She'd cried when she saw them again at last, the three women colliding in a big, sloppy embrace. She'd cried looking through the photo album from Kim's wedding, which Tricia had missed. It looked to have been a beautiful day. She'd already seen most of the pictures on Facebook and in e-mails that Kim sent her, but looking at them in person drove an aching desire to turn back time through her heart. She should have been there, standing beside Ricky and Mina at Kim's side.
Among the pictures of the bride and groom were a few pictures of Ricky and Cristov. When Tricia had left, Ricky and Cristov had been broken up, but they'd gotten back together at the wedding, and the pictures left no question as to why. Both her friends were in love. Real, pure, perfect love. And she felt like she'd missed the chance to see it happen. Even all the phone conversations didn't make up for actually being there.
And, of course, there were other changes. Ricky had quit drinking. Kim, as mayor, had completely overhauled the town's Main Street, making it cleaner, prettier, and more welcoming. There were new stores cropping up, businesses revitalized by the influx of tax revenue and tourist money. Tricia's hometown wasn't a crumbling phantom anymore. It was a quaint, picturesque hamlet in the hills. It was lovely. Tricia had never felt less comfortable, less at home.
"Are you sure you're up for dinner?" Ricky asked, pulling Tricia from her thoughts. Kim and Ricky had planned a dinner at Sid's, the little old diner that was still Kingdom's best kept secret. Tricia had asked them to invite Kennick and Cristov; it seemed wrong that she had spent so little time with the men who had captured her best friend's hearts.
She knew that she would always have a place in the sisters' lives; by extension, that meant she should try and figure out her place in the Volanis brothers' lives. Besides, she owed them her life. After they'd burst into the barn to rescue her, she'd only seen them fleetingly, in police stations and courthouses. She hoped that seeing them again, under normal circumstances, would bring her one step closer to feeling like it was all truly over.
"Of course," Tricia said, nodding enthusiastically. "It was my idea that they come, remember?"
"Right," Kim said, stepping forward to pull down the storage unit door once more. "Well, then we should get going. Here's the key, by the way."
Kim slipped the little fob into Tricia's hand while Ricky linked her arm into Tricia's. While the three women moved through the maze of hallways towards the exit, a question lingered on Tricia's mind, unasked for reasons she couldn't quite pinpoint – or didn't want to pinpoint. Would Damon come?
She hadn't specifically asked Ricky and Kim to invite him, but a part of her hoped they would do so. And, the Volanis brothers were close – if Kennick and Cristov weren't with their women, they were with Damon. So it would make sense for him to come along. But she hadn't asked. She didn't know. Maybe …
"So, Sid's wife, you know, Alise, she and Ana, who runs the market, they've been thick as thieves ever since they met, and Alise had Sid add all this weird stuff to the menu. I mean, not, like, weird, but like … weird. Not diner food, anyway. Spaghetti in squid ink. Borscht. Beef tartare."
"No shit," Tricia mused, sitting in the passenger seat while Kim drove and Ricky leaned forward from the backseat, speaking a mile a minute. It was Ricky's car, but everyone felt safer with Kim at the wheel. Ricky may have quit drinking, but she was still an impulsive – and angry – driver.
"Some of it's okay," Kim offered. "I like the borscht."
"That tartare thing though … " Ricky's nose scrunched.
"It's raw beef," Kim said in a low tone, as though sharing a secret.
"Raw beef? Isn't that illegal?" Tricia asked, mimicking Ricky's expression.
"Raw fish is legal," Kim said, turning into Sid's parking lot. "They have that thing on the menu now about how pregnant women can't eat it."
"They still have that oyster po'boy on the menu though, right?" Tricia asked, licking her lips in anticipation. Ricky grinned.
"Yup. And the best French fries this side of the Delaware River," Ricky said, leaning back to unfasten her seatbelt.
"The boys are already here," Kim said, pointing to a Ford pick-up parked a few spaces away. "That's Kennick's truck."
The boys, Tricia thought, then felt her heart tightening slightly. She looked at the truck. There was a backseat, but it was small. She didn't think that three big men like the Volanis brothers would feel comfortable sitting in it together. Her heart loosened, falling at the same time. She told herself to stop having feelings she had no right to have. If she wanted Damon there, she should have asked them to invite him. If he wasn't there, she couldn't be disappointed.
He probably doesn't even want to see me, she thought suddenly. All she could do was remind him that a man had died at his hand. Maybe he didn't care about that, about what he'd done. But she remembered the look on his face, when they'd finally got to safety. It was the look of a man who wouldn't sleep well that night. Who wouldn't sleep well for some time to come.
That was at least one thing they had in common.
Inside the diner, the gentle and happy clatter of conversation and silverware against ceramic covered the final confirmation of Tricia's disappointment. Cristov and Kennick sat waiting for them at a corner booth. Cristov turned when Kennick nodded in the girls' direction. Tricia put a smile on.
Kennick greeted his wife with a kiss, Cristov doing the same for Ricky. There was room at the end of both seats for Tricia, and she chose to sit beside Kennick and Kim – mostly because she was more interested in watching Cristov and Ricky. Marriage had settled things for the husband and wife. A boyfriend and girlfriend would provide more entertaining body language.
"It's good to see you, Tricia," Cristov said, his eyes warm. She felt closer to Cristov than she did to Kennick; Cristov had been the one to save her from Paul, had brought her to his trailer to keep her safe afterwards. "You look good."
"Thanks, it's good to see you too" she said back, the smile no longer quite as forced. She turned to Kennick. "Both of you."
She took a moment to look around the diner, breathe in the familiar smells. A lot of familiar faces, too. She caught a few of them looking back, their eyes widening slightly in recognition. She felt like shrinking back into her seat, and fought it. As much as it no longer felt like her hometown, this was her hometown. The stares were something she would need to get used to.
"How are you doing?" Kennick asked. The question was so casual, so normal, yet there was nothing cavalier about the asking.
"I'm good," Tricia said after a brief pause. "I'm … getting used to being back."
Kennick nodded. Tricia was struck by the green of his eyes. All the Volanis siblings had those green eyes, but there were subtle differences in each shade. Kennick's were like a level sea. Cristov's were lighter, like clover. And Damon's, she could still remember, were the darkest. Forest green, almost shadowy.
"We just went to the storage unit," Ricky said, steering the conversation towards something lighter. "I forgot how much stuff was in there."
"I haven't," Cristov said with a grin. "Neither have my muscles."
"Oh, yeah," Tricia said. "I meant to thank you guys for helping clear it out. I was … well, you know."
She swallowed. Maybe this dinner was a bad idea, after all. What could they talk about that wouldn't wind back to the event that linked them all together? Tricia had left so suddenly, afraid of the bikers coming after her, that she'd left everything behind. It had been the Volanis family that cleared out the house and brought everything into storage. She owed them her life and the return of her security deposit.
"Of course," Kennick said. "It was nothing. We were happy to do it."
"They were suitably rewarded for their good deed," Ricky said with a wink. "No thanks necessary, trust me."
Tricia had to laugh at that, joined in by Cristov, while Kim blushed and Kennick shook his head, a smile on his face. Cristov slid his arm across Ricky's shoulders. Tricia felt a bittersweet happiness, seeing the adoration in Cristov's eyes as he looked down at her friend. She'd always liked Cristov. She was glad Ricky had finally come around to seeing how good he really was.
A waitress came by and took their orders; there was no need to look at a menu, as everyone had their own personal favorites. Conversation turned to town gossip, much to Tricia's relief. By the time the food arrived, Tricia had almost managed to forget what had kept her away from Kingdom from so long.