The Wanderers Beginning: The Wanderers, Reborn, & Unforgiven (167 page)

             
“My apologies, Dallas.”

             
My dad finally stood up and walked over to us. “Colton, glad you could come.” He embraced him in a friendly hug and when he pulled back he gave me a slight nod before he walked away. Two hours I repeated to myself. “Dinner should be ready if you would like to follow,” Dallas gestured with the wave of her hand like she was on some game show. I stifled a groan and followed Colton in to the dining room.

             
“Casper, watch, I can fly!” Katalina yelled. She was standing on the arm of the couch with her arms out at her side.

             
I heard a scream as she leaped from the couch. I dove and caught her midflight. My sister came rushing over from the stairs and ripped her from me, putting her down on the ground. “Katalina, how many times have I told that you cannot fly? You just cannot. It is not possible.”

             
“But Tinkerbelle can,” she said softly, her soul crushing at her mother’s harsh words.

             
My sister crumbled when she saw the lip on Katalina’s mouth start to tremble. She brushed the hair out of her eyes. “Honey I know, but we’ve had this discussion. You are not Tinkerbelle and you do not have the ability to fly. Do you understand me?” She nodded her tiny head making her tight blonde curls bounce. My sister sighed and picked her back up, glaring at me.

             
“I don’t even get a thank you?” She smacked me on the back of the head. “What was that for?”

             
“This is all your fault. You are the one who told her all those bedtime stories of magical fairies and now she’s obsessed with it.” She turned and walked away. I looked over my shoulder at Colton and he just shrugged his shoulders. I let out a deep breath and then joined the rest of my family.

             
“Is everything okay?” my father asked, looking at a frightened Candice clutching Katalina.

             
“Yes, fine.” She looked up at me and narrowed her eyes. My father cleared his throat and made it a point to let me know I would get a reprimand for something I didn’t even do.

             
“Where are CiCi and Cayden?”  I asked just as they both joined us at the table.

             
“Cas…Colt,” CiCi smiled, giving us both a kiss on the cheek as she made her way to her seat. She wore an off the shoulder sweater with a tank top under and shorts. Her light brown hair was streaked with blonde and hung straight just below her shoulders. Cayden strolled in behind her wearing a polo shirt and khaki shorts, his blonde hair cut shorter than normal. He smiled when saw us. I pushed my chair back to give him a hug.

             
“Casper you crazy son of bitch, how you been?”

             
“Language,” dad growled.

             
“Sorry pops,” Cayden laughed and gave Colton a half hug half hand shake. He took a seat on the other side of CiCi just as Charles began to serve dinner. Cayden was my half-brother. My bastard of a father cheated on my mom when she was three months pregnant with CiCi and ended up knocking up the other chick. When my mom found out she divorced my dad. He married Cayden’s mother and then when she got too old he traded her in for something younger like he always did. That marriage only lasted five years. The sad part was that she wanted nothing to do with Cayden. She just left him, with no rhyme or reason.

             
No one talked during dinner and I had a feeling my dad was waiting until the end to tear into me. After the plates were cleared and desert was served, Katalina was off and running into the back yard. “Kat wait!” Candice called.

             
“No need to worry Candy, she’ll be fine.” Dallas waved her off with the flitter of her hand.

             
“I told you not to call me that.” Candice excused herself from the table so she could keep an eye on Katalina.

             
“I’ll come with,” CiCi volunteered, not in the mood to sit through another one of dad’s boring talks.

             
“Both of you sit,” dad directed.

             
“Dad, I am not going to let my five year, who thinks she can fly,” she glared at me. “Untended in the back yard where there is a pool she can fall into.”

             
He gestured for one of the servants. “You,” he pointed.

             
“Roberta dad, her name is Roberta,” I said, trying hard to keep my anger in check. She had worked for us for over twenty years and he still hadn’t learned her name, but of course not, these people meant nothing to him.

             
“Roberta,” he corrected, staring at me. “Would you please go keep an eye on young Katalina?”

             
“Yes sir.” Roberta dipped her head and made her way out back.

             
“Now that’s taken care of.” He looked to his joke of a wife and smiled, cupping her hand on the table. Dallas took her other money grubbing hand and ran it up and down the length of my dad’s arm. I fought the urge to vomit. She was only twenty-five but she was a gold digger. Her store bought breast sat right at the edge of the table and her latest injection of collagen made her lips look like a blowfish. I hated the day my dad told me he was going to marry her and I have a feeling I’m going to hate today even more.

             
“Dallas and I wanted you all together today so we could tell you the good news.” I held my breath and waited for the delivery.

             
“I’m pregnant!” Dallas shouted, excited. I scrubbed my hands down my face while the rest of my siblings sat there in silence. My dad cleared his throat when no one said anything.

             
“Congrats daddy,” CiCi said, breaking the silence.

             
Colton jumped in next. “Congratulations to the both of you.”

             
“Thank you Colton.”

             
“Yeah dad, way to go. Now she’ll finally have someone her own age to play with.” I stood up from the table and watched as Candice and Cayden tried to hide their smiles.

             
“Don’t you speak to her like that. Sit down.”

             
“Honey, it’s fine.” The she witch patted his hand before she placed it on her stomach.

             
“No, apologize to your mother.”

             
“That thing is not my mother and I’ll be damned if I’m going to apologize for telling the truth.”

             
“Everyone out.” They all stood and left, glad to not be the one under fire. Dad and Dallas stayed put.

             
“Dad, you can save the bullshit speech.”

             
“Dallas, will you excuse us for a minute.” She managed to unhook her claws long enough to leave my dad and me alone. “Sit.”

             
“I rather stand.”

             
“Suit yourself.” He stood and walked over to the bar to make himself a drink. He swirled the brandy around the glass before he dug into me. “When are you going to start taking responsibility for yourself? You sit and pass judgment when you should take a look at yourself in the mirror. You shame the Covington name. Out of respect you could have at least wore a long sleeve shirt to cover those disgusting tattoos and that hair. You couldn’t have gotten a haircut before you came for dinner? Or were you too busy sleeping all day?”

             
I crossed my arms letting him know he couldn’t get to me. “Is that all you got? You want to take a stab at my boots or let’s talk about how much you despise the fact that I chose to live elsewhere so I don’t have to be constantly badgered by you or hey what about school?”

             
“Now that we’re on the subject, have you signed up for your prerequisite classes?”

             
“You never listen to a thing I say, do you? I am not going to law school dad. I dropped those classes two years ago and changed my major.”

             
“Why would you do that?”

             
“Because I don’t want to go to fucking law school! That’s what you want and I’m not you.”

             
“Clearly.”

             
“You know what, I’m done. I’m tired of having the same argument over and over again.” I walked out without another word. My dad didn’t say anything nor did he try to stop me. I headed out back to let Colton know I was ready to leave. He and CiCi were running around the back yard with Katalina. They had their arms spread wide pretending to be airplanes.

             
“I’m sorry.” Candice stepped over to my right. “I just panicked and it wasn’t your fault.”

             
“It’s alright.” I threw my arm over her shoulder and gave her a small squeeze.

             
“How bad was it?”

             
“I don’t think I’ll be coming back for anymore Sunday fundays.”

             
“Sunday funday?” she arched a brow. I winked. “You’ll crush Kat if she doesn’t get to see you. You do know you’re her favorite uncle.”

             
“Look, don’t play the guilt trip on me. I can’t keep doing these weekly beatings.”

             
“I know. Do you want me to talk to him?”

             
“What’s the point? He won’t change.”

             
“But maybe he –” 

             
“Don’t worry about it.” I pulled her in for a hug before I said goodbye to Katalina and the rest of my siblings. Then I stormed out with Colton rushing to keep up with me.

             
“Where we going?” he asked, knowing I needed to let off some steam.

             
“The bar,” I growled. He took the keys knowing I was too angry to drive. I called Greyson on the way and he said he would see us in about twenty with a table of drinks waiting.