Free Fearless by Eve Carter Page A

finger across his tattoo, tempted to sneak back into bed and wake up my man for a repeat of last night. But my curiosity about what was going on in the kitchen got the better of me. And I figured he deserved to rest, after the ill treatment he’d had to put up with at my dad’s house.
    I picked up my robe and hurried out of the bedroom to see what the fuss was all about. As I tiptoed into the kitchen, Kat stood, in a tank top and pajama shorts, looking out the window.
    “Morning!”
    Kat nearly dropped her coffee mug. “Niki,” she gasped. She checked the kitchen clock. No doubt she was wondering why I was up at this hour on a Sunday too. Kat was my best friend and if something was wrong I wanted to help.
    “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” I said, as I grabbed a cup from the cupboard and poured some coffee. “What are you doing up so early?”
    “I feel like shit. Just spent the last fifteen minutes puking up last night’s dinner.” She pulled her feet up onto the seat of the chair and wrapped her arms around her knees, still holding the mug.
    I choked on my coffee. “Shit! You are not pregnant are you?” I wrinkled my nose. I had forgotten to add cream and sugar, I was so engrossed in Kat’s situation.
    “You’re shitting me, right? Me, pregnant? You’re the only one in this household getting any action lately. And judging from that smile plastered on your face, I guess all that screaming last night was genuine,” she chuckled.
    I lightly slapped her shoulder. “Shut up, girl! But yeah. I’m not gonna lie. It was pretty fantastic. So why were you puking?”
    “I don’t know. Guess it was something I ate…or drank…or both. I feel a little better, now that most of last night’s dinner has gone down the toilet.” She let one leg down and sat with the other still bent up on the chair. Kat took a sip of her coffee. “So how did it go at your dad’s?”
    “Oh, you don’t wanna know.” I added creamer and sweetener.
    “Oh, but I do . You promised me all the juicy details.”
    I slowly swirled the spoon in the light brown liquid. “I don’t know. Nothing much happened.” I pulled the spoon out, licked it and held it like a popsicle with one arm folded across my body. “Let’s see, besides my evil stepmom eye-fucking my boyfriend, and listening to my dad’s spiteful remarks about how much of a loser Jesse is and how he could never compare to Jason…not much excitement.”
    Kat nodded. “Why am I not surprised? Sounds like what I imagined would happen. He’s the parent. It’s his job to make you feel like you’re wrong. The only reason he likes Jason is because he is his pick, he’s in control that way, but in reality, nobody’s good enough for his little girl. But go on.”
    “Oh yeah, the highlight of the night was when Jesse threatened to break Jason’s nose if he continues stalking me. It sent Jason running for the hills.” I snorted a laugh. “But besides that, nothing much else. Except that I am probably going to be penniless after the things I said to my dad. I even sort of hit him.”
    “You did what! Did you punch him?”
    “No, no, I just shoved him, like this.” I put my palms up and pushed at the air. “…on his chest.”
    “That is so kickass…”
    “I was so angry. He knows exactly how to get me upset, knows just the right words to send me into a rage. I was pissed; no, I was more than pissed.”
    “Like, what did he say?”
    “He insulted my mom, and you know how defensive I am about her.”
    “Fuck, Niki. That’s low. But I’m happy for you that you’re finally standing up for yourself with your dad. I bet it’s been a long time since he last saw such fearless fighter spirit in you.”
    “I guess not since I was a kid.”
    “I know you’ve mentioned your mom a little but, you’ve never told me what really happened, back when she died. In fact, you’ve never told me much about her at all.” Kat seemed to be picking her words carefully. She