Wild Wind: A Chaos Novella (Chaos #6.6)(65)

Liane’s voice got quiet when she said, “Girl, cool it. Mom would toe-tah-lee freak if she heard you cuss like that, especially in front of company.”

Hellen turned to him. “Am I offending you?”

“Nope,” Jagger answered.

Hellen threw a hand his way. “See?”

“How would you offend Jagger?” Haley was back in the mix, walking into the room.

“No reason!” Liane lied brightly.

“I’m sharing it like it is about Elijah,” Hellen told the truth.

“Shh,” Liane shushed her sister.

This was because Archie and Andy were also coming into the room.

Andy looked like he was ready to murder someone, which was funny as fuck, considering he was also carrying a big tray of cupcakes that had massive froths of pink icing on top of them.

Archie had a stack of dessert plates.

“All right, so how about we think about cupcakes, and eat them, and even talk about them, and continue enjoying our night,” Haley said, seating herself at the foot of the table and sounding kinda desperate.

“Love you, Mom, but…” Hellen started, she turned toward Andy, and having heard what she had to say before they joined them in the dining room, Jag shot his eyes right to Archie and gave her a look.

She bit her lip.

Hellen went for it.

“Andy, you know I love you too. You stepped up. You helped raise me and Li. All you do is love Mom when Dad has never been anything but a dick to her, and sometimes us. And Archie.” She looked to Arch. “We’re not close, but we’re cool, and I like you loads. But this Elijah thing needs to be out of the kitchen and discussed among the family because Andy is right. He needs to get his head out of his ass.”

“Hellen Katherine Moynihan, mouth, please,” Haley snapped.

“Mom, seriously?” Hellen shot back. “We’re having dramas and walking on eggshells and the guy isn’t even here.”

“We’ll discuss it later,” Haley decreed.

“Why, because Jagger’s here?” Hellen asked. “For as long as I can remember, Archie’s never brought a guy to dinner. And you made me and Liane drive down from Boulder to meet him the first time he shows for dinner. So, it’s not lost on me that’s something special and he told us what’s up so it’s not like he’s not in the know that Elijah can be…” her eyes slid to Andy and back to her mother before she finished, “difficult.”

Jag looked again to Archie.

She caught his gaze and tipped her head a bit to the side in unnecessary confirmation he was something special.

He felt his lips twitch.

“Hellen, sweetheart,” Andy murmured.

Well…

Shit.

That did it.

Two words, and Hellen shut up.

Now he needed the story about Haley’s ex because Andy didn’t strike Jag as an authoritarian.

That was respect, love and possibly gratitude that closed Hellen’s mouth.

“Maybe we should talk about it, Dad,” Archie suggested.

“Oh boy,” Liane mumbled.

“We don’t have to, Li,” Archie said to her quickly. “And if it’s making you uncomfortable, we won’t.”

“I’m sorry he’s being a dick to you, but—” Liane began.

“Now you with your mouth, I won’t say it again.” Haley was coming to the end of her rope.

“I’m sorry he’s not being cool with you,” Liane amended, aiming this Archie’s way. “But can we have one family night when it’s not all about Elijah?”

“Too late for that,” Hellen pointed out the obvious.

It took a lot, but when Jagger’s chest started bouncing with suppressed laughter, he was able to stop it.

Seriously, he liked Arch’s stepsisters, particularly Hellen. She was the shit.

Then again, he’d always liked a woman who spoke her mind.

Archie gave him another look, that one said, Behave.

“You know…”

Everyone turned to look at Andy who was standing at the head of the table, still holding a big plate of cupcakes.

“In a perfect world, my son would be sitting at this table with us,” he went on.

Jag didn’t feel much like laughing anymore.

“He’s not,” Andy continued. “And this is not the first night where I’ve sat with my girls, my son not here, and felt light in my life, because I have all of you, at the same time felt the pain of not having my son be a part of it. And that pain never fails to cut sharp, clean through my heart.”

Total silence.

But something made Jag stop looking at Andy. He turned his attention to Archie, and the second he saw her, he felt his neck muscles constrict.

And he opened his mouth immediately.

“Arch, don’t.”

“Fuck…that,” she bit off.

Oh shit.

Jagger stood.

But she took the last step to the table, dumped the plates on it and was on the move, he knew, to her bag.

Jag took off after her.

Her bag was in the living room, which was off the dining room through opened double doors, so they had an audience.

He didn’t think about that.

He got close as she hit the couch where she’d left her purse. By the time he got there, she’d already snatched it up and was digging in it.