68 Blacktop Obsession
"Carter, what's up? Everything okay?" Shayde asked, standing at the grill, turned away from the group sitting at the table as she answered her phone.
"Everything's fine, Shay. Can you and Kaidyn go to the door? I sent you a surprise until I can get there later." He said, not wasting any time to let her talk.
"Um, sure. You sure everything's okay?" Shayde asked, looking at Kaidyn.
"Yeah Sweetheart. I am fine. I will be there later tonight after I move some freight coming in." Carter promised.
"Please be safe." she said,knowing every time he left was a risk. "You don't have to rush home." She said quietly, looking around to make sure she was not in Kaidyn's earshot.
"I love you, Shayde." He said just as Kaidyn walked up to the grill. He hung, seeing that on the cameras.
"Come on, silly girl, you are going with me. There's something at the door for us." Shayde walked over to Kaidyn and grabbed her, putting an arm around her waist, walking her to the door.
"Shay, you good? You need us?" Hector asked, looking up with concern.
"We have a surprise at the door. Be right back." She nodded. "We're good." She promised. Hector looked at his phone and nodded, after getting a text from Carter.
"We, as in, you and I?" Kaidyn asked, raising a curious eyebrow. "Why would we need to answer the door?" Kaidyn asked, skeptical but excited. She loved surprises more than anyone in the house and always was excited when someone said the word surprise.
"I am not sure, we will see. A little birdie told me to open the door." Shayde said, seeing Kaidyn hesitate. "Hey, you are with me and I know that this is nothing bad." Shayde promised, seeing Kaidyn hesitate.
"I'm fine. I don't know why I am worried." Kaidyn said, getting that uneasy feeling she could not figure out and although she tried hard to understand why she felt uneasy, she could not think of anything that would make her feel this way.
"We're safe. It's okay. This won't be a bad thing." Shayde promised. Kaidyn followed her, standing behind her while she opened the door.
"Did someone in this house order some coronas?" Dominic asked, arms stretched out in Domnic style and holding a few cases of Coronas. He sat them on the ground.
"Dom!" Kaidyn's face lit up as she jumped into his arms.
"Hey Kiddo." He hugged her tight. "Got room for two more, Shay?" Dominic asked, still holding Kaidyn as he stepped aside, knowing he was about to be let go for who was behind him.
"Jesse!" Kaidyn jumped down and went to hug Jesse. "Oh, I have missed you!" Kaidyn grabbed him and hugged him hard.
"What's up girl?!" Jesse gave her a hug. Behind him stood Letty.
"Dom, Letty, come in!" Shayde smiled, giving them both a hug. "Letty, how you doin girl?" She asked, shocked to see her with them.
"Good, how you livin?" Letty asked, looking relieved that Shayde was going to accept her being there.
"I'm good, girl. Long time no see." Shayde nodded.
"Yeah, I know. Long story." Letty looked down as though it was still uncomfortable to talk about.
"Why are you here?" Kaidyn asked, looking at Letty, her eyes narrowed.
"Kaidyn, stop it." Shayde warned, about to grab her arm.
"We're a family of three, kiddo. You know you missed her." Dominic said, giving Kaidyn a warning look to be nice.
"Not family, more like co-family." Letty corrected him.
"Sorry for how she is being." Shayde rolled her eyes, watching Kaidyn and Jesse already leaving them to go talk. "You guys back together?" Shayde asked.
"For Jesse's sake we are hanging out but we are not together. Just friends. Co parenting of sorts." Letty laughed.
"I am sure that Jesse is grateful for that." Shayde smiled, looking at how happy Dominic and Letty looked, despite not being together.
"It's working out." Dominic nodded. "You know how Kaidyn is protective of me, its not her fault. It's just how she is." He explained to Letty, feeling bad for how Kaidyn was being to Letty.
"Guys, it's okay. Let her be mad at me. It's cool." Letty said, blowing her hair out of her face. "She's okay." She promised, not wanting to make a scene.
"Get in here, we got a barbecue going. You guys are just in time." Shayde smiled.
"Kaidyn, you want some Corona? I know these guys don't appreciate a good drink like me and you do." Dominic asked, offering her a cold bottle.
"No thanks, I am not drinking tonight. But I am SO happy to see you guys." Kaidyn said, her hand in her pocket, holding the key to her car. She gave Dominic another hug and held onto him for a bit. "I'm glad you are here." she said quietly in his ear.
"I missed you. Please be nice to Letty." Dominic requested in a low voice when she hugged him. Kaidyn stiffened when he mentioned her name and drew in a sharp breath of disapproval. "You remind me so much of Shayde sometimes, Kiddo." Dominic grinned.
"She hurt you and she left you guys." Kaidyn said, folding her arms.
"She had her reasons." Dominic said, his face stoic. "It's a mutual thing. You wouldn't understand." He promised.
"Well, she shouldn't have hurt you. Family doesn't leave, Dom." Kaidyn said, shaking her head.
"People make mistakes. Family is always gonna be family no matter how long they leave or what happens." Dominic said, patting Kaidyn's head. "That's an important lesson I need you to learn." he said, his arm around her.
"I'm still not happy with her. But I'll try." Kaidyn said stubbornly.
"That's all I can ask, Kid." He nodded, grinning. "Thank you." He nodded appreciatively.
"I'm gonna go talk to Jesse." Kaidyn said, walking off.
"Wow, what happened to Kaidyn?" Dominic walked into the kitchen where Shayde was working on making some baked beans. "Want some help?" he asked, holding his beer and leaning on the counter.
"Yeah, try these? What do you mean about Kaidyn?" She asked, giving Dominic the end of the spoon to try. "Am I missing anything in these?" She asked, her mind focusing on multiple things.
"No, those are good. Damn, I sure do miss your cooking." Dominic said with a grin. "She turned down a corona and isn't drinking. Is she feeling okay?" He asked, pointing to the living room. "Something's off." He said, scratching his head.
"I don't know. She's been acting weird." Shayde said, shaking her head. "Very unsettled. Just very uneasy." Shayde frowned. "She hasn't been the same since we got here." She noted.
"So she's dating Tej huh? I thought she'd end up with Roman the way it was goin in LA." Dominic laughed.
"Yes, and thank god. Carter's barely able to handle her dating Tej. Can you imagine if she had dated Roman." Shayde laughed. "He has serious issues with Mr. Roman Pearce." She laughed at the thought of it. She got her cell phone and called Tej. "Hey, can you do me a favor please and offer your girl a beer or a drink of your drink? Let me know if she takes it please?" She asked.
"Fo sho. I'll let you know." He nodded, hanging up. "Hey baby girl, want to come drink with me?" Tej asked, finding her in the living room. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head.
"I'm waiting to eat first. I don't want to waste the alcohol before I eat." She said, looking up at him.
"You feelin okay?" Tej asked, looking at her, raising a suspicious eyebrow.
"Yeah, I'm good, why?" She asked, seeming almost distracted.
"Just checkin on my girl." He grinned, making her giggle. "You let me know if you know if you need anything, alright?" She gave him a smile and a nod.
"She said she's waiting to eat and doesn't want to waste the alcohol." Tej said, walking in the kitchen, sighing. "Something's off, Shay" Tej said, looking concerned. He folded his arms. "Hey Dom! Good to see you." He nodded.
"Yeah, you too." Dominic replied.
"Where's Rome? Can you see if he can try to see what she's up to?" Shayde asked.
"Yeah, allright." Tej nodded to go get Roman.
"So, what brought you guys out here?" Shayde asked as she worked on finishing up her baked beans.
"Carter called and wanted to see if we wanted to come visit. Letty's been ready to get out of LA for a while." Dominic sighed. "I was shocked he called me." Dominic grinned.
"Yeah, I was shocked to see you here." Shayde smiled. She knew he had been listening to her and Kaidyn's conversation, just as she had suspected as they were walking out of the room. "But I am glad to see the two of you getting along better." She said truthfully, making Dominic laugh. "Still got a grudge against my man?" Shayde asked, clicking her teeth. She knew Dominic was only trying to look out for Shayde but he drove her crazy with how his thinking was sometimes.
"I didn't care for him to begin with, you know this. And then he left you guys when you both needed him the most. You can't blame me for being mad at him for leaving you with all the bullshit you have had to deal with." Dominic said.
"I think you are forgetting where we come from and that he and I have been together a lot longer than you have known him. That's exactly why I wouldn't let you meet him. You and your overprotective ass, Dom." Shayde reminded him, shaking her head.
"Yes, I know where you come from and I know your background is different than his." Dominic said.
"It's not really all that different. Our families work together and get things done. We were both born into this. You don't understand the Cartel business, you run the streets. We run the other. You would like him if you gave him a chance. How is it he brought you here if you guys still can't get along?" She asked, seriously curious.
"We came to a mutual agreement to protect the family." Dominic explained. "We got some business to talk about later." He said.
"Of course. I knew there had to be a reason you are here." She sighed.