Better (Stark Ink Book 2) by Dahlia West Page A

talk, Dalton could understand it. Booze and pills weren’t an excuse to hit your woman, but they were a reason, at least. What reason did Grant have? None that Dalton could see. Grant was just an asshole.
    Halfway through the meeting, Dalton’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He’d put it on silent so as not to disturb anyone. He gave Jig an apologetic look before he glanced down at the screen. It was a text from Ava.
    “Zoey’s awake and she wants to know where you are. What do I tell her?”
    Dalton sighed and turned to Jig. “It’s Ava,” he whispered. “I should go.”
    Jig nodded. “Oh, yeah. Go. Hope everything’s okay with your old man.”
    Dalton felt bad about letting Jig think it was Pop, but he didn’t want to get into it right now in the middle of a meeting. He simply nodded back and got up as quietly as he could. He took the stairs two at a time, but when he got to the top he turned left instead of right and walked to the front lobby. There was a large table set up with rows of potted Poinsettias: bright, red, and festive. He pulled out his wallet and stuffed a ten into the donation box before scooping one up.
    He cradled it on his way out to the truck, blocking it from the harsh wind that was whipping up. He belted it into the passenger seat and headed back to the apartment. He could get it home, but he wondered at his ability to keep it alive. He was good at making things— furniture— that required little in the way of upkeep. A waxing every few months was all it took. Caring for it daily didn’t seem all that complicated, though. Water, sunlight, maybe plant food. And why not? He wasn’t doing much else these days. Plus, he’d have it for as long as Zoey was staying with him. She would like it.

Chapter Fourteen
     
    Dalton managed to get the plant to the house in one piece, at least, though the looks on Ava’s and Zoey’s faces told him he maybe should have just kept on driving. It was clear that things were tense between the two of them. He regretted having to put Ava in this position in the first place. He gave his younger sister and apologetic look as he set the Poinsettia down on the dining table as a centerpiece.
    “Sorry,” he told them both. “Didn’t realize I’d been gone so long.”
    Zoey stared at him as he took off his coat and draped it over the back of one of the chairs. She plucked the card off the flowerpot and read it. “You were at church?”
    Dalton nodded. “I got this after the service. I thought you might like it.” When he looked back, Zoey was eyeing him warily. It was the same look she used to give him all those months ago.
    “Dalton, church was over an hour ago,” she pointed out. She looked hurt and he was both surprised and concerned by it. He hadn’t meant for it to be that way at all. Back when they were dating, he’d stay out longer than he meant to, tying one on. When she’d ask him how much he’d had to drink, he would always halve the actual amount when he told her. It had been a terrible thing to do and he felt equally terrible inadvertently reminding her of it now.
    He shook his head. “No, I’m sorry. I wasn’t at church. I didn’t mean for you to think that I was. You were asleep. “So, I didn’t say anything to you. I was at church, this whole time. I just… wasn’t there for the service.”
    Zoey frowned. “I don’t understand. Then why were you there?”
    “I’m sorry,” Ava told him. She looked guilty as hell. “I didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t tell her anything.”
    “It’s fine,” he told her. “Everything’s fine.”
    “What’s going on?” Zoey asked. “Where were you?”
    Dalton sighed and reached into his pocket. He crossed the room, took hold of Zoey’s hand, and pressed the coin into her palm. She took it from him and frowned down at it. He waited for her to read the inscription. He already had the serenity prayer memorized at this point.
    “Five months sober,” he told her. “Well, technically