Did she know another Sarah?
Ashleigh closed the refrigerator door and turned away from him.
“Did she say something?” Ashleigh asked, her gaze sliding toward the window over the sink.
“No.” Staring back at his sister, he realized something was going on that he didn’t know about. “Should she have?”
Before Ashleigh answered, the door leading to the garage opened, and Alex stepped into the kitchen carrying a gallon of milk. His sister’s attention immediately slid toward her husband, and Dylan knew she wasn’t going to answer his question.
“Hey, man,” Alex greeted after kissing Ashleigh and shoving the milk into the refrigerator. “What brings you by?”
“Daddy!” Riley hollered, racing into the room and running right into Alex’s legs.
“Hey, short stuff.” Alex smiled, then swept Riley up into his arms and swung her around. Alex’s gaze met his once more.
“I was out drivin’,” Dylan said. “Ash called, said I should stop by to see Riley.”
“Goin’ somewhere?”
His thoughts instantly drifted to Sarah and her impromptu weekend trip. He couldn’t help but think he should’ve put up more of a fight, convinced her not to go with Bill. Hell, he should’ve offered to take her somewhere. Anywhere. Just the two of them. That would’ve been the smart thing to do. Letting her go—before he ever actually had her—didn’t sit well with him, and he didn’t like thinking this could’ve been his last chance. What happened if she went away with Bill and came back engaged?
The universe couldn’t be that cruel, could it?
“I’d thought about it,” he told Alex. It wasn’t a complete lie. When he’d been driving around aimlessly, he’d given some thought to where he might go. Obviously he hadn’t come up with a plan.
But with Sarah gone, he knew he’d do nothing but think about her all weekend if he sat around and twiddled his fucking thumbs. Which was why a trip of his own wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Alex’s question only encouraged him to give it more consideration.
“Where’re you goin’, Dylan?” Ashleigh asked, suddenly incredibly interested in the conversation. “And when will you be back?”
“Don’t know. I was thinkin’ Shreveport,” he said simply. It was the first place that came to mind. He could gamble, drink, and ultimately give in to all of his vices.
Only he couldn’t drink.
No way was he going to Shreveport.
“Shreveport? What’s in Shreveport?” she asked, her eyes widening.
“Nothin’ specific. Just need to get away for a bit.”
Alex and Ashleigh both stared at him and he could see the concern in their gazes. He’d seen that look so many times over the past few years.
Her voice lowered when she said, “Dylan, have you been drinking?”
He huffed a laugh, then held up his tea glass. “Not yet.”
“Have you been to an AA meeting lately? Since Monday?” Alex propped his hip against the counter.
“Twice last week,” he confessed.
“Is it helping?”
Watching his sister closely, Dylan shrugged. “I’m still sober. I swear.” Even if he wished otherwise, the years of sobriety he’d logged were important to him. Sure, as his sponsor said, it was something he should be proud of, but Dylan was still living one day at a time. It was the only way he could make it through.
When she didn’t pelt another question at him, Dylan knew his sister was getting worked up. Ashleigh had been worried about him for a long time. Hell, she had even put off her own wedding to deal with him and his bullshit. Granted, Dylan hadn’t been at all happy about that, nor had Alex. The fistfight he and Alex had gotten into would forever be a reminder of how shitty he’d treated the important people in his life.
“Are you sure you should go? I mean…” Ashleigh paused. “Are you going there to gamble?”
“Maybe,” he told her. Seriously, if he did go to Shreveport, what else was he going to do? He wasn’t much of a gambler, but then again, these days he wasn’t much of anything. He’d been simply existing for over a decade, and the moment he’d heard about this Bill guy and Sarah, he’d felt the first real spark of life. He just didn’t know how to deal with it. Yet.
When Ashleigh didn’t say anything, Dylan filled in the silence. “It’s good, Ash. I promise. If I go, it’ll be a quick trip. I’d be back on Sunday. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“But I do,” she said softly.
“I know.” It saddened him how much he’d caused her to worry. “I’m not gonna do anything stupid. Trust me.”
He thought for a moment that his sister was going to cry. He was about to reassure her again, but she turned and fled the room, not looking back when Alex called out to her.
Dylan waited for Alex’s wrath. Surprisingly, it didn’t come.
“She’s a little emotional right now,” Alex explained with a heavy sigh.
It took a moment for Dylan to catch the meaning. “She’s…?”
A slow smile took over Alex’s face as he glanced at his daughter, still in his arms. “Yeah. We’re gonna have another baby.”
“Holy shi—” He cut the curse off when he realized Riley was staring at him intently. “That’s awesome, man. I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks. She’s worried after…”
Yeah, Dylan understood just what Alex was saying. Ashleigh’s first pregnancy hadn’t been an easy one. She’d been confined to bed rest for quite some time, and he couldn’t help but think he’d been responsible for a lot of her stress.
“Is there a specific reason you’re goin’ to Shreveport?” Alex inquired.
“No,” he admitted.
“What if I had another suggestion for you?”
“Like?”
“Luke and Cole are puttin’ on some fancy thing at Devotion tonight. Kicking off the new year and all that. Cole called and tried to convince me to bring Ashleigh. Why don’t you go by, check it out? I know you’ve talked about goin’ to the club since they opened.”
Surprised by the suggestion, especially considering it would be a temptation Dylan wasn’t sure he could resist, he tossed the idea around for a moment. It was true, Dylan had been talking about going to Devotion, but he hadn’t been able to bring himself to do it. But it didn’t sound like a bad idea. If he couldn’t have Sarah, he could easily find a way to distract himself with someone else. For a little while anyway.
Right. Like that would ever happen. Even if he convinced himself to pursue another woman, Dylan wasn’t sure he could follow through. He wasn’t completely dead on the inside, but something had stopped him all these years. His hand had been the only action his dick had received and until Sarah, he’d been good with that.
But he wasn’t a damn saint. His little head would eventually win out.
“Are y’all goin’?” Dylan asked.
Alex shook his head. “Not into that scene.”
Dylan knew that. And since there wasn’t the risk of seeing his sister there—he didn’t even want to think about what they would be doing if they did spend time in a place like Devotion—then he might as well go. After all, it would save him gas money and give him something to do. What did he have to lose?