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)
“Oh, well,” she said, completely unimpressed. “That’s not exactly what I meant by dating.”
“We had fun. I drank too much, and I stayed out too late. But it was nice to get out, and I enjoyed spending some time with Laura. Oh, and umm… I saw Jameson today.”
I don’t know what I was thinking. It just came out.
The line went silent. I wasn’t sure if the call had dropped, so I asked, “Mom?”
“I do not like that boy.”
“Oh, good grief. He’s not a boy,” I countered. “He’s a grown man. And you loved him when we were dating.”
“Well, that was before he hurt you. Now, I don’t like him, and I’m not sure I ever will.”
“We were kids. We hurt each other.”
“You forgive too easily. You always have. That boy broke your heart. You were a mess for months. Years, if we’re being honest, and that’s not the kind of thing you just get over.”
“I never said I was over it, but we’re different people now. We’ve both grown and learned things, and from what I could tell, he seemed good. Even better than he was back then, and that’s saying something. He was really good to me.”
“Until he wasn’t.”
“He was never bad to me, Mom. He just couldn’t… It doesn’t matter. We both made our mistakes.”
“I still don’t understand why he had to keep you two a secret. It made no sense. It still doesn’t.”
“It was complicated, Mother.”
“Oh, you called me Mother. That means I’ve hit a nerve. I’ll stop while I’m ahead. Just know I’m not a fan of him or his motorcycle. The very idea of you riding on that awful thing.”
“And to think, I rode it and lived to tell about it.”
“Yes, I definitely hit a nerve. Might ask yourself why.”
“I’ve gotta go. I have a ton of papers to grade, and I have class in an hour.”
“Okay. Okay.” She sighed, long and heavy. “I’ll just say one more thing... I’ve always been one of those who believe there are far better things ahead of us than anything or anyone we leave behind, but if you think there’s something unresolved between you two, then you should go figure out what it is. Otherwise, you will spend God knows how long wondering if he’s your one.”
“Okay. I’ll think about it.”
Her words dripped with sarcasm when she added, “Who knows? He really could be the one. I don’t think so, but stranger things have happened.”
“Um-hmm… Goodbye, Mother.”
“Goodbye, dear. Call me tomorrow!”
I ended the call and tried not to let what she’d said get to me, but it did. Mainly because I knew she was right. About Brain, the new girlfriend, Chrissy, and Jameson. Especially Jameson.
I knew when I walked out all those years ago things were left unfinished between us, and I’d known it ever since.
It was time I got out of my damn head and did something about it.
9
CREED
Isat there long after she was gone.
The coffee in front of me had gone cold. I hadn’t touched it since the moment she stood up and walked out without saying yes or no to my dinner invitation. She just left like I hadn’t spent the last decade wondering if I’d ever crossed her mind.
There was no doubt about it.
The woman still had a hold on me.
I knew it the second I saw her walk out of that building. She still looked like the girl I remembered. Had the same fire in her eyes and the same quick wit that got to me in all the right ways. And that smile. Damn. It hit me right in the damn gut.
I didn’t want the moment to end. That’s why I’d asked her to dinner. I should’ve known better than to push. She’d made a new life with her kids and new job.
She had responsibilities and a reputation to protect. She didn’t need me meddling in her life, especially with the kind of life I led. But hell, if I didn’t still want to be the one she crawled into bed with every night, the one she held and kissed, and the one she leaned on when times got rough.
I was struggling to get my head right when the ring of my phone pulled me out of it. I grabbed it from my pocket, and when I saw it was Skid, I answered, “You got Creed.”
“Hey, brother. Where ya at?”
“Taking care of something. Why? What do you need?”
“Just checking to see if you’re gonna make it to your shift or we need to call in somebody else.”
“Shit.” I glanced down at my watch, and when I saw the time, I stood and started for the door. “I’m on my way.”
“You sure? It’s not a…”
“I said I’m on the way.”
“Alright. See ya when you get here.”
I ended the call and shoved the phone in my back pocket, muttering curses under my breath as I headed back to my truck. My head was still tangled up in Devin. Those eyes, that voice, and the way she said Jameson like no one else ever could. But I had to let that shit go, at least for the time being.