Page 36 of Truck Up
“Sorry I’m late.” Hannah holds up a platter of cookies. “It took me longer to get these ready than I expected.”
Charlie rests his hand on her shoulder, and she tenses. His grip looks far too tight for a loving touch, but Hannah’s smiledoesn’t waver. I’ve heard rumblings over the years that their relationship is volatile and that he’s very possessive. A few people have even said they’ve witnessed his aggression toward her, but that he’s never actually hurt her.
Rumors in this town sometimes hold merit. Not always, but there’s usually a kernel of truth to them. Regardless, I don’t like the way his hand is on her shoulder. After my experience with Badger, I’m more aware of things like this. I can feel the tension between them, and my gut tells me she doesn’t like the way he’s touching her either.
“Where’s Cameron?” Charlotte asks. “One of these days, I’d love to meet your son.”
“He wasn’t feeling well,” Charlie says. His words are clipped and have a hint of irritation behind them. I shift my gaze to him. He’s smiling, but it doesn’t feel genuine.
Then again, nothing about Charlie ever feels genuine. He is a politician and comes from a long line of them. Charlie is the mayor of Waverly, a small city about fifteen minutes from Beaver. I’ve heard he’s planning to run for the state senate once his dad retires. His dad is nearing the end of his second term, and his grandfather served as senator prior to that.
If Charlie wins the next election, it’d ensure his family remains in office and power. I’m not sure that’s a good thing.
“Cam was very disappointed he couldn’t come,” Hannah says. “He was looking forward to eating cake.”
Charlotte reaches out and rests her hand on Hannah’s arm. Hannah flinches like it hurts to be touched, but she recovers quickly. “Be sure to take some cake and cookies home with you. Lord knows I baked plenty.”
“We have plenty of food at home for our son,” Charlie grumbles. This time, his anger is obvious. “We don’t need handouts.”
“Charlie, honey,” Hannah whispers. “It’s not a handout. It’s kindness.”
He tightens his grip on her shoulder, and she sucks in a breath. He whispers something in her ear that is only meant for her. Whatever it is, it makes all the life in her eyes vanish.
Hannah lifts the plate in her hands. “I better get this over to the table. It’s getting heavy. It was so good to see you both.”
Her smile is gone and so is the emotion in her voice. It’s like she turned herself off and became a lifeless robot. I hate it, and I want to run after them and drag her away from him. But this isn’t the time or place for that.
A shudder runs through me as an image of Badger’s angry expression comes to the forefront of my mind. Would that be me if I’d given into his demands or my family’s constant nudging for me to date him? Or worse, marry him.
Badger would undoubtedly be an abusive spouse. He’s already hit me once and threatened me more times than I can count. A lifetime with him would be torture. Why my family can’t see this is beyond me.
“There she is!” Chase calls out from across the room. He shoots his hands into the air and a huge smile covers his face. He may be identical twins with Christian, but they look nothing alike to me. “The woman of the hour.”
Every head turns toward the entrance where Grams is standing next to Sophia. The smile on her face is one of pure magic. But that’s Grams. She’s tough as nails and will tell you exactly how it is, but is also the kindest and purest soul I’ve ever met. She’s impossible not to love.
If my family would let this multi-generational feud go, I’m sure we’d all be friends. When my brothers aren’t acting all tough and pissed off at the world, they’re actually quite sweet.
Sweet might be a bit of a stretch, but they are nice guys with kind hearts. They just hide their hearts behind the damn feud and generations of anger.
I look around the room and smile at all the people here to celebrate Grams and her birthday. Many of these people would also show up for my family. While the feud has kept our families divided, most of the town hasn’t chosen sides. Just those closest to us.
Which is why my friends aren’t here.
What I wouldn’t do for the support of Nova and Hadley right now? If I called them, they would come. But that would draw way too many questions. It’s bad enough that I’m here. At least I can hide behind the fact that I arranged the flowers. Even that will raise some questions once word gets out that I attended a Mutter family event.
I rub my hand over my flat stomach and take a deep breath. Soon it won’t matter. Once word gets out that I’m pregnant with Christian’s baby, everything will change. And not likely in a good way.
“You okay?” Charlotte asks. I’d been so lost in my thoughts I’d forgotten she was next to me. My expression must show my inner turmoil because she looks concerned.
I nod and shake my hands to my side. “I’m fine. Just tired. It’s been a busy week.”
“Are you sure?” Her brows furrow as she studies my face. “You look pale.”
“Yeah, I’m … Oh shit.” I whisper as I glimpse Linden and Tanner walking through the main entrance.
“What is it?” Charlotte asks. Then she turns her head to follow my gaze. “Oh.”
It’s bad enough that my brothers are here, but they brought Badger with them. I am not in the right frame of mind to deal with all of them tonight.