Life After Taylah(21)
“Yay Avie!” Macy claps wildly.
“You got good, girl,” Kelly says. “Fuck, you look damned fine doing that.”
“Dude, that’s my sister,” Liam says, punching Kelly in the shoulder.
“Don’t mean I can’t look.”
“She’s taken,” Jacob says, straightening.
Kelly gives him a once-over and smirks at him. “That wouldn’t be hard to change. Come here, Avery, darling, I want another birthday hug.”
I bite my lip to stop from laughing. Kelly loves to stir Jacob, and I must admit I enjoy it. I step over the log I was sitting on and give Nate a glance. He’s watching me . . . again. His expression is unreadable; I can’t quite make it out. It’s intense, though, a look I’ve never received from a man before.
Kelly’s arm snakes out and curls around my waist, pulling me down onto his lap. I laugh as I go down. I circle my arms around his neck and ruffle his golden locks with my fingers. “You’re horrible,” I say near his ear.
“I can’t help it. He pisses me off.”
“Avery, can you please join me at the car for a moment?” Jacob says, standing.
I sigh and get off Kelly’s lap. “Can’t we just speak down here? I don’t want to walk back up to the car.”
“Fine,” he mutters, taking my hand and pulling me out of the group. I can feel a lot of eyes on me as he pulls me to the side, probably not even far enough away for them not to hear.
“What are you doing?”
I shake my head. “Having fun.”
“You’re flirting!” he snaps, curling his fingers around the top of my arm and pulling me close. “And I don’t like it.”
I try to jerk my arm away, but he holds it firmly. Asshole Jacob is out, and Asshole Jacob tends to get a bit rough. He’s never hit me—I don’t think he’d dare—but he handles me quite roughly.
“Let me go, now, Jacob.”
He growls but his arm drops. “We’ll talk about this at home. We are going now.”
“No,” I say, firmly.
He leans in close. “Don’t start with me, Avery.”
“I’m enjoying my friends and I’m not going. You can do absolutely nothing to make me. If you want to go—then go.”
He takes my arm again, his fingers pinching into my skin.
“Best you get your fuckin’ hand off her arm, right now,” Nate suddenly growls.
I look over to see the lot of them staring at us, all the men with angry expressions.
“I agree,” Kelly grunts. “Move it. Now.”
Liam rises to his feet, his eyes on Jacob’s arm. “You touchin’ her harshly, you cocksucker?”
Typical Liam. He goes right in for the kill.
“I’m speaking to her,” Jacob says, but his hand drops again. “It’s none of your business.”
“It’s my fuckin’ business if you’re touchin’ her like that,” Liam snarls.
“It’s okay,” I say to Liam, meeting his angry blue gaze. “I’m okay. I promise.”
He holds my stare, but slowly lowers back onto his chair. I turn back to Jacob. “You should leave now. This is going to get out of hand soon. I’m okay; I’ll be home soon.”
“Your dad isn’t going to be happy about this,” he snaps.
“I don’t honestly care,” I say, telling the one hundred percent truth.
“You should care,” he growls, looking over to Liam and then back to me. “Your momma would be ashamed.”
“What the fuck did you just say?” Liam roars, leaping from his chair.
My eyes instantly go to Macy, to make sure she’s okay. I see her curled up on a blanket, sleeping. This isn’t a scene for a little girl. Kelly reaches out for Liam, and I snap my eyes back in their direction. Liam leaps—I kid you not—over the small fire and charges towards Jacob. Nate stands, wrapping an arm around Jacob’s chest and hurling him back. Liam might be smacked up on steroids but Nate is a strong man, stronger even than him.
I turn to Jacob. “How dare you,” I whisper, my voice shaky.
“I’m only saying the truth! You don’t even know if she’s alive or dead and this is how you’re respecting her? By flirting, by mistreating your father whom she loved?”
“Go home,” I bite out.
He leans in close. “You better be there soon.”
He turns, lifts his bag and glares at Liam, who is still struggling in Nate’s grips, and then storms up to his car. When it speeds off, I turn to Liam. He’s watching me, his hands shaking. It hurt him, those comments. He loved Momma as much as me, and it broke him just as much when she went missing. Jacob knew that, and that’s why he said it.