Page 13 of Bittersweet Redemption

His tone startles me out of my trance of thinking that maybe he doesn’t totally hate me. “Oh, right.” I turn and head for the door.

He stops me by saying, “Don’t forget to put my lawn mower by the garage.”

I just got stung by a bee, and he’s worried about his damn lawn mower. Shame on me for thinking he might not be as bad as I initially thought. “Got it.”

Chapter 7

Kai

A car door slams, letting me know my brother and Riley are here. I turn the TV off and meet them at the door.

“Look who it is,” I say as I wrap my arms around Riley first. She’s done so much for my brother and for me. She’s already part of the family, even if it isn’t official yet.

“How’s it going, Kai?” she asks, giving me a quick squeeze before releasing me.

“Oh, you know. Living the ex-con dream.”

She slaps my chest. “You are not an ex-con. I worked my ass off to have your record cleared.”

“I know, I know. I’m forever indebted to you, my queen,” I tease.

“That’s better.” She smiles and moves past me to the living room, and my brother walks in behind her, carrying bags of food.

“Hey, bro.” I greet Kellan with a shoulder clap since his hands are full. Normally, I’d hug him since I spent eleven years of my life not being able to hug him or anyone else. I do it as often as I can now because you never know when it might be the last time you get to hug someone.

“Hey, Kai.” My brother looks happier now than he ever has. Every time he came to visit me in prison, which happened less and less the longer I was in there, he looked tired, stressed, and downright unhappy. He felt guilty that he couldn’t get me out of prison. I’m sure I would’ve felt the same in his shoes. It killed me knowing he was throwing his life away because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But the minute he met Riley, something switched on again. It was like he remembered he could live.

That’s why I was so happy when I learned about Riley. I could hear the smile in his voice on our weekly phone calls from prison. I love my little brother, and I’ve only ever wanted the best for him. And now he has it. Partner at a law firm, the girl of his dreams, and we get to be a family again. Still working on the mother portion of our family, though. Kellan and Mom’s relationship was strained while I was in prison, and that’s putting it lightly. They never spoke because she was mad he couldn’t help me after he went through law school. It was totally unreasonable, and I told her as much, but they’re both extremely stubborn. Things aren’t much different now, but she’s in Tennessee, and we rarely see her.

They had one dinner together since I got out of prison, and it was awkward for all of us. Riley and I had to try to keep the conversation going that night. Neither of us has the energy to try something like that so soon again.

“So, one of our co-workers told me about this new mac and cheese place. Like, they only have mac and cheese. She said it was the best she’s ever had, so obviously, I knew we needed to try it.” She pulls containers out of the bags Kellan placed on the kitchen counter.

“Obviously,” I agree. Riley is our resident foodie, always making sure we try new restaurants and foods from around the city.

“I got all different kinds to taste test. We’ve got pimento cheese, four cheese, lobster, and bacon.”

“Oh, you know I’m going for the bacon mac,” I tell her as I grab plates from the cabinet.

“I figured as much.” We’ve done weekly dinners since I got out of prison, so she knows my food preferences by now.

We each pile cheese and noodles onto our plates and take them out to the back deck. It’s starting to get cooler in the evenings, so it’s nice to sit out there and eat.

“You guys getting excited about the wedding?” I ask once we’re all seated.

“Yes.” Riley smiles. “I can’t believe it’s getting so close.”

“I’ll be glad when it’s over, and you and I are laying on a beach in Spain,” Kellan tells Riley.

“Me too. I’m glad we’re doing a small wedding. I can’t imagine how much more planning would’ve had to go into a bigger event. I’m already exhausted and tired of having to make decisions.”

“It’s going to be perfect.” Kellan reaches over and squeezes Riley’s leg, and they share a moment with each other. I don’t get jealous of my brother often, but moments like this make me a little envious that he’s found someone so perfect for him. Someone who completes him and makes him an even better person. Watching them now, I wonder if I’ll ever find anything like that. Sure, I have no problem finding women to sleep with. For some reason, the allure of tattoos and a dodgy past is a turn-on for women. But none of those women are looking to spend the rest of their lives with someone who spent a good chunk of his life in prison, even if I was exonerated. It’s like I’ve got ‘Bad Guy’ stamped on my forehead, even though I technically didn’t do anything wrong.

As if Riley can read my mind, she turns her attention to me. “So, Kai, been on any dates lately?”

I chuckle. She’s never one to hold back her questions. “Nope, not recently.” I’m not even sure why I haven’t gone on any dates. I’ve had plenty of clients hit on me, trying to get me to go home with them, but I just haven’t been into it. I haven’t even gone to the bars with Jones to try to pick anyone up. I’m in a self-imposed rut.

I wash down some mac and cheese with my beer, and just before I take another bite, I hear a small voice say, “Excuse me, Mr. Kai.”