The Dragon's Fate - Roxie Ray Page 0,6

didn’t have the energy by far to do any more than that. By the time I finished, I was beyond ready for a drink.

Kaylee was a bad influence on me. I’d drank more since moving to Bluewater than I ever had in my life. But shit, I’d married Damon way too young and he never wanted to go out and do anything. Now that I was free, I felt like a young adult again, ready to take on the world and have a little fun.

I just wanted to do it responsibly, in a safe environment, with my good friends, no guys, and my daughter safely at home with her grandparents. As opposed to how I might’ve done it nine or ten years ago when I first turned the drinking age.

Skye wasn’t free to go out, not with those little bitty babies. It was too hard to get away from them when they were that young. Plus, she probably didn’t want to. I’d had no desire to leave Hayden until she was nearly a year old. Not that I could have even if I had wanted to. After I left Damon, I realized how much he had controlled my actions, including whether or not I went out.

I pulled my phone out as I packed up the rest of my things and shot a text off to Kaylee. She was always up for a party. I also texted my parents to make sure they didn’t have plans that meant they wouldn’t be home to stay with Hayden.

Kaylee responded first. Meet me at Jace’s Place in an hour. I’m down.

Jace’s and the small nightclub next door were about the only offerings Bluewater had unless we wanted to drive a good forty-five minutes away. Besides, I felt safe at Jace’s. He’d been the one who’d helped me with Damon the night that he found me here.

My parents replied with the affirmative. They’d picked Hayden up for me and were heading to get some dinner. I let them know not to buy any for me and headed to my apartment. I called Bianca on the way. “Girls’ night?” I asked in a way of greeting.

“Hell, yes.” She sounded emotional. “I broke up with Caleb.”

“Wait, what happened to Andre?” She’d had him at breakfast less than a week ago, Saturday morning. Not that I was surprised.

“He broke up with me on Sunday. I met Caleb on Monday and he tried to tell me he wanted his future wife to stay home with their kids. I can’t date a man who would require something like that.”

“Want me to pick you up?” I offered.

“Sure. I’ll get ready.”

Hayden and I were still staying with my parents, but it was nice to be able to get ready in peace. If I’d gone to their place and Hayden caught me, she would’ve wanted to do my hair and makeup. And that was a look not for public consumption.

When I got home, I just double-checked the lock on the door, then stayed aware of the noises in the place. If I had to, I could barricade myself in my bedroom and go down the fire escape.

It made me sad that I had to be this paranoid and careful. I should’ve been able to just go home and change. It didn’t have to be a whole production. Except that with Damon, it did have to be a whole production.

I was starting to think maybe my Dad’s request that I start carrying wasn’t the worst idea.

After grabbing Bianca, I headed back toward town. “Are you excited about seeing Jace again?” she asked.

I rolled my eyes, but that did remind me that I’d never properly thanked him for coming to my aid and interfering with Damon. At the same time, it was so embarrassing that he’d seen it at all. “Not really. I hate that he saw it happen. And I appreciate that he stuck his nose in when so many wouldn’t nowadays. I guess I’ll thank him and pray that he forgets all about it.”

“And that Damon drops off the face of the earth,” she muttered.

“Yeah, that too.”

Kaylee was out front waiting for us. She lived in a loft apartment over the delicatessen, a big open-air studio thing that had lots of natural light for her live streams. The owners of the deli had made her soundproof the place because they were getting complaints when she worked during their business hours. Skye had helped her nail up egg-crate foam and then they hung curtains