Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83777 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83777 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
As I lay there, my thoughts drifted back to a day I hadn’t thought about in years. I was still pretty new on the force, maybe a year or a little less, but I’d already seen enough twisted metal and crumpled bodies to last a lifetime.
The motorcycle wrecks were the worst. They were always so violent and never ended well. And yet, that didn’t stop me from climbing on the back of Jameson’s bike and riding all over the city. I had my arms wrapped around his waist, and the wind was flying through my hair like I didn’t have a care in the world.
I should’ve been terrified. Every logical bone in my body told me I was being reckless, but I was anything but afraid. I felt freer and braver than I ever had. That was Jameson. He always made me feel invincible. I knew he had me. I knew if I fell, he would be there to catch me every single time.
I missed that.
Not just the thrill or the rush of being with a man like him.
But the feeling of being truly desired.
I missed being touched like I was more than just a mother or someone barely holding it all together. I missed the quiet ache in my stomach after he’d kissed me long and hard. I missed the way his hands knew every part of me like a map he knew by heart.
I could still hear him say, “You’re mine, Devin. Every inch of you.”
I kept hearing him say it over and over in my head until it was overshadowed by Austin’s voice shouting, “Hey, Mom! We’re home!”
The door slammed, followed by the sounds of footsteps shuffling down the hall. And just like that, all thoughts of Jameson faded into the background, and I was catapulted back into the present. A smile was already tugging at the corners of my mouth as I jumped up from the couch and rushed to the doorway to greet them.
But when I rounded the corner, I was disappointed to find that Austin and Chrissy had already disappeared into their rooms.
No hugs.
No hello.
No ‘Missed you.’
Just silence, and not the, they were just tired kind of silence. This felt different. I couldn’t help but wonder what was going on. Austin was hard to get to open up, especially when it came to his father, so I decided to start with Chrissy. I tapped on her door, and when I stepped inside, I found her yanking her clothes out of her backpack and angrily tossing them on the floor.
“Hey, sweetheart.” I stepped over and placed my palm on the small of her back. “How was your weekend?”
“It was okay.”
She sounded like she was on the verge of tears. Looked like it, too, so I pressed, “Are you sure? Because it seems like something is wrong.”
“It’s just…” She let out a breath, then turned to me with annoyance. “Dad brought her to the lake.”
“Who?”
“His new girlfriend.”
The words hit like a slap right to the face. I knew the time would come when Brian would start dating again, but I thought there would be some kind of warning or mention of him being interested in someone. But there was nothing. Not even a hint of someone else, and now, he’d suddenly brought a woman to the lake with the kids. It made no sense.
“Oh, honey…”
“He didn’t even tell us that he had a girlfriend,” she muttered, tossing another item of clothing into the hamper. “He just pulled up to some random house and told us a friend of his was coming with us. A few minutes later, this woman came out and jumped Dad like a hungry hippo.”
“A hungry hippo?”
“She was all over him, Mom.”
“I’m so sorry, sweetie. That must’ve been hard.”
“I didn’t want to be mean, but I really didn’t like her… at all.” She fell back on her bed with a thud. “And Dad left us with her and acted like it was all no big deal, but it was a big deal. It was a very big deal.”.”
“Left you with her?”
“He had to drive back here Saturday night for a few hours, but it seemed like an eternity. I finally just went to bed.”
God. I wanted to scream.
The Momma Bear in me wanted to call him right then and tell him what an absolute asshole he was for blindsiding them like that and leaving them with some stranger.
But I would have to wait to ream him. Right now, I needed to focus on Chrissy. I sat down next to her and reached for her hand. “You’re right. It was a big deal.”
“We didn’t want to spend the whole weekend with someone we didn’t know, but he didn’t care about that.” Her lip trembled, and she curled up to me, resting her head on my shoulder. “He didn’t care about anything, except being with her.”