Page 67 of Rhett Redeemed
“You have to be careful on who you trust and let into your life. You’re now the old lady of the president of the Wind Dragons MC. The Wind Dragons and probably the Knights of Fury down south are the biggest MCs in Southern California. People will want to get to Rhett, and they’ll try through you.”
Con nods. “I’ll be on the lookout. I’m a fighter, that’s one thing about me.”
“Good,” Faye replies. “And you already have Cara and Clover on your side, which would have been the hardest battle for anyone else.”
“Still working on Clover,” Con admits.
They all laugh. “She’s coming around,” Faye says, and rubs Con’s arm.
“She has me on her side,” I remind them all. “So she has nothing to worry about.”
The women all share a look, smiling at each other.
Tracker’s fifteen-year-old daughter, Annalise, runs over to me. The girl is a female version of her dad, but is sweet like her mom, Lana. “Hi, Uncle Rhett. The pizza man is here. Dad told me not to answer the door here, so someone else has to get it.”
Bear overhears and gets up. “I’m on it.”
We all eat and spend the rest of the day by the pool, and it’s really nice. Everyone is welcoming to Con, and I feel proud having her here, and making her a part of our extended family.
All is going well until I step into the kitchen and overhear a conversation my mom is having with Con. “You’re brave moving in here; I don’t think I could have.”
“Mom—” I quickly interject, trying to cut her off then and there.
“I’m just being honest,” she replies, rolling her eyes. “If there’s anything I can help with, Cara, let me know.” Her eyes widen as she realizes the slip. “Con. I mean Con, not Cara. Sorry, force of habit.”
We all go silent, tension filling the room.
Shit.
I clear my throat. And to think, everything was going so well. “Thanks, Mom.”
She keeps talking, making it worse. “Well, you can’t blame me. Cara was the only real girlfriend you ever had and they kind of look a little similar—”
Con looks like she wants to run.
“I don’t think they do,” Faye says. “They have similar features, but they’re each beautiful in their own way.” I give Aunt Faye a thank-you look.
“Con, you must take after your mother, who, if I remember, was a beauty,” Bailey says, trying to cover for my mother.
Con forces a smile. “Um, speaking of Cara, I’m going to go see what she’s doing.”
The second she leaves, I groan. “Mom, seriously?”
“I’m sorry, it just slipped out!” she replies, wincing. “Even their names both start with C.”
“T, you made it so much worse,” Bailey says as she shakes her head.
“I didn’t mean it! I froze and then I didn’t know what to say, so then I just kept talking and made it worse. I’m sorry, Rhett. I asked her if she would like to go to dinner, and she said yes.”
I scrub my hand down my face. “Yeah, before you called her my ex-girlfriend’s name.”
She sighs. “I will apologize.”
“Please do. Where’s Dad?” I ask her.
“He’s out the front still talking to Zeke. It’s so weird coming here and seeing all these new faces.”
“The old ones are still around.”