Page 26 of Hutch (Minnesota Raptors #2)

“Thanks, Mom. You were my first call, you know.”

“I bet Daisy was your second,” she says, a teasing lilt in her voice.

“You know she was since I’m at her house right now.”

“I’m glad you found someone to make you happy too.”

“I just need to convince Daisy I can do the same for her.”

“I have faith in you. I raised a good man.”

“I try.”

“What about Collin? Did he get good news too?”

“He did. He’s in the kitchen with Daisy and she’s fixing him food.”

“I swear that boy could eat if the world was ending and zombies were running straight for him.”

“He’d kill them all to protect his food.”

“Why do you think I always choose him to be on my team?” She laughs. “I’m going home. I’ll have dinner ready by five and I expect to see my boys.”

“As long as this Micheal expects an Inquisition.”

She laughs again and says her goodbyes. Sighing, I shove my phone in my back pocket.

I can’t believe she’s been seeing someone and didn’t tell me.

Why would she think I’d be mad? Sure, it threw me for a minute there, but I’m not mad.

Cautious and ready to do bodily harm if this guy’s a jerk, but I’m not mad.

“What’s wrong?” Collin frowns when I take a seat beside him at the island.

“That was Mom. She’s seeing someone.”

Collin’s face darkens. “Who?”

“Some guy who owns his own landscaping business. She met him at a friend’s. We’re invited to supper tomorrow night.”

“We go in and we grill him.”

I look over at Collin and nod. He’s not going to see us coming.

“You’re both idiots.”

“No, we’re protective sons.”

“Your mom strikes me as a smart lady. Do you think she’d date a loser?”

“Well no…”

“Then trust her. If he’s a loser, she’ll see it eventually.”

“Or we’ll figure it out.”

Daisy shakes her head. “If he is and you do your best to run him off, it might make her hold on tighter.”

“Is that what happened to you?”

She goes still at Collin’s question, the spoon she’s stirring with coming to a complete stop. I’m really surprised when she answers.

“No. He never did anything stupid when I was around. He was nice. Kind. A great boyfriend. He behaved differently when I wasn’t around and no one told me anything, not even my supposed friends. Nana didn’t like him, though, and that should have been a red flag for me. She loved everyone.”

“He was a cheater then?” Collin pushes his plate away, the chicken sandwich half-eaten.

She snorts. “He apparently chased anything with a skirt, including some of my best friends. I felt like such an idiot when I found out. Broke up with him the same day. He wouldn’t answer the phone, so I broke up with him via text.”

“Savage.” Collin shakes his head. “I’m proud of you.”

Daisy goes back to stirring whatever she’s cooking.

“Whatcha cooking?”

“Chili mac and cheese.”

“There was actually chili left?”

“Surprising isn’t it?”

Her phone starts to ring again and she looks at it. Asswipe’s face stares back at her.

I pick it up and swipe to answer it.

“Daisy, why are you dodging my calls? I’ve been trying to get ahold of you…”

“This is Daisy’s boyfriend. Why are you calling my girl’s phone?”

Her eyes widen.

“Uh…who the fuck is this?”

“I just told you asswipe. Lose my girl’s number or there will be problems.” I disconnect the call and place the phone back down on the counter. “Fucker.”

“Why did you do that?” she whispers.

I shrug. “He scared you. If he thinks you have a new boyfriend, he might leave you alone.”

“That’s not how he works.”

“What do you mean?”

She shakes her head mutely and looks down the food she’s making.

Collin and I exchange worried glances. Did I make this worse?

“Why don’t you get a new number?” Collin pulls his chicken sandwich back and takes a bite.

“I can’t. It’s the only number my mom has.”

“Just give her your new number.”

“No. I don’t talk to my mom, but at least when she calls and leaves a voicemail, I know she’s still alive.

My mom’s an addict. The only time she calls is when she wants money, but despite knowing that, Nana always answered the phone when she called.

Giving her a voicemail to talk to is the least I can do for Nana after all she did for me and my brother. ”

“I’m sorry, Red.”

She looks away from us and then back to the pan.

“Then block his number,” Collin suggests.

“That won’t keep me safe,” she whispers. “I need to know if he’s looking for me.”

“What did he do, Daisy?”

She glances to me and then back to the food. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Collin lets out a frustrated sound and she flinches.

“Collin, can you get the blocks of cheddar and colby jack out of the fridge please?”

He nods and gets up to do as she asks. She has her back turned toward me, but I can see her body shaking even from here. Not being able to just do nothing, I get up and walk up behind her, cleaning my throat to let her know I’m there. She doesn’t move, just continues to stir the mixture in the pan.

“You good, Daisy?”

She nods.

“You’re still shaking.”

“It’s not very gentlemanly to point that out.”

“I don’t give two shits if it is or not. Your ex scares you. That has nothing to do with cheating. It has everything to do with threats or violence or both.”

“Hutch is right. We can’t protect you if you don’t tell us what the threat is.”

“I can protect myself.”

“We know you can,” I agree. “Doesn’t mean you can’t use some backup from time to time.”

“I…” She puts the spoon down and turns to face me.

We’re maybe only an inch or two apart. Her green eyes are wide and a little desperate.

“Letting people in, it only ends up hurting me. My friends, my best friends since before kindergarten, ended up hurting me. They lied to me. They cheated with my boyfriend. They took his side. I ended up with no one except Lucy and she’s not even here anymore.

Can’t you understand how hard it is to let someone in after all that? ”

I gently pull her into a hug and she’s stiff for the barest of seconds before she gives in and hugs me back.

I can feel the heave of her chest as she tries to choke back sobs.

My poor girl. What did she go through to be so standoffish and afraid to let anyone close?

She comes off so cold, but it’s not because she is.

It’s because she’s terrified and being closed off is how she learned to protect herself.

“I know it’s hard, but I promise you, I am always going to be here. I’m going to be on your side no matter what. Even if you choose Collin to be on your team in a zombie apocalypse, I’ll still be on your side.”

“What?” she mumbles around my shirt.

“It’s a thing,” Collin tells her. “Everyone always chooses me because I’m feral when it comes to food.”

“What’s going on here?” Jenny demands. “What did you do, Hutch?”

“He didn’t do anything. Asswipe called her.”

“Who?” Dylan comes into the kitchen, followed by a few of the other guys from the team.

“Her ex.”

“Why the fuck is he calling?” Dylan demands and Daisy goes rigid at his tone.

“Let’s give them a few minutes.” Collin motions for them all to vacate the kitchen and amid grumbles, they do. Collin stays planted where he is. Didn’t figure he’d take his own advice and leave us alone. He’s as concerned as I am.

“Everyone’s gone but me and C,” I whisper. “Tell us what he did, sweetheart. You have to eventually trust someone and we’re not bad people to trust. I swear.”

“I didn’t think he was a bad person either,” she says weakly. “Not until I broke up with him.”

Taking her hand, I cut off the stove and lead her into the living room to sit. Collin follows, his face almost stoic.

“What happened to make you break up with him?” I ask.

“He was at college and I stayed to take care of Nana, who was dying of cancer. Robbie was and is a continent away in the Navy. I still don’t know where he’s stationed.

I’m not sure if Joseph thought he was being smart by never posting anything on his social media except football stuff, selfies, and group things with his friends.

He forgot that he made me follow all his friends on social media as well.

All the photos he didn’t want me to see were on their accounts across social media.

Parties, girls, drinking, you name it, it was there for everyone to see.

I felt so stupid and I broke up with him. ”

“Asswipe,” Collin mutters and sits on the armchair.

She nods. “It took him two days to even respond and we had a huge fight on the phone, but I stayed resolute and told him we were done.”

“He expected you to forgive him?”

“Apparently, but I’m not that stupid. I might have ignored some warning signs here and there, but I won’t ignore straight up proof and I didn’t.”

“Then what happened?” I prompt a few minutes later. She’s stopped talking and is just staring off into space.

“He came home a few weeks later.”

She stops talking again and I glance at Collin. We both know what’s coming isn’t going to be good because she’s shaking.

I reach over and haul her next to me, expecting her to stiffen up and try to get away, but she doesn’t. I’m not even sure she knows I’ve plastered her to my side. She’s that upset.

“Red?” Collin asks softly.

She looks over at him.

“Can I call Jenny and Dylan to come and listen to this? Hutch and I aren’t going to be around a lot since we’ll be joining the Raptors. We’ll be gone quite a bit. I know I’d feel better if someone who’s gonna to be here understands what’s going on and what to look out for.”

I’d planned on just telling Dylan and a few of the guys who frequent the house to watch out for asswipe and make sure he doesn’t get near Daisy, but Collin’s idea is better. They should know what’s going on so they can keep her safe when I can’t be here.

“I…it’s so embarrassing.”

“No, it’s not,” I rebuke gently. “Whatever he did, it scared you. That’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“It is, though. I should have seen it. There were signs, but I was stupidly in love and brushed it off.”

“That just makes you human, sweetheart.” I hug her tighter. “This isn’t on you. It’s all him. You have nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“What do you say, Red? Is it okay for Jenny and Dylan to hear this?” Collin asks quietly.

I know for a fact she doesn’t want them to hear it. I can feel the reaction in her body.

“Collin’s right. He and I aren’t going to be around as much as you’re used to. Someone else needs to know, but we’re not going to force you to tell them.”

“What if I tell you and you can tell them later?”

“We can do that,” I say before Collin can argue. He’s not holding her so he can’t feel how much more her shaking has increased.

“You want me to tell you all of it?” she whispers.

“As much as you’re comfortable with, but I’d prefer all of it.”

“It’s a long story.”

“We’ve got all night.”

She nods and starts to talk.