Page 30 of Tanner (Dirty Misfits MC 5)
I just didn't know, and I wished someone would tell me what the fuck to do.
Doors slammed all around me, but I tried to block it out. I shaved my legs, cleaned myself up, and took a hot bath until the water turned lukewarm. I turned on the shower very quickly to wash my hair and my body down, then I wrapped myself up in one of the most luxurious towels I’d ever held against my body.
Before Tanner came charging in my room.
“What a fucking numbskull!” he bellowed.
My eyes widened as he slammed the door behind him.
“Brooks is just—fuck!”
He punched the wall, leaving a massive hole that allowed me to see the electrical wiring behind it.
“It didn’t have to be this way, you know!?” he roared.
I slowly raised my hand. “Uh, Tanner?”
His eyes met mine before they dropped to my body. “Shit.”
I snickered. “Could you give me a few minutes to get dressed?”
But all he did was turn around. “He’s an absolute maniac sometimes, and a fucking hypocrite twenty-four-seven.”
I sighed. “I’m sure he is.”
A fist pounded against our door before Brooks yelled, “I can hear you, man!”
Tanner ripped the door open. “Get the fuck away from her room now.”
“Can I at least get dressed in peace, please!?” I shrieked.
Both of the guys stared at me before Tanner clapped his hand over Brooks’ eyes. And after the two of them stepped out into the hallway, I let my tears fall. I rushed over to the door and locked it for good measure, then slumped against it as water from my hair dripped endlessly down my back.
And when the commotion in the hallway ceased, only Tanner’s voice remained.
“I’m sorry for letting you see me like that, Summer.”
I shook my head softly. “It’s the first time I’ve seen you be genuine with me in I don’t know how long, Tanner. Don’t be sorry for it. Just talk to me instead of punching holes in my damn walls, yeah?”
He sighed. “I’ll just shut my mouth.”
“No, no, no. Shutting your mouth is what got us into this mess in the first place. You were never one to open up, but if you want things to be different between us then you have to start doing different things.”
“I guess you’re right.”
I giggled. “I know I’m right. So, what’s going on? What did Brooks do to piss you off?”
He sighed. “Just… being a hypocrite.”
“How?”
I heard him stand to his feet. “He just is, okay?”
So, I stood to my feet. “And I’m asking how. What made him such a hypocrite in your eyes?”
“Everything, Summer!”
“Then tell me what ‘everything’ is!”
He growled. “Whatever. Get dressed, we have to go get Cheyenne soon.”
I ripped the door open, not caring who saw me in my towel. “If you think for one second I’m going to ever entertain the idea of letting you back into my life without some things changing, then you’ve got another thing coming.”
He whipped around to face me. “And who said I wanted to be back in your life?”
His words took the breath from my lungs. “Well, if you want to be part of Cheyenne’s life, that means being part of mine, too.”
“Oh, so now I have to jump through hoops in order to be the father you never allowed me to be because you never told me about her in the first place?”
My nostrils flared with fury. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say any of that shit, because if I don’t then I’m leaving you in the dust and you’ll never get to meet your daughter. What I’m saying is—”
He waved his hand at me. “Whatever. You’ll just do what you want anyway.”
“Tanner! Come back!”
I stepped out into the hallway just as he spun around once more. “There are things with this club that you don’t need to know. Things I’ll never tell you, just like your sister probably has things about her job she’ll never be able to tell anyone, either. That’s just how it is. Brooks is a hypocrite, but I can’t tell you why because that’s top secret.”
I scoffed. “You’re part of a motorcycle crew, not the FBI. Nothing is top secret.”
He glared at me. “It is if I say it is, and if you don’t like that then you’re always welcome to go with Cheyenne to Sloane’s.”
I shook my head. “Don’t mind if I do, then.”
I charged back into my bedroom before he called out after me. “I didn’t mean it like that, Summer.”
I slammed the door behind me and locked it before he could come in. “I’m only going to say this once, so listen up: you’re good. Whatever you want to do, you’re golden. But if you want me and Cheyenne in your life? In whatever capacity you wish? Then, you need to stop throwing up walls and open up to us. Both of us. Because if you can’t do that, you’ll never make a decent partner and you sure as hell won’t make a good father. And you can take my word to the bank on that.”
