Poison & Wine - Melissa Toppen Page 0,47
cops involved?”
“I’m an innocent man. He hit me first.” He points toward Jace who seems calmer but only mildly. His eyes are still pinned on his father from over Mike’s shoulder.
“You sure? Because the way I saw it, you hit him first.”
“What?” Preston draws back.
“You did. I saw it. Mike,” he hollers to the man standing with Jace. “You see him throw the first punch?” He gestures to Preston.
“Yep. Sure did.” Mike nods.
“What about you?” His brown eyes come to me. “Who threw the first punch?”
Without a word, I point toward Preston.
“You’re liars. All of you.”
“Guess it doesn’t much matter now, does it. So the choice is yours. Walk away now or face an assault charge, along with all the other charges they will likely slap on you.”
Preston opens his mouth, his gaze wild with anger. He’s not a man that’s used to being put in his place. Though he’s withered away to near bones now, when Jace was young, Preston Matthews was a man to be feared.
His eyes go from Devin to Jace and then narrow into slits as they come to me. I can tell he wants to say something, though I have no idea what. It’s not like he knew me well when Jace and I were younger and dating. In fact, I avoided him at all costs. Though sometimes that wasn’t possible. Especially when he’d come looking for Jace at my house.
Now that I think about it, he probably doesn’t even know Jace and I broke up or that I moved away. Not that he cares one way or another, but it shows how far removed he is from his son’s life.
He stares at me for a long moment before his gaze snaps back up to Devin.
“What kind of man stops a father from attending his own son’s funeral?”
“The kind of man who knows how much that son despised him.”
Preston seems taken aback by this statement, yet how could it be a surprise to him? Maybe hearing from someone other than Tommy or Jace is different. Maybe seeing that other people know who he is and what he put those boys through makes it more real.
Preston squares his shoulders and without a word, turns and walks away. We all watch him grow smaller and smaller in the distance until eventually he disappears over the hill that dips down to the road.
I immediately turn and make my way toward Jace.
“Are you okay?” I ask, nodding to Mike who finally steps out from in front of Jace. He joins Devin a few feet from us and the two talk quietly amongst themselves as they make their way back to the other people still in attendance.
“How could he do that?” His nostrils flare as he stares down at his hand. It’s bleeding, two of his knuckles busted open. “How could he show up here? How did he even know about it?”
“It was in the paper. They always run that kind of stuff. Someone must have seen it and told him about it.”
“When I asked him what he was doing here, he acted appalled. Like how dare I question why he would come to his son’s funeral. His son. Can you believe that? We were never his sons. We were his fucking punching bags.”
“Jace.” I rest a hand on his bicep, sensing the anger rising in him again. “You can’t let him get to you. This is Preston. This is what he’s always done.”
“But at Tommy’s funeral?” He shakes off my hand before both of his plunge into his hair. He tugs on the strands, letting out a loud growl of frustration. “I have to get out of here.”
“Okay, I’ll take you home.”
“No. I need to be alone.” He abruptly steps past me.
“Jace!” I call after him. To my surprise he stops and turns.
“I’m fine, Oak.” His voice is softer as he reassures me. “I just need some time.” With that, he spins around and walks away, leaving me torn between respecting his wishes to be alone and my own self need to go after him and make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.
Chapter Sixteen
OAKLEY
* * *
It’s been hours. Hours since I watched Jace walk away having no clue where he was going. Hours since I was forced to get into my car and leave, not knowing when, or if, he was coming back.
I’m thankful that Keira is keeping Ellie tonight. I’m so on edge that I’ve drank my way through an entire bottle of wine and am on my