a mother, it’d mark him.
Fuck,
” he hissed. “Neeta, you know that better than anyone.”

She leaned back too far, hitting the railing again and she snapped, “Fuck you!”

I was done and therefore I stepped forward to stand by Tate.

“It’s been too long,” I started.

“Ace, let me fuckin’ –”

I talked over him. “You don’t get that excuse anymore. Your Mom’s been gone too long, you can’t use losing her to behave this way.”

“Wad d’you know ‘bout it?” she sneered.

“Not one thing,” I replied. “My Mom’s still alive so I grew up with her around to teach me how to be a good person. So let me educate you on how to be a good person, Neeta, something I suspect from what people say about her, your mother taught you before she passed but you forgot.”

“Don’t choo talk about my Mom!” she yelled.

I ignored her. “You don’t take your pain out on anyone but especially not the people you love. Never do that. Not ever.”

“Piss off.”

“You lost the world,” I shot back. “I can’t imagine, I don’t want to and I dread they day I will. But she left you with gifts and you squandered every one of them.”

“She left me with
shit,
” Neeta hissed.

“She left you with your looks, you’re beautiful. She left you with a good Dad, a gentle brother, a kind aunt who stepped up –”

“Lauren the good,” she leaned forward again and spat. “You think you can win them? Take them all away from me?
My
friends?
My
family?
My man?
No fuckin’ way.” She shook her head, suddenly grinning drunkenly. “They’ll be back. They always come back.”

“Not this time, Neet,” Tate stated and she swiveled her head to look up at him.

“Yeah,” she was still grinning, sure of herself in her inebriation, “right.”

“I’m in love with Laurie,” Tate announced and the smile dissolved from her face. It seemed to take a long time to do it, almost as if she didn’t comprehend, she couldn’t wrap her mind around this concept. As the smile evaporated, her face went slack.

“The fuck you say,” she whispered.

“Her car’s in my garage, her clothes in my closet and they’re gonna stay there. Jonas digs her. You don’t shape your shit up, I’ll make it so you’re a bad memory and the only Mom he knows is Laurie.”

“The
fuck
you say,” she whispered again.

Tate’s arm slid around my shoulders and he pulled me into his side. I wrapped my arm around his waist, turned my front into his side and then wrapped my other arm around his stomach, holding him close but loose, natural, casual, exactly how I fit at his side.

“You had him so he could be a tool to manipulate me,” Tate stated. “Fought with that knowledge for awhile, couldn’t believe it, even of you. But today you proved it. You don’t get your head outta your ass, you’ll lose him.”

She wasn’t listening. Her eyes had glued on our stance, our closeness, moving slowly from my arms around his middle to his around my shoulders.

Then her eyes went to him. “You love her?”

“Outside Jonas, she’s the best goddamned thing to ever happen to me.”

I held my breath at this announcement, my stomach doing a little flip, but Neeta slid slightly to the side along the railing as if inching toward escape.

“No,” she breathed.

“Oh yeah,” he returned.

“I gave you Jonas,” she reminded him softly.

“Yeah, woulda thanked you, minute I saw him bawlin’ in the nursery. Since then you used him to make life a livin’ hell so now, knowin’ you have no good in you and knowin’ he’s all about good, I take total credit.”

“He’s ours.” She reached an arm out to him. “We made him.”

“You carried him but, lucky for Jonas, he’s all about Brenda, about Pop, about Dad and about me and he didn’t get even a trace of you. He’s all that but I brought out the good in him. He puts up with you and that’s it.”

“We made him,” she repeated, dropping her arm but leaning toward Tate.

“For you he was the result of an orgasm. For me, he jumpstarted my world. We made him, yeah, but I claim him.”

She closed her eyes tight and when she opened them, I knew her tactics had changed.

“You could show me –” she entreated.

“Tried to do that, Neet, never took hold.”

“I could be –” she went on.

“Tried to find out what you could be too, you never let go of who you are and I want nothin’ to do with that.”

Her eyes slid to me then back to Tate. “But you love
me
.”

“Never loved you, Neet. Thought I did, now I know what it feels like, know I didn’t.”

She winced, her eyes closing again, her head moving to the side and down. She lifted a hand to the railing as if to hold herself up.

“Callin’ Wood to come get you, take your ass wherever he wants but you’re leavin’ here and you’re not comin’ back. You come back, I call the cops. I’m not steppin’ out on this deck again when your feet are on it,” Tate finished with her and looked down at me. “Babe, go to her car, she left her keys in the ignition. Get ‘em, yeah?”

I nodded, let him go and moved away.

Neeta didn’t move a muscle to stop me. By the time I got to her car, pulled the key out of the ignition, figured out how to turn off the headlights, closed the door and returned to the deck, Tate was there, his phone to his ear. Neeta was now sitting on the deck, her knees curled into her chest, her arms wrapped around, the picture of pathetic but, studying her, I could call up not even a hint of compassion.

 “Wood?” Tate said into the phone. “Sorry, bud, but Neeta’s at my place. She’s smashed and drove her car up here. I want her gone. Either you get her or I call the Station. You comin’?” He paused and held his hand out to me for the keys. I dropped them in his hand as he said, “Right. Later.” He flipped his phone closed, his arm curled around me again, bringing my front to his side but his eyes went down to Neeta. “Wood’ll be here to take care of your shit… again.”

“Don’t got nothin’,” she told her knees, beginning to rock.

I wanted to feel sorry for her, even tried to call it up, but after what she did that day, the other night and that Tate and I were standing out in the dark on his deck dealing with her
again
, I couldn’t.

Therefore, I said to her, “That’s because you threw it all away.”

She didn’t even look up at me when she repeated, “Don’t got nothin’.”

I opened my mouth to repeat myself too but Tate’s arm gave me a squeeze.

“Gonna be a bit before Wood gets here, Ace, and seen this before. Save yourself the hassle of watchin’ her feel sorry for herself. Go to bed. I’ll be in after Wood gets here.”

I looked up at him, my arms around him getting tighter.

“I’ll stay with you,” I said.

“Ace, she’s gonna sit there, whine and convince herself life just sucks rather than her doin’ shit to make it suck. Trust me, it ain’t interesting.”

“I’ll stay with you,” I repeated.

“Baby –”

“Captain,” I cut him off and then used words he used on me. “Shut it.”

His mouth twitched then his arm curled me closer, he bent his head and he kissed me lightly.

“See you’re comin’ into your inner biker babe,” he muttered.

I smiled up at him. “Yes, well… I’m learning.”

“Then I’m fucked,” he muttered teasingly.

“Mm. Maybe tomorrow,” I muttered back and he chuckled.

“That’s what I wanted from you,” Neeta whispered and both Tate and I looked down at her. “That’s all I ever wanted from you. Why couldn’t you be that way with me?”

“You missed it, Neet. Too focused on latchin’ onto my dick to lead me around by it, you missed it.”

“You never gave me that. It was always Tate and Neet, the wild ones,” she replied. “I thought you wanted it like that.”

“Like I said, you weren’t payin’ attention,” Tate returned.

Her eyes stayed locked on him then she turned her head away, pressed her cheek to her knee and kept rocking.

Tate and I stood quiet and holding each other. Wood showed and got his stumbling sister to his truck. He came back for the keys to her car which Tate gave to him.

He gave us both a chin lift, obviously a bit more than a little annoyed he was collecting Neeta in the middle of the night and not feeling in the mood to socialize.

He was walking away when Tate called him.

“Wood.”

Wood turned back.

“I shoulda let it go a long time ago and I didn’t,” Tate began and I pulled in a breath because I knew where he was leading with that introduction and I was happy he was doing it but I couldn’t believe he was doing it
now
. “Had to blame someone ‘cause I couldn’t blame myself for Dad leavin’ me the way he left me. Placed that shit on you. It was a dick thing to do.”

Wood stared at Tate and said not a word.

I held Tate tighter and Tate kept talking.

“Dad thought you were the shit. He wouldn’t have blamed you and he would be pissed as hell knowin’ I did.”

Without a word, Wood looked away and started to turn away.

“Wood,” Tate called and Wood stopped moving, hesitated and turned back. “Thanks for your help today, bud.”

Wood stared at him, his eyes flashed to me and then back to Tate.

“She a miracle worker?” he asked and I blinked, not understanding the question.

“Yeah,” Tate answered immediately, clearly understanding it.

Wood stayed silent a moment then suggested, “Maybe you’ll give it a coupla weeks before you two invite me over to a barbeque.”

“We can do that,” Tate replied and my eyes were on Wood but I could tell by Tate’s voice he was smiling.

“Right,” Wood muttered and turned again but was stopped again when Tate spoke.

“Jonas’ll be here. We have a barbeque –”

Wood started walking but he looked over his shoulder. “Then I’ll be here.” He faced forward again and I heard him say quietly, “Not just for Jonas.”

“Laurie?” Tate called to his back, it was a question for Wood not Tate addressing me.

“She’s got great fuckin’ legs, man,” Wood called back. “Not havin’ ‘em wrapped around my back don’t mean I can’t appreciate ‘em as close as I can get.”

Tate chuckled. Wood jogged down the steps and swung into his truck. I was still confused.

We watched Wood turn around in the drive and pull out. When his brake lights faded to normal and he took the turn out of the drive, I looked up at Tate.

“What was that all about?”

Tate turned me to the door. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Are things okay with Wood?” I asked as he pulled open the door.

“Yeah,” he answered.

“So that was it? Years of bad blood and you two talk about my legs –?”

He’d guided me through the door, closed it, locked it and switched off the outside lights.

“It’s a guy thing,” he stated.

“It’s a crazy thing,” I mumbled.

He headed us toward the hall. “Speakin’ of your legs wrapped around my back…”

“We weren’t.”

I saw his head tilt down to look at me through the dark as we hit the mouth to the hall.

“We are now.”

“Tate, it’s the middle of the night. We just survived another drama.”

“I’ll go fast,” he assured me.

“Right,” I muttered.

“Baby, trust me, I can go fast.”

“
I
can go fast.
You
take your time
until
I go fast.”

We were at the foot of the bed and he stopped me, turned me to him and his hands settled on my hips.

“Okay, babe, let me introduce you to fast,” he invited.

I rolled my eyes.

His mouth came to mine where he didn’t kiss me, he murmured, “And dirty.”

My heart skipped a beat, his hands gripped my hips and he threw me on the bed much like he threw Jonas through the air in the pool but except without the distance or elevation.