Page 13 of Clayton (Bourbon & Blood #2)

I leave, slipping out before Evelyn can corner me and demand my accounting of how I think her baby girl is doing.

I’m hoping against hope that Mia finds what she needs, that all of that digging through the baggage of their lives and their tragedies isn’t for nothing.

I climb into my minivan to go and pick up Emma Grace and glance in the mirror. “I hope we all do.”

CLAYTON

It was dark by the time I parked in front of my condo again.

The day had gone by at a crawl and I still felt like ass.

Going through the front door, it was a relief not to see Samuel there or to have any other unexpected guests.

All I want is to take enough Tylenol to fell a horse and guzzle water by the gallon.

Stepping into the kitchen, I grab one of the two kitchen towels that I actually own and fill it with ice which I immediately press to my aching head. “Fucking hell! I am never drinking again.” It’s a lie. I knew it was the minute I uttered the words, but at the moment they’re gospel.

Moving to the couch, I settle in, lean my head back and close my eyes against the glare.

I’m too damn old to feel this way and to be this damn stupid.

From across the room, where I dropped my jacket and briefcase as soon as I walked in, I heard my phone ring.

For about two seconds, I consider not answering.

I can’t do it. It could be Annalee, though I doubt it.

It could be any one of the half dozen people who have been feeding me info about Samuel.

Or it could be Mia. Right now, that’s my biggest concern.

Annalee had sent me a text in the afternoon stating that whatever had happened with Mia she was still “fragile.” I don’t know exactly what that means, but I sure as hell don’t like it.

In the end, I ignore my aching head and my less-than-happy stomach and cross the room to answer the phone. I don’t recognize the number which doesn’t bode well.

“Clayton?”

I know that voice. If Bennett Hayes is calling me there’s a damn good reason. “Yes.”

“It’s Bennett Hayes. Mia is at my house and will be for at least the next twenty-four hours. Your father is with Patricia, so you probably want to get somebody on that.”

Son of a bitch. This isn’t good. There is nothing about this that can possibly be good. “Is Mia hurt?”

I can hear the hesitation in Bennett’s voice before he answers. “Physically? No. I don’t think so. But that son of a bitch is going to hell for the emotional shit he’s put her through.”

Truer words were never spoken. The fact that I’m not totally clear on what exactly he’s talking about worries me more than a little.

“That’s an understatement…I know what he is, Hayes.

I’ve known for a long time. I’m working on that, but taking down someone who is a professional liar like Samuel isn’t easy. ”

Bennett gets quiet on the other end for a second. I can all but hear the wheels turning. When he speaks again, he asks a question I wasn’t expecting. “What do you need?”

It’s an easy enough answer to give. It’s a harder thing to lay hands on. “Something damaging enough to kill his social status. If he thinks he’s losing that, he’ll come to heel quick enough.”

Bennett sighs and then says in a resigned voice, “I need you to meet me at my brother’s farm in an hour.”

“Will I be leaving it alive?” Emmitt Hayes is a crazy bastard. Big, mean and possibly ugly. It’s hard to tell under his lumberjack beard. The one thing I do know is that he hates everything Darcy. If he sees me roll up to his front door, I’m liable to get shot, if not worse.

“Alive, yes. Unscathed? Don’t get out of your car unless I’m there.”

I can hear the smile in Bennett’s voice when he answers. The bastard is enjoying himself. “Fine,” I agree.

There are no goodbyes. The call just ends abruptly.

I go into the kitchen, dump the makeshift ice pack in the sink and grab some Tylenol from the cabinet and a bottle of water from the fridge.

They probably won’t help, but at this point, they can’t hurt.

It’s a good thirty minutes to the Hayes farm.

I pick up my phone again and call Annalee. She picks up after one ring. I can hear Emma Grace giggling in the background.

“I need a favor,” I say immediately.

“What is it?”

“I hate to ask, but I need you to go over to Mama’s for a while.

Apparently, Mia either left under her own steam or Samuel kicked her out.

Anyway, he’s there with Mama right now, so I’m on my way over to evict his ass.

But after that, I’ve got to go meet Emmitt Hayes and probably get my ass handed to me. ”

I realize I’ve said way too much and just clam up.

Annalee is quiet for a minute. “Clayton, I don’t like the idea of you going out there.

I like Bennett just fine. And I think Savannah is great.

I wouldn’t trust Carter with anything female, but I don’t think he’s a bad guy.

Emmitt…well, he’s not bad, but his hatred of you runs deep. ”

“I’m aware. Bennett will be there too. It should be safe…I think. I hope. ”

“I’ve got to get myself and Emma Grace dressed. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

She has to get dressed. That’s the only part of that last statement that seems to be resonating with me. Like the poor, pathetic, horny bastard I am, I ask, “So, what are you wearing?”

“Clayton Joseph Darcy, we are not having that conversation!” she hisses.

“Just tell me, do you have on panties?”

She sighs into the phone. “Yes.”

“Don’t lie to me, Annalee. I can tell. You’re wearing a pair of yoga pants, I’d lay odds on it, and given how well I know your habits, you don’t have on any underwear beneath them, do you?”

There’s no response. Just silence coming from the phone. It’s confirmation enough.

After a long pause, she says, “This is a pointless conversation.”

“Oh, there’s a point to it. I have no idea what I’m going to the Hayes farm for, but if it’s what I think it is…you and I will be having a long talk. After that talk, we’ll be together, but we won’t be talking at all. You just count on it.”

“I’ll be at your mama’s house in about twenty minutes.”

The call ends abruptly. I pushed her. I know I did. And if this plays out the way I need it to, I’ll be doing a hell of a lot more than that.

I scroll through my contacts and call Evelyn’s phone. She answers after the first ring.

“Evelyn, are you at the house?”

“I’m pulling into the driveway right now,” she replies.

“Go in, pack an overnight bag for Mia and then just leave. Don’t talk to Samuel, don’t even look at him. I’m on my way there.”

“Your mama needs to be turned and fed,” she protests.

“I’ll turn her when I get there and Annalee can take care of the tube feeding.”

Evelyn gets quiet for a second. “Where’s my baby girl, Clayton? And don’t you lie to me!”

I smile in spite of myself. Evelyn was our housekeeper long before she became Mama’s caregiver.

She ran roughshod over me and Quentin as kids, but she coddled and spoiled Mia like there was no tomorrow.

“She’s fine, Evelyn. She’s at Bennett’s house, but I don’t know how long she’ll be staying there. It’s okay. I’m going to fix this.”

“All right.”

I grab my keys and head out to the car. It’s a short drive to my mother’s house.

I’ll never call it Samuel’s. He hasn’t actually lived there since her accident anyway.

When I pull into the drive, I see at least three vehicles.

Mia’s rental car is there. I don’t know how she got to Bennett’s house, but she didn’t drive.

Evelyn is parked beside her. The third car is Samuel’s new Mercedes.

I walk past it and up the back steps to the kitchen door, resisting the urge to key the paint.

It’s a childish impulse and pointless anyway since it’s my hard work at Fire Creek that’s paying for the damned thing.

I enter the house through the kitchen door. Evelyn is standing there at the counter looking worried.

“He’s looking awfully pleased with himself,” she says. “He only ever looks like that when he’s hurt somebody.”

“I don’t know the details yet either. If I did, I’d tell you. Put Mia’s bag in my car and go on home for the night. Between myself and Annalee, we’ve got Mama covered for the evening. ”

“Teresa will be back tomorrow night,” Evelyn offers. When she continues, her tone is a little more strident. “And I’m coming back here tomorrow no matter what you say. I don’t take care of Patricia because you pay me to. I take care of Patricia because I love her and because I love you all.”

I give the woman a hug. “I know all that. And we appreciate every bit of it, and we love you too. So, before you hear me and Samuel screaming at one another, and me saying words you’ll want to wash my mouth out for, just go on home for tonight.”

She pats me on the cheek. “You are a good boy, Clayton. You might have to do some bad things to get rid of that son of a bitch, but you’re doing it for all the right reasons.”

It’s like she just reached inside me and pulled out my heart. That’s what happens when you talk to people who’ve known you since birth. “Thank you, Evelyn.”

I watch her head out the back door toward my car, Mia’s bag in tow.

I take a deep breath and prepare myself for the confrontation to come.

I’m not a hundred percent. Hell, I’m not even at seventy- five.

Hungover and wrung out, I’ve got to face the fucker.

Jesus Christ, could this have come at a worse time?

I knew Samuel wouldn’t be in the former study which has been converted into a room for Mama.

He’d die before walking in there. Whenever he comes to the house he sticks to the kitchen or the formal living room, places where he doesn’t have to acknowledge the pitiful shell of the woman he married and ruined.

Sure enough, that’s where I find him. “Get out.”

He raises an eyebrow at me. “This is my house, son. You don’t get to throw me out of it.”