Forever Too Far (8 page)

smiled. I hadn’t been wrong about Harlow if Blaire liked her. She was genuinely a nice girl. Nan was

going to give her hell.

The loud clack of heels hit the marble floor leading into the dining room. I tensed and prepared

myself for Nan. She swooped into the room wearing a short, ice blue, fluffy looking dress and

stilettos on and her long red hair was pulled up on her head with curls falling loosely around her face.

She had made sure she looked good for this. That was Nan. I watched as her eyes took in everyone at

the table with a haughty glance.

The irritated gleam in her eyes as she noticed Blaire was nothing compared to the hateful glare she

shot at Harlow. I waited to see if she was going to say something I needed to shut down. Harlow kept

her gaze down and she played with the napkin in her lap. The tension in the room was thick and I

hated that Nan thought she had to do this to get attention.

“Sit down girl and stop standing there snarling. We want to eat,” Kiro said flippantly and Nan’s eyes

flashed angrily. She looked at the other seat beside Kiro and then walked past it to sit down on the

other side of Dean. The little girl in her was still afraid of rejection. She knew my dad wasn’t going

to reject her.

“I didn’t know you’d brought her,” Nan snapped.

Blaire was so tense beside me I wanted to pull her up against me until she relaxed. “Of course I did.

She goes where I go.”

Nan rolled her eyes. “I miss the old Rush.”

“I don’t,” I replied.

“This is a family matter. You think you could handle just a few moments away from him or are you

planning on smothering him the rest of his life?” Nan’s hurt was turning into bitterness fast. She

wasn’t going to take it out on Blaire, though.

I leaned forward on the table and leveled her with my steady gaze. “Do not ever speak to her that way

again. If she hadn’t agreed to come with me I wouldn’t have come. Don’t underestimate her

importance. She’s mine. Respect that.”

Nan bristled and sat back in her chair. I hated talking to her this way when I knew she was hurting.

But Blaire came first. Always.

“I’m starving. Where’s the damn food?” Kiro called out loudly. Two women in their early twenties

came hurrying out with trays. Normally there weren’t waiters for meals around here. Dean and Kiro

weren’t big on formal meals. But Dean had called in a catering company to handle tonight’s meal. The

women had a star-struck look in their eyes as they set about putting the appetizers on the table and

taking drink orders.

“Look at you,” Kiro said as he slid a hand up one of the women’s leg.

“Daddy, don’t,” Harlow whispered.

Kiro let out a hard laugh and winked at the server. “Later.”

“God. I can’t believe my mother slept with that man,” Nan said a little too loudly.

“Don’t go there, Nannette,” Dean warned her. It was too late. I could see the annoyed amusement in

Kiro’s eyes.

“Why ever not? I’m a fucking rock god, little girl. A fucking. Rock. God.” He took a sip of his drink

then smiled. “All women want a taste. Your momma was no different.”

“Daddy, please,” Harlow said, reaching over and touching his arm lightly.

“My mother was too young to know better,” Nan shot back.

“She wasn’t that young. She was just trying her damnedest to sleep with every one of us. I think she

can officially claim the record of ‘has fucked all of Slacker Demon’ and that’s not an easy feat. Dean

is pickier than most.”

Nan’s face paled and I knew I needed to step in before this got out of hand. “Thanks Kiro for making

sure we were aware of our mother’s sexual habits when she was younger. Now, could we move on

from that and try to all get along?”

Kiro nodded. “Of course. Let’s eat some of this shit.”

The servers quickly started walking around the table with the trays of food and asking us what we

wanted. Blaire turned down most all of the appetizers. She only took a slice of bread.

“Why aren’t you eating more than that?” I asked, concerned.

She leaned into me so no one would hear her. “Because I can’t eat raw meats or cheeses with

unpasteurized milk while I’m pregnant.”

Shit. Something else I didn’t know. I pushed my chair back and headed for the kitchen. They were

going to make her something she could eat.

I didn’t have to ask Rush what he was doing. I already knew. He would be back with food I could eat.

If I wasn’t so hungry I would try and stop him but I really did want to eat more than bread.

“You’ve turned my brother into your bitch. It’s pathetic,” Nan hissed across the table.

“Claws in Nan. Blaire is pregnant and needs to eat. Rush is taking care of what’s his,” Dean replied

before throwing back a raw oyster off its shell into his open mouth.

“Do you not understand what birth control is? Or was that your plan all along? Hook him with a

baby?”

It was very likely that the rest of my life I would have to deal with this kind of attitude from Nan.

Getting upset and backing away from it wasn’t going to be a life choice for me. Granted, I didn’t

intend to stick a gun in her face again but I wasn’t going to let her talk to me like that just because she was Rush’s sister.

“I realize you’re hurt and angry. But I’ve done nothing to you. So, please, back off.”

Dean chuckled beside me. Nan’s eyes only shone brighter. Great. I’d done nothing but piss her off

more.

“You listen to me, you little bitch. No matter what you think you have, you don’t. I’m his sister. I’m

his blood. He will choose me if it comes down to it. So don’t you dare threaten me.”

As much as I wanted to go back upstairs to Rush’s room and hide away from all this I knew it would

only make her worse. I had to show her I wasn’t backing down.

“This isn’t a competition. You’re his sister. I’m the mother of his child. He doesn’t have to just love

one of us, Nan. That’s childish and insecure to think that way. Rush is here because he loves you and

he wants to help you. Don’t slap him in the face by treating me this way.”

Nan opened her mouth and snapped it closed again. Her jaw was flexing from all the teeth grinding

she was doing.

“Thata girl, Blaire,” Kiro called out and the pain that flashed in Nan’s eyes made me feel sorry for

her. I knew what it felt like to have a father not want you. But I also knew what it felt like to have a father who adored you. She didn’t.

“I don’t know why I even try. No one accepts me here. Rush was all I had and now he has attached

himself to you and you hate me,” she screeched as she stood up and threw her napkin on the table.

“You took Rush,” she pointed a finger at me then she swung her attention to Harlow. “And you, you

have my father’s love. I have nothing.” She spun around and ran from the room.

Rush walked in just as her heels clacked loudly on the floor and he looked at Kiro. The anger on his

face was evident. “What did you do? I was only gone for five minutes.”

Kiro shrugged and pointed at me. “Don’t look at me. It was your woman who sent her running.”

Rush’s anger turned to confusion as he shifted his gaze to me. “Blaire? What happened?”

I shook my head. “She was accusing me of things and I just told her the truth.”

Rush let out a sigh and took off after his sister.

I sat there wondering if I should leave too. Or if I was supposed to stay here. My bread was forgotten

on my plate and my stomach was now in knots.

“This family dinner is slowly dwindling. Anyone else want to run off before we have our salad?”

Kiro asked in a jovial tone. How he could be making jokes after what had just happened I didn’t

understand.

Dean reached over and squeezed my arm. “He’ll be back. Sometimes Nan just needs Rush. He knows

that.”

Unfortunately, I knew that too.

Rush wasn’t back by the time dinner was over. Kiro was now completely groping the server’s bottom

underneath her dress. Harlow was ignoring it and finishing her wine silently. Dean had his attention

on the other server. I was more than positive the two women were on the menu for both men. The one

Dean was looking at kept giggling and finding reasons to walk over to him. Luckily, he wasn’t going

for any body parts yet. I was more than ready to get up and leave.

“I think it might be time for you and Blaire to go on up to bed,” Kiro said to Harlow without looking

at her. He was focused on the server’s boobs and his hand was still up her skirt.

“I completely agree,” Harlow replied, standing up and looking over at me with an apologetic smile.

I stood up and started to thank Kiro and Dean for dinner when I noticed Dean’s hand was now

between the other server’s legs. I decided to hurry out behind Harlow.

“I’m sorry you had to witness that. Dad’s drinking more now that Nan is raising hell. When he drinks

he... uh... requires a lot of women.”

In other words, he screwed around more often. I nodded. However, what was Dean’s problem? Just a

horny rock legend used to getting what he wanted, I guess.

“I thought Rush would be back by now,” I replied, wanting to change the subject.

Harlow nodded. “Yeah, me too. Nan can be a handful I’m realizing.”

Handful was a kind word for Nan. I was thinking more along the lines of “bitch”. “She hates me. I

guess I need to accept it and learn to live with it. I just don’t like the spot it puts Rush in.”

A loud squeal and then a moan came from the dining room. Harlow made a gagging noise. “Ugh, come

on. We can take the elevator instead of the stairs. It will drown out the noise.”

“Are they just... doing it in the dining room?” I asked, amazed at the lack of privacy and the fact the

other catering staff could hear them in the kitchen.

“They will do it anywhere. Trust me. You don’t want to know what I’ve seen over the years. I think

it’s the reason I’m still a virgin. Well, that and the fact I’m too shy around guys.”

It was a miracle that Harlow was as innocent as she was with this kind of behavior from her father. “I

was a virgin until Rush. Sometimes it’s best to wait until the right guy comes along.”

Harlow smiled and nodded. “Yeah. But then there is the chance that will never happen. I don’t

socialize much. My life here is very private. I’ve always hated sex because of what I’ve seen it do to

my dad. But lately I wonder if maybe I just need to see it in a different light. You and Rush seem

happy together.”

I felt sad for her. She’d apparently grown up very overprotected by her grandmother and then only

seen the other side of the spectrum from Kiro’s life. She had to be very confused. “Did you date in

South Carolina?” I asked.

She shrugged. “Not much. My Grandmama wasn’t a fan of me dating. She said it only led to sex. I was

to wait until I got married to have sex. It said so in her Bible. But if I didn’t date how was I supposed to get married?” Harlow let out a soft laugh. “Didn’t matter though. I never could find my words when

a guy I was attracted to was around me. I became embarrassingly shy and awkward. I’m getting better

with age I think.”

Harlow was a classic beauty. She was elegant and perfect. It was hard to believe she hadn’t dated

much.

“I’m going to go on up to my room. I have a book to finish. Recently I’ve found indie authors on my

Kindle and I’m slightly addicted.”

“Indie?” I asked.

Harlow nodded. “Self-published ebooks. I’ve found some diamonds in the rough.”

I might need to get a Kindle. “Enjoy then,” I replied and headed up to Rush’s room.

Nan was a sobbing mess. As mean as she was my heart broke for her. She was still my little sister

and she had been done wrong. By both her parents. I had tried all my life to be the one person she

could count on but I hadn’t been enough. She needed to feel loved and accepted by one of her lousy

excuses for parents.

“She hates me,” Nan sniffed and hiccupped. “Right there in front of Kiro she made me look like a

fool. She didn’t even care that I’m trying to find a way to get him to want me.”

I was sure that Nan had pushed Blaire to say the things that she did but I didn’t point that out. I was jut now, after an hour, getting Nan to calm down enough to talk to me. She needed someone right now and

I was pretty sure I was the only person on the planet who cared about her problems.

“I know you love her but she’s mean. She’s cold and mean. You remember when she pointed that gun

at me,” Nan sniffled and wiped at her tear soaked face.

“That was a little different. Mom and Abe had just ripped her world out from under her. She was

upset and you were taunting her.”

Nan let out a hard laugh. “You will always take up for her. Even if she made fun of me and my need to

have a parent who wants me right there in front of everyone. In front of Harlow. Dean. Kiro. She

doesn’t care about my feelings.”

Blaire was pregnant and her emotions were harder for her to control. However, I needed to talk to her

about just being quiet around Nan. The sooner I got her and Kiro on good terms the sooner we could

leave. I didn’t like having to juggle Blaire and my sister. It was too much.

“She shouldn’t have said what she did. Although you shouldn’t have said anything to her either.”

“I was just reminding her that you loved me too. She was glaring at me so hatefully.”

Blaire had many reasons to hate Nan. I knew that. I just wished she’d learn to let that all go. When she had insisted we come here I’d thought it was her way of forgiving Nan. Looked like I was wrong.