“You bought a house?” He nods. “That’s great. I truly believe you’ll be happy here.” Cash needed a change of scenery and can I help it if his change just happens to fall in line with my plans. I love it when a plan comes together.
I pick MaCee up at her house for our dinner, and she gives me a look that has me wondering if I’m in trouble when she gets into the truck.
“Whatever I did I am really sorry about it.” Her look goes from speculative to confused, and I laugh causing her to narrow her eyes on me.
“Stop it. What’s the deal with Cash? I get the impression he’s a horndog and if he is, then he needs to stop sniffing around Hannah. I have her picked for my brother, I just don’t know how to get them together yet.”
“Horndog? Really, MaCee. Although it’s a pretty apt description, or at least it was. I don’t know much about Cash’s sex life now. I don’t think he’s interested in a permanent relationship though, so I’ll tell him to back off. I agree Hannah is a good girl, and I don’t want to see her hurt.” She sits back and looks like she’s very satisfied with my answer. Now, it’s up to me to figure out a way to tell Cash to back off without pissing him off.
Cash and Hannah are waiting on us at the door of the restaurant when we arrive, and we enter together. Once we’re seated I look around and notice Justin at a corner booth with a woman. I didn’t know he was seeing anyone and decide it might be fun to put the girls onto his scent.
“Hey, is that Justin over there with a date?” Both women twist around at the same time to stare at our friend across the room.
“Holy crap that is Justin. Who is he with? Not that I don’t think he dates, I just thought he had hookups, if you know what I mean. Wait a sec, she looks familiar. That’s Avery!” Hannah whips back around and I notice a tear in her eye. Why would Justin being out with this woman cause her distress? MaCee leans over and takes her hand to squeeze it.
“Who’s Avery?” This gets me a sharp look from MaCee, and I shake my head at her. How the hell am I supposed to know what’s going on?
“Avery is Justin’s sister and I thought my best friend. I’m sorry guys but I don’t think I’ll be very good company right now. I’ll call you Monday with the details Cash.” Hannah rises and makes a quick exit. The woman with Justin notices her and jumps up to run out of the restaurant after her and that’s when Justin sees us all staring at him. He comes over to our table and takes Hannah’s vacant seat.
“Hi everybody. What are y’all doing here?” He acts like two women didn’t just run out of a restaurant upset and everything is perfectly normal.
“Justin, don’t you think you ought to follow them or something?” MaCee asks, and I’m glad because I was thinking the same thing.
“Nah, they’ll be all right. The two of them have been friends since preschool, and I don’t get in the middle of their squabbles. I told Avery she should call Hannah and tell her she was in town. I think she’s jealous of you, MaCee. Avery’s feeling somewhat insecure right now. They’ll work it out. Besides, I would just tell them to get over themselves and hug.” He takes a breadstick out of the basket on our table and starts eating it as if he was invited to our dinner, which I guess he is now.
“Hasn’t Avery been living in New York, going to art school?” Justin looks like he would rather talk about anything else. Hell, shows how much I know, I didn’t even know the guy had a sister.
“Yeah, she graduated six months ago with a bullshit degree, which according to my mother I have to quit calling it that and say, ‘creative engineering degree’ or some shit. She’s back home for a visit, but I’m trying to convince her to stay. She was dating this guy, and I believe he was taking advantage of her. She’s not saying much, but hopefully, they’re done. I want her to come home, so I can keep an eye on her.” I totally get that, if I had a sister I would be all about protecting her. I would probably be demanding her to come home.
“Avery is stubborn and she’s trying to prove herself. I believe this guy threw her for a loop, though. She’s not acting like she normally would. I mean she would never have come into town and not called Hannah in advance. It worries me, even though I’m trying not to let her know it.”
“I’m going to go see if the girls are out in the parking lot and just check on them. I’ll be right back.” MaCee leaves the three of us and we all just sit there in an awkward silence for a few moments until our waitress comes to take our order. We decide to wait until MaCee returns.
“What’s the occasion?” Justin looks at us expectantly.
“Cash is buying a house, so everyone wanted to go to dinner to celebrate.” We discuss Cash’s new place for a few minutes and make small talk. Justin has met Cash a couple of times so we’re all comfortable.
“Cash I noticed the way you were eying Hannah and I know I don’t know you very well, but if you’re just interested in casual I would back off that. Hannah is a good girl and she’s not casual. Besides, she’s one of the group and it would be all kinds of awkward if you had a fling and then broke it off.” Damn Justin just did my dirty work for me and I could actually hug him for it if I was the hugging type, which I’m totally not. Wait we’re a group? That’s awesome, I’m part of a group.
Cash looks slightly uncomfortable with Justin’s speech. I would imagine he’s never had someone defend a woman against him. We’re still adjusting to small town ways.
“I respect that Justin and I see what you mean. I like Hannah, but you’re right I’m not ready for permanent. So, who else do I need to avoid?” Easier than I thought. MaCee will be happy. Justin warns him off Cam and his sister and then our conversation turns to other things. Later MaCee rejoins us and informs Justin that Avery left with Hannah. She says they need girl time, whatever that’s supposed to mean. Dinner is fairly uneventful after that and all I can think about is how much I wish Cash was staying anywhere but at my house because I know MaCee won’t come home with me as long as he’s there. Looks like I’ll be becoming reacquainted with my hand. Damn, I hope this house deal doesn’t take long.
Chapter Twenty
MaCee
Today has been the worst day I’ve had since starting work at the Twin Oaks Hospital, and I can’t tell you how glad I am it’s over. We were so busy I ate lunch on the run and one of the doctors must have been manstrating because he was acting like a total bitch. The only good thing about the whole day was I was working with Jordan. She stopped me from attacking the bitchy doctor on two different occasions. Thank goodness, tomorrow is Sunday and I don’t have anything due or anywhere to go. I plan on lying around in bed with Tyler all day. Speaking of Tyler, I need to call him and let him know I’m on my way.
“Hey, babe, I’m finally off and heading over there now. It was a wild day. Sorry I’m late.” I start relaxing just thinking about spending time with him.
“I’ll start heating dinner. I hate to hear you had a bad day. Want me to run you a bath?” Wait, a bath?
“Since when do you have a functioning tub?”
“Damn, I didn’t mean to say that. Oh well, cat’s out of the bag now. I may have finished the remodel on the master bath this week. I was going to surprise you with it when you got here.” I let out a little squeal, Tyler has a decent bathroom.
“I would love a bath, but I’m starving. How about we eat and then maybe we can try out the new tub?” I hear him chuckle and get slightly warm thinking about how we can break in the tub. “I’ll see you shortly.” I hang up the phone to continue driving.
Tyler has dinner cooked and on the table by the time I arrive. This man is too good to be true. I walk over and give him a kiss, which starts off innocent and ends up slightly hotter than I expected. He deepens the kiss and my hands tangle into his hair to pull him closer. I missed him this week and am so glad to be with him.
He pulls me in, and I feel him beginning to harden against my lower stomach.
Suddenly he pulls back and he looks down at me.
“You need to hurry up and eat or you won’t get your dinner while it’s hot, and I want you to have as much energy as possible tonight.” I laugh and take a seat to begin eating. He made a lasagna and it looks amazing.
“Dang, you went all out. This looks delicious. I thought you said you couldn’t cook that well.” He looks over at me sheepishly as he makes his confession.
“Actually, I went to that new place in town, the Casserole Chicks and bought it. I was told all I had to do was put it in the oven. They said I couldn’t even screw it up, and I guess they were right, it looks amazing.” I laugh and we dig in. It’s delicious, and I give kudos to the girls who made it. As we eat dinner I tell him about my horrible day and basically horrible week. He listens, smiling the whole time, and I know I’m having a total bitch session.
“I’m sorry, I’ve totally been bitching since I sat down. Dinner is amazing and I’m truly happy to be here and not at work anymore. Thanks for cooking and listening to me.” I stand up and go sit on his lap.
“You can use me as a sounding board anytime. I have to admit though I had a good week at work. Cash and I are looking at some buildings in town we might set up shop in. Hannah is helping us out. She really knows her shit when it comes to real estate.”
“That’s great! She does seem to have found her niche, which is very convenient considering her dad owns the business. I’m glad for her.” I lean down and kiss him, I can’t seem to stop myself. He pulls back and looks in my eyes.
“MaCee, I’m totally in love with you.” I pull back and look at him. Shit just got real. He just used the “L” word. My heart races and my breathing increases like I can’t catch my breath. I stand and start backing away. All I can think about is how stupid my mother got when my daddy died, and why am I thinking about that? “Baby, talk to me. What’s wrong?” I look into Tyler’s pleading eyes and feel more panicky. What’s wrong with me? I have to get out of here. I have to leave. I’m unsure why this is affecting me this way, I just know I need space.
“Sorry, oh shit, I need to leave. I’ll talk to you later. Damn, I’m so sorry.” Before I turn to race out the door I notice Tyler’s shocked, pale face and my heart begins to break. I run out the door and jump in my car to drive out of the driveway.
Oh shit! What have I done? I want to turn back but I can’t seem to make myself. What have I done? Tyler just told me he loved me and I panicked like a little bitch. This is not how it’s supposed to go! What’s wrong with me? I pick up my phone to call him and find myself calling Cam instead.
“Hey, I thought you were going to Tyler’s?” At the sound of my best friend’s voice, I break and start hiccup-sobbing into the phone. Things just got ugly real fast. “Oh shit, what has he done?” This makes me sob even harder, and I can barely see the road to drive. I’m heading in the direction of her house. I need to get to my friend.
“Be therree in a-a-a m-minute.” I manage through the sobs. I’m so fucking stupid. I believe I just screwed up the best thing to ever happen to me, and now all I can do is sob into the phone to my best friend. I hang up and drive myself to her house.
I fall into Cam’s arms the minute she opens the door, and she just hugs me as I cry on her shoulder. She finally leads me to the sofa and pulls back to look at me. God, I must look a sight.
“What happened? Did he break up with you? Is he seeing someone else?” Cam is so loyal, she just assumes it’s Tyler and this is all on me. I shake my head and take a deep breath to calm down.
“He told me he’s totally in love with me,” I wail. And now Cam is confused and I don’t blame her. I’m just as messed up and confused by my actions.
“I screwed up Cam, so bad. When he told me I panicked, why I don’t know I just did. It was crazy, ‘cause I knew we were heading in this direction. I mean, I have known I was in love with him for a while now and then when he said it, all I could think about was how stupid Mama got when Daddy died and I went as stupid as she ever could, at least she didn’t run from her love. I wanted to go back in there right after I left and say do over, but I knew I had screwed up too badly. Oh, Cam, what am I going to do? I believe I’ve lost him!” I cover my face with my hands and start crying again. The thought of my stupidity causing me to lose Tyler forever is almost more than I can bear. My heart is actually hurting with a physical pain. She reaches out to pull me into another hug.
“Awww, baby girl, you did screw up, didn’t you?” This causes me to pause and look up at her. She smiles down and then laughs a little. “Sorry, but it’s nice to know you’re human like the rest of us. This relationship has been so easy and perfect it’s almost been nauseating, not that I haven’t been happy for you, but I believe a little tension may be good for the two of you. Make you appreciate what you have.” I can’t believe she thinks me blowing everything with Tyler is a good thing.
“Don’t look at me like that. You haven’t blown everything.” I hate it when she does that. It’s as if she’s in my head. “We’ll fix this, and I think this is making you see how much you love Tyler. You do know it’s going to require some groveling and a big gesture to make up for what you’ve done tonight. Damn, I can’t believe you ran out on the poor man like a chickenshit pussy. I bet he’s devastated.” Tears start streaming down my cheeks again when I think of his face and just how devastated he looked.
“What am I going to do Cam? I honestly don’t know what happened to me. I love Tyler, why would I suddenly panic like that?”
“Not to go all pysch nursey on you, but I believe you may have some unresolved issues with your mother you need to work out and are still grieving your father. It was a rough time for your family and all of you handled it differently. You just had a moment.” I lean back on the sofa and think about what she said. I’ve known for some time I needed to really talk to my mother and get things out that have been bottled up for years, but being the queen of avoidance that I am, I haven’t. Now I’ve allowed it to hurt Tyler. I can’t have that.
“What if he doesn’t want me back? What if I killed whatever love he had for me?” This thought almost takes my breath. I begin to panic again at the very thought of him no longer wanting me.
“Darlin’ if that’s true, you don’t need him and his love isn’t real. I believe that’s not going to be the case. Why don’t you stay over here tonight and we’ll start working on how you’re going to win back your man tomorrow.” I look up at her and feel a small spark of hope. I want to believe she’s right and I haven’t lost him, but when I think about the look on his face as I was running out the door I know it’s not going to be easy to get him back.
“You know what, I have an unopened bottle of wine Justin gave me as a housewarming gift. Because of sprout here, you can have the whole bottle to yourself.” I shake my head. Drinking won’t solve this problem, only me fixing my stupidity will. I know she means well, but I don’t want a headache tomorrow. I need a clear head to figure out how I’m going to get my man back.
“Can I just take a shower and then maybe we can go to bed. I’ve had an awful day only to turn what should have been one of the happiest moments in my life into one of the shittiest.” Cam finds me some pajamas to change into, and I go into the bathroom to shower. But before I go, she grabs my arm and gives me a determined look.
“This is not the end. I mean it. I didn’t get my happy ending, but by damn, you’re going to get yours. You may have screwed up, but we will fix this. Hell, if we have to, we’ll put Mama Evie on it and Grant’s own army can’t stop that woman once she makes her mind up.” I smile and hope she’s right, but I also hope we don’t have to resort to involving my mother. I would almost feel sorry for Tyler if it comes to that.
Chapter Twenty-one
Tyler
What the hell just happened? I told MaCee I loved her, and she ran out of here as if her ass was on fire. I sit
down on the sofa in shock. I can’t believe she left me, and after I bared my soul to her. I’ve never told a woman I loved her and when I do she runs. I don’t know how long I sit there staring at the door. I still can’t believe she left. My phone goes off with a text message, and it wakes me up from my stupor. I reach for it thinking maybe it’s her explaining what happened, but no, it’s Cash wanting to know about some work bullshit. I can’t think about that right now and I throw my phone across the room where it bounces off the wall to land on the floor. My damage proof case keeps it from shattering to pieces.
I stand up and start cleaning up the dishes left from our dinner. This was supposed to end so differently and that’s when the anger kicks in. I throw the dinner plates across the room. They don’t fare as well as the phone and crash, leaving bits of shattered china all over the floor. I pick up the table and turn it on its side and punch the wall. My hand goes through the drywall and I stop when I feel the pain. I look at my hand in shock and wonder if it’s broken. I can move all my fingers, so probably not. I randomly think it’s a good thing I didn’t hit a stud. Then the pain spreads to my chest and I hit my knees. She left me, my chest is so tight t feels like my heart is going to explode.
I stay like that for a while as I try to get my breathing under control. I’ve never felt this way about a woman, and now I’m wishing I didn’t because this hurts too much. I was so naïve planning a future for us where we lived out the happily ever after with a house, kids, and the whole American dream. What a fool I am, a damn fool!
Maybe I should have waited. We’ve been together for nine months and I thought we were on the same page. Boy, was I wrong. I should have felt her out, maybe hinted at how I felt before I dropped my bomb on her, but hell, I thought she felt the same. She acted as though she felt the same. Our relationship was perfect, we never fought, our sex life was off the charts and we just clicked. So why did she panic? I knew when I saw the fear in her eyes I’d lost her, and in that moment, I felt as though my world ended. She ripped my heart from my chest when she ran out that door and I don’t know if I’ll ever get it back.
Mama Knows Best Page 15
