Page 24 of Operation Annulment (Silent Phoenix MC)

twenty-one

Kate

“ D id she say what this was about?” Nate asks me as we drive to Dakota’s house.

I shake my head. “No. She just said to come for dinner. Maybe she wants to apologize for her behavior?”

He makes a noncommittal noise and focuses on the road again. I hadn’t heard from Dakota in two weeks when she called me out of the blue.

She told me how much she missed me, and the ice around my heart thawed almost instantly. I’d missed her too. I’d even take hearing about comics every day if it meant things were good between us.

Nate and I have been making the best of our situation. He works all the time. I don’t know if I knew how demanding his job was before when I thought he was a struggling tattoo artist.

Sometimes, he comes home and wants to know all about my day.

We’ll go back and forth with our twenty questions, tiptoeing around more sensitive subjects while trying to keep our clothes on.

Other times, he comes home and wants nothing to do with me.

He’ll give one-word responses, seemingly upset at the world and me.

We move two steps forward only to take three steps back. He’s always on call, and it seems they conveniently page him when we’re starting to open up to one another.

Every day that passes leaves me with more questions than answers. In all fairness, I’ve still yet to tell him that my dad is alive or that Dakota is pregnant. It’s still too much for me to wrap my mind around, much less a stranger.

Except for Jeremy, who was seemingly unbothered by all of it.

Jeremy.

I haven’t yet found the courage to tell him about Benjamin or Jeremy. I’m going to… I just need more time, though.

“Hey, you okay?”

I realize we’re parked in front of Dakota’s house and push my thoughts aside. “Yeah, sorry. I got lost in thought.”

He takes my hand and kisses it, and I forget my troubles. “Let’s go face the firing squad, babe.”

We walk hand in hand up to the front door and I pray that Zane won’t be walking around shirtless this time. I don’t want to get distracted by the wall of muscle. I’m here to make up with my sister, not ogle her superhero boyfriend.

Little Ricky answers the door. “ Hola , Hail Mary. I see you brought tu marido this time.”

He thrusts out a hand to Nate. “Hey, I’m Little Ricky. My mama was a fan of I Love Lucy and named me after Ricky Ricardo, Jr.”

Nate’s eyes widen, but he reaches out and shakes Little Ricky’s hand. “Nate. Nice to meet you.”

I pat Little Ricky lightly on the arm. “It’s a lovely story, but you don’t have to share it with everyone upon meeting them, do you?”

He laughs good-naturedly. “Hail Mary, I’m not ashamed of where I come from. You shouldn’t be either. Come on inside. Caparina’s just finishing up with dinner.”

I wrinkle my nose. “She cooked?”

Zane comes around the corner and meets us.

Thankfully, he’s found a button-up shirt to cover those muscles. He laughs at my question. “Cap cook? The smoke alarm would be going off. No, she used the grocery store caterer and is unpacking it all in the kitchen.”

A caterer?

I push the bitterness back down.

Maybe Zane paid for it.

Maybe Zane should’ve been paying for it this entire time.

I take a deep breath to center myself, and Nate brushes my arm with his. “Are you okay?”

I nod. “Fine.” I can’t be upset. It’s not like she’s asked me for money since she got out of jail.

Zane looks back and forth between us. “Okay then. Welcome. Nate, good to see you. Kate, can I get you anything? Water? Tequila shots?”

Nate immediately cracks up and high-fives Zane. “That was great. Way to break the ice, man.”

The mention of tequila turns my stomach, and I shake my head. “I think I’m okay. I’m going to go find Dakota.”

Nate eyes the sling on Zane’s arm. “So, law enforcement? I never would’ve guessed. How’s the shoulder healing? Who was your surgeon?”

I leave the two of them talking and walk into the kitchen. Dakota is surrounded by containers, working feverishly to tear the plastic wrap off one.

“Hey. Can I help?”

She jumps and drops the container onto the counter. “Biscuits and gravy, Kate! You’re like a ninja. Yeah, I can’t get the damn—darn thing open.”

I take it from her hands and find the seam. “You gave up on cursing? I thought that was your newest pastime—well, right up there with being the Punisher.”

She rolls her eyes and takes the unwrapped container from my hand. “It’s not good for the baby. How have you been? Are you still married?”

I nod. “Yep, still married. I left in kind of a rush the night I found out that you were pregnant. How are you feeling? Do you know how far along you are?”

Are you scared? Because I’m afraid for you.

She grabs another container and begins unwrapping it. “I’ll be nine weeks next Friday.”

We slip back into silence. I can honestly say there’s never been a time when we didn’t have something to say to each other.

Little Ricky comes in and breaks the silence. For what might be the first time, I’m thankful that he’s in our lives. I’ll never admit it to a soul, though.

“ Caparina , toss me some napkins so I can set the table for this feast. The guys are talking some medical shit in there, and I got lost. Nate wants to know PT and OT and how much Thor can bench press.”

I laugh. “He wants to know how much he can bench press?”

Little Ricky shrugs. “Just about. He’s all, ‘Which physical therapist did you get? Oh, that guy is awesome. Blah, blah. Bench press me, Thor.’ It’s weird.”

I’d pay good money to see Zane bench press Nate.

Strangely, I’m turned on…

Dakota hands him the napkins, her mouth in a hard line. “You brought him? I said you were invited for dinner—not him?—”

“He’s my husband. Of course, I brought him.”

Little Ricky pauses with the napkins. “I like him. His tattoos are badass. I never would have pegged him as your type, though, Hail Mary. I always saw you with an attorney or some shit like that. Some guy that lived his life by the book, you know?”

An attorney?

Everyone must think I’m some rigid, unyielding shrew.

I open my mouth and manage to get out, “What the heck is that supposed—” as Dakota talks over me .

“He had me thrown out of the hospital while I was there trying to get paperwork from my new doctor. Did Doucheface tell you that?”

Little Ricky backs out of the kitchen, his hands raised in mock surrender. “Yeah, I forgot about that shit.” He turns to me. “Good luck!”

I rub my temples, trying to ward off the migraine that I know will hit at any moment. “He did what? Why?”

“Yeah, had me thrown out for no reason! That’s the man you married!” She places her hands on her hips defiantly.

Why would he do that to her?

Why doesn’t life come with a reset button?

I would reset back to when my life made actual sense.

“I didn’t know about any of that. I’m sorry.”

Zane and Nate enter the kitchen, probably drawn by Dakota’s yelling.

“You okay, babe?” Zane goes over to her immediately.

She shakes her head and begins brushing tears away. “I don’t want him in my house, Big Guy. Not after what he did to me.”

Nate looks at her and then over at me. “What the fuck is going on?”

Zane holds out a hand to silence him and pulls Dakota in closer. “Babe, I talked to Nate about that, and I’m not sure you told me the whole story. Does Dr. Quinn, Woman of Medicine, ring any bells?”

She shakes her head. “You believe him over me? I seriously was just trying to find my doctor’s office, and he had me thrown out for no apparent reason. Sometimes, you must pose as a doctor to get correct information.”

Nate’s face turns red with anger. “That’s?—”

“Enough. That’s enough out of both of you. Cap, we said we would have a nice dinner as a family. Let’s table this discussion for now and enjoy our company.” He leans down and presses a kiss to her cheek.

Dakota moves around him and leaves the room. The three of us stare uncertainly at each other while Little Ricky sets the table behind us—oblivious to anything happening.

Maybe I need to get high .

I’d like to be clueless right now.

Zane makes a noise in the back of his throat, and I look at him. “So, the pregnancy hormones aren’t exactly helping things right now. Um, we had everyone over to announce that we’re getting married.”

I’m on the verge of tears, and Nate looks ready to rip someone’s head off, so neither of us is quick to offer our congratulations.

Zane continues, “New Year’s Eve—that’s when it is. I, uh, just thought everyone might want to know that. Not like either one of you gives a fuck at the moment, but it’s important to us that you’re both there.”

Nate snaps out of it and shakes his hand. “Congrats, man. She’s… well, she’s something.” His sarcasm is hard to miss.

Little Ricky pipes up. “Hey, Hail Mary. There’s something you need to know?—”

“Why do you keep calling her that?” Nate doesn’t appear to be amused by the nickname.

“Oh, well, her name’s Mary Katherine—I dunno, man, look at her! Makes you feel like you need penance to atone for your sins and shit. Say ten Hail Mary’s, and all will be forgiven.”

We all stare blankly at him. This is more confusing than I previously thought. How could being around me make one feel that they needed atonement?

He continues, “She’s a therapist, yeah? People confess everything to her on a daily basis. Fuck, it made a lot more sense in my head. Pendejos .”

He storms out, and the three of us resume our staring contest.

“This is going about as well as I expected,” Nate offers, and I pinch the bridge of my nose. Yep, this migraine is going to appear at any moment now.

The old-fashioned doorbell chimes, and Zane leaves us to answer it. Nate comes over to me and cups my chin in his hand. “Do you wanna get out of here? We could hit up McDonald’s, and then maybe if we’re feeling crazy, we could get you a tattoo. ”

The smile on my face fades the minute I see the newest arrival to what I’m now lovingly going to refer to as ‘The Party from Hell.’

Jeremy.