Righting Our Wrongs (Paths To Love)

by Grahame Claire

  A sharp pinch to my side sent a sting radiating out from the spot. I glared at my sister.

  “Snap out of it, sweet pea.”

  “I knew I should’ve stayed home,” I muttered.

  “Like that was a good idea. If you think I’m giving you shit, what do you think everybody else would’ve done?”

  Mrs. Hastings, our tenth grade math teacher, turned around and gave Mulaney an admonishing look. Mulaney stared back in return, almost clueless she’d cussed. Half the time I wondered if she was actually oblivious or just didn’t care.

  “How’s Ollie? Heard he got bit by a snake,” Mulaney said, and Mrs. Hastings softened.

  “Doing much better now. Thank you for asking.”

  My sister nodded once, and the woman turned back around. How the hell did she know about our teacher’s dog? I’d just found out myself, and she usually didn’t bother with the business of the other folks in town.

  I cocked my head to the side, but Mulaney ignored me, letting out a shrill whistle through her teeth.

  “You gonna watch the game or me?” she said without looking at me.

  I drifted my attention to the court in time to see some of our players giving a low five to—

  A growl escaped me. How could I forget that Juliana’s brother was on the team?

  Mulaney remained laser focused, still refusing to look in my direction.

  “What are you up to?”

  “Getting you out of the house. Taking in a little basketball.”

  “Were we really going shopping for Stone’s present?” The question was an accusation of the worst kind.

  “Actually, I just remembered I already got him something.” Her eyes remained glued to the game.

  “Give me the keys.” I held out my palm.

  “Shut up, Mitch.” She slapped my hand away. “Can we please watch the game?”

  I settled into my seat, resigned she would have her way. Folding my arms over my chest, I huffed out a long breath. That earned me an elbow to the ribs.

  “Stop being so damn dramatic. Me and you used to come to these games all the time.”

  “Did you have an ulterior motive then?” I asked.

  She batted her lashes at me innocently. “Just wanted to hang out with my big brother.”

  I lifted my eyes to the ceiling. “Yeah, right.”

  “Go get us some popcorn.” She pushed at my arm like it was an emergency.

  “You just ate a sandwich.”

  Her mouth screwed up to the side. “Well, now I want some popcorn. And since you’re not interested in the game, you can go get it.”

  “Fine.” I pushed to my feet.

  “A Dr. Pepper and Whoppers too,” she called as I reached the end of the row.

  My boots thudded as I marched down the steps. My sister was the biggest pain in the ass. But God bless her, she’d made me forget about that poor foal I’d killed for a few minutes. And she was right. I loved our family, but they were meddlesome. It was best for me to be away for a little bit.

  I’d almost made it to the concession stand when all the positive thoughts about Mulaney flew right out the window. I cursed under my breath when I saw who was waiting in line.

  Jules.

  Chapter Seven

  Juliana

  “Two Cokes, a Dr. Pepper, a hot dog, nachos. Oh, and a funnel cake.”

  Mr. Winchester flashed me a mischievous smile. “All that for you?”

  My cheeks heated as I leaned into the counter of the concession stand. “If it were, I’d have gotten two funnel cakes.”

  He laughed, and I dug into my pocket for the twenty Mom had given me. As I pulled it out, it slipped from my fingers and fluttered to the floor. I stooped to pick it up, and froze.

  What is he doing here?

  Mitch was walking toward me, his stare severe. I rose to my full height, clutching the bill in my fist. He sauntered to the back of the line…which began and ended with me. Great.

  My heart hammered in my chest. I’d just seen him last night. He’d been hurting so badly over the foal, and I’d wanted to make it better, even though it wasn’t my place.

  Judging by the dark circles under his eyes, he wasn’t any better today. That fact penetrated through my anger directly to my heart, but I ignored the soft spot that belonged to him and turned my back.

  Mr. Winchester beamed at me. “We’ll be glad to have the two of you back in Burdett when you finish school. Mitch, you still planning on being a vet?” He glanced past me.

  Mitch cleared his throat, and I could feel his unease even though I couldn’t see him. “Um, not sure, sir.”

  “If you’re worried about getting into school, I wouldn’t. Doc Isaac says you’ve been a godsend to him.” His kind eyes returned to me. “Are you planning on post-graduate studies too?”

  “I—I haven’t decided,” I said softly.

  “Any word on when the big day is?” He waggled his eyebrows at us. I knocked over one of the drinks on the counter and jumped back as Coke dripped onto my boot. I wasn’t ready for questions like that. Mitch sprang into action, mopping up the liquid with a wad of napkins.

  Mr. Winchester winked at me. “I was as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs before the missus and me got married. Turns out, there was no reason to be.” He placed a fresh drink on the counter. “I imagine you’ll find it to be the same.”

  “H—how much do I owe?” I stammered, desperate to escape.

  He punched a few buttons on the ancient cash register. “That’ll be $18.50.”

  “For this?”

  “The Booster Club is trying to raise money for new football uniforms.” He lifted and lowered a shoulder in an I just volunteer here manner.

  I slapped the money down. “Just keep it.” My mother was going to give me an earful when I came back with no change.

  “We’re out of drink holders. How’re you gonna carry all this?”

  “I’ll help.”

  I turned around to Mitch, whose face was the picture of indifference. I didn’t want his help. These few minutes around him had felt like an eternity. I couldn’t take any more.

  He grabbed the drinks before I could protest and waited for me to gather the food.

  “Jules, we were wondering what happened to you,” Alfie called as he strode toward us. “Here. Let me help.” He picked up the food, easily handling it. When he noticed Mitch’s scowl, he stepped between us.

  “I can take those.” I reached for the drinks. Mitch released them with no reluctance. “Thanks,” I said, refusing to meet his eyes.

  My footsteps were heavy as I moved back toward the gymnasium. I’d wanted to ask how he was doing, how Blue was holding up after losing her foal. Instead I was running away, unable to come to terms with the love and anger I felt for him.

  “You okay?” Alfie glanced back once we were out of earshot.

  I made the mistake of following his gaze. Mitch stared at us, a sliver of hurt peeking through the rigid set of his jaw. I turned away.

  “Fine,” I said tightly.

  If I could figure a way to fall out of love with Mitch Jacobs, I’d be just fine.

  Chapter Eight

  Mitch

  “I’m not speaking to you.”

  I dropped the bucket of popcorn in Mulaney’s lap, a bunch of the kernels spilling out.

  “What’s with you?”

  “I know why we’re here. Stop meddling.”

  “Get over yourself. We used to have fun at these games. I thought we could enjoy it like old times, nothing more.” She tossed a couple of pieces of popcorn into her mouth. “You gonna sit down, or stand there like a big oaf?”

  I dropped back onto the bleacher, snatching the bucket of popcorn from her.

  “I’m going to overlook this testiness for the time being, but by tomorrow you better snap out of it.” She slurped her Dr. Pepper, earning another admonishing look from Mrs. Hastings.

  “How’d you know she’d be here?” I dem
anded. The squeak of basketball shoes on the court couldn’t even grab my attention. Now that I knew where Juliana was sitting, I only had eyes for her.

  “Her brother’s pretty decent. Scored the most points so far.” Mulaney glazed right over the question, and I let out a frustrated grunt as I looked down the row of bleachers.

  That asshole who’d stolen my girl plucked a nacho from her fingers. She pretended to be put out and then grinned when he offered it to her Nana, who smiled at him like he’d been part of their family forever. She’d only been nice to me once—if I counted the time I’d showed up to go to church with the Morgans and she muttered that at least I had my shirt tucked in.

  “Kinda sweet they fell in love in Paris.” Mulaney tipped her head back and dumped a few Whoppers down her throat straight from the box.

  I grabbed it from her and had a few to keep from cussing my own sister out at a high school basketball game.

  “Heard he’s even staying with them. Emily said they’re sharing a bedroom.”

  A piece of candy got lodged in my throat. I coughed and spluttered, and pretty much every person in the stands was looking at me. Including Juliana. Not wanting all that attention, I managed to clear the Whopper and get myself under control.

  “I don’t care,” I said after a long swallow of Dr. Pepper.

  Mulaney snorted. “If you think you want her back, you better start caring. Her daddy makes you have her home by nine o’clock…on a good night.”

  “Shut the hell up.”

  Mrs. Hastings whipped around. “Has your mother heard the language that comes out of your mouth? She’d be appalled.”

  Mulaney’s lips twitched. “I apologize for my brother. He’s been off in Austin around all those football players, and we can’t do a thing with him.”

  Our old teacher let out a huff and faced forward. I dug my knuckle into Mulaney’s side until she smacked me.

  “You have,” she said.

  My sister had a worse mouth than I did. And our mama was a lady, but I’d put money down that she’d let a few curse words slip before she finished the breakfast dishes. Probably at me and my lazy ass for not getting up.

  The motion of the Paris son of a bitch touching Juliana’s shoulder brought my attention back to them and turned my world red. We’d never been with anyone else. I hadn’t at least. Never wanted another girl besides Jules. But it sure seemed she’d moved on. And her family obviously liked him, better than me apparently.

  A time-out was called in the game, and Juliana’s brother jogged over to the bench, offering all of them a wave. When he spotted me, all I got was a dirty look the equivalent of the finger. To think we’d been buddies before. Guess that was done too.

  “How about instead of sitting here like a pissed off bull, you go talk to her?”

  “I’m surprised you didn’t choose to sit right next to them,” I shot back.

  She muttered something unintelligible under her breath. “Can I at least finish my popcorn before we take off?”

  We stayed until the end of the game, mostly because I didn’t want to look like a wimp who couldn’t handle being around his ex. Truth be told though, I’d barely made it. Jules and her new boyfriend had talked and laughed the whole time as if they’d been best friends since they were kids.

  That spot in my chest with the permanent ache expanded. It wasn’t just my girl I’d lost. She’d been the person I went to about everything. When I got home, she was the first person I called. If something good or bad happened, Jules was the one I wanted to tell.

  In a split second, all of that had been ripped away from me. Suddenly, there was this empty space in my life that nothing else could fill, not that I’d tried. My anger had only burned hot and furious for so long. Once it had settled to a simmer, things got worse. Then I could see that maybe she hadn’t so much been ripped away from me as I’d thrown her down the drain.

  My sister and I wandered out to the parking lot in silence.

  “Mulaney Jacobs.” I furrowed my brow at the sound of her name. “You been fishing lately?”

  Bryce Green strolled toward us, a smug smirk smeared across his face.

  “Upset I didn’t ask you to go?” Behind her casual reply was a sharp sting. She regularly hung out with the guys, fishing being just one of the many things we all did together, but it was impossible to miss the undercurrent of hostility bouncing between these two.

  “Nope. In fact, I ain’t never going with you again.”

  She smiled sweetly and pinched his cheek. “Aww, just because I always catch more fish than you? No reason to be such a sourpuss.”

  “Shut up, Mulaney.”

  She finger waved at him mockingly. “As always, it’s been so nice to bump into you. Try to make it a little longer between run-ins from now on.” She climbed into the driver’s side of her truck.

  “See you around, Green.” I lifted my chin at him as I rounded the truck to the passenger side.

  “You should watch her, Jacobs.”

  I stilled. “You got something you want to say?”

  “Nope. That’s it.”

  I watched him as he strolled across the gravel parking lot until he got into his own ride.

  “Mind telling me what that was all about?” I asked as I climbed in the cab.

  “He’s a jackass. That’s it.” She clamped her lips shut, and I narrowed my eyes.

  “I thought y’all were friends.”

  “Definitely not. You want some Dairy Queen? I could go for a Blizzard.”

  The closest one was the next town over about thirty minutes away. If that meant avoiding my family and the horse I’d let down a little longer, so be it.

  “Me too.”

  She turned up the radio and cracked the window before she threw the truck in reverse. George Strait’s voice came through the speakers singing that nobody in his right mind would’ve left her. I jabbed the power button to cut off the noise, unable to listen to the words that hit a little too close to home.

  My head had cost me Juliana, but my heart had stayed behind with her.

  Chapter Nine

  Juliana

  “What are you doin’ up so early, girl?”

  Nana gingerly sat down in the rocking chair next to mine on our front porch. The December wind had already kicked up this morning, but I braved it, wrapping a blanket more tightly around my shoulders.

  I shrugged even though I knew exactly why I was up before the sun.

  “This have to do with that Jacobs boy?” Guess Nana knew too.

  “Why don’t you like him?” I blurted. Between my father and Nana, if I’d been Mitch, I’d have hightailed it far away from me and my family years ago.

  “Who said I didn’t?” She blew on her steaming mug of coffee, both hands pressed against the warm porcelain.

  “You don’t have to. Daddy and you are both awful to him,” I said, voice rising.

  “That boy can’t just waltz in here and think he’s good enough for you. Besides, a little fear never hurt nobody.” She took a sip of coffee. “And we’re kind, relatively speaking. You should’ve seen my daddy with your grandfather. He held a shotgun every time Jeffrey Sr. came around.”

  A smile played on her lips.

  “Somehow that doesn’t make me feel better.” I pushed on the wooden planks of the porch with my foot, rocking a little faster. “How come you’re all so nice to Alfie?”

  “‘Cause he ain’t the one you’re in love with.”

  I paused, the entire world around me going still. This wasn’t news, but it shook me.

  “If we were meant to be, he wouldn’t have broken up with me over the trip.”

  “Honey, you should’ve told him sooner. And you were going to live together. That ain’t no small thing.”

  I burrowed into the rocker. It had taken all of my courage to sign up for the study abroad trip in the first place. I’d never been far away from home, and leaving Mitch behind for that long had been the worst part of the decision. But I didn
’t want to have a lifetime of regret over the ‘what if.’ Now I had to live with losing him.

  “None of it matters now. He can barely look at me.”

  “We’ll just have to see how hard he’s willing to fight for you, but honey, if you want him back, go get him. You ain’t got to wait on him to come to you.”

  “But he should be the one to apologize,” I said.

  “You have to decide what’s more important. Getting him back or your pride.” She drank more coffee. “Men always err on the side of pride, so you may be waiting on him a long damn time.”

  It was true I could’ve handled things better before I left, but it was too late to take it back now. Could he ever forgive me even if I asked him to?

  I held the blanket even more tightly around me. What if he’d dated other girls while I was gone? The thought didn’t sit well, though he’d had the right because I’d given it to him. I squeezed my eyes shut to block out the pain.

  “You just gonna keep sittin’ here stewing?”

  I popped my lids open. “I can’t go over there now. It’s not even daylight.” And I’m scared. What if he rejects me? What if he doesn’t love me anymore?

  “They run a farm. They’re up.”

  Still I didn’t move from the chair. It was useless. Our first big test in the relationship, and we’d failed. Maybe we weren’t as solid as I’d thought. In the grand scheme of things, we were still really young. My feelings for Mitch felt like a lot more than puppy love, but maybe that was because I didn’t know better.

  He’s your soulmate.

  My heart broke through all the excuses my pride came up with to keep me from going to Mitch and finally listened to Nana. I wasn’t an overly romantic kind of girl, but he made me feel like no one ever had. Deep down, I knew no one else ever would.

  I pushed out of the rocking chair and kissed Nana on the cheek. “Wish me luck.”