by Hadley Quinn
But not before I saw the smile she was trying to hide.
I turned to Josh with wide eyes, and he only shook his head slightly. I unlocked the door to my place, and he followed me in. “You sure you want to leave all the special people here?”
I laughed aloud. “I’ve never in my life met Mrs. Henry, or even seen her for that matter. I always wondered if anyone even lived there.”
“I’m sure that peep hole in her door gets lots of use,” he told me, amused.
I agreed, wondering why my door didn’t have one of those too, but the incident in the hallway was still circulating through my thoughts. “So tell me…”
We sat on the couch at the same time. I didn’t have to finish my inquiry, and Josh didn’t ask me to.
“Yes, I’ve spoken to Chris in the past couple of weeks. After the shit at the restaurant, I wanted to be clear there was only one man in your life and it sure as hell wasn’t him.”
I considered that for a second. “And you told him you’d break his face?”
Josh barely smirked. “He may have taken it that way.”
I had no doubt he’d said more to Chris, but really, it was in the past. I couldn’t fault him for being so protective; I would have done the same thing for him.
“And I assume at some point, you and Harlan had a discussion about me?”
His head teetered back and forth. “Possibly. I may have mentioned to keep an eye on you, and to let me know if that fucker ever came by here.”
I had no response to that. I’d said I didn’t need a man to save me, but for once, I was glad someone had stepped in. Doing everything on my own was exhausting, and to have people care so much actually felt pretty nice.
“He really is moving to Vegas, by the way,” Josh said, sliding an arm around me and pulling me close. “And that’s the last I’ll mention him.”
I didn’t care how he knew that information because I was happy to hear it. The chapter was done, and I was thankful the obstacle had been overcome.
“So, you truly ready for me to invade your space for good?” I asked, resting my head against his shoulder.
“Hell, yeah. If I get to see you every day, spy on you in the shower, and wake you up with my head between your legs, there’s nothing you could say to change my mind.”
I snickered. “Who says you’d have to spy?”
He pulled back and cocked an eyebrow at me, and then he jumped up from the couch. “Let’s get this shit packed, now.”
Laughing, I stood and we began packing up my apartment.
I’d met the love of my life in high school but didn’t realize it until a decade later. Thank God for second chances. Josh had become the man I needed in my strange, ever-changing world. And deep down, he was still the sweet guy he was before.
Just the dirty version.
EPILOGUE
One year later…
“No. Don’t even think about it, Jo. Sit.”
I cast him a playful scowl. “I’m not the family dog, you bossy caveman.”
He arched an eyebrow laced with warning. “Don’t give me any ideas, beautiful. Do you want me to drag you to the bedroom and have my way with you?”
“Yes.”
Josh shook his head at my sassy smile. “Fine, you win. But give me one more hour, and I’ll be entirely done. Still have your office to unload and your boxes of paperbacks.”
He didn’t even give me a chance to argue and disappeared out the front door. When he brought in another box, Doug trotted in with him.
“Come here, buddy,” I called, patting the edge of the couch. He wasn’t allowed on it but happily sat on the floor next to me. For a rescued mutt, he was sure a good dog. I’d been extremely apprehensive about adopting him but ultimately left the decision up to Josh.
That way I could blame him for anything that went wrong.
I’m only kind of joking.
But Doug was like a quiet child sometimes, just one of the Lab/Shepherd sort. He listened to us, obeyed all basic commands, and his mild temperament was a nice addition to our lives. I only regretted he was six years old already, knowing his time with us was going to be shorter than if he’d been a puppy. But I wouldn’t trade Doug for anything. During some major life changes like getting married, finding out we were pregnant, and buying a new house with a bigger backyard, his silent support had acquired him a very large piece of my heart.
Now I had a lovely home with a dog. I had an amazing husband who was exciting and devilish but also sweet and attentive and gave me the world. And we had a baby on the way. A baby.
All my dreams had come true.
Josh brought in the last few boxes and exhaled as he sat on the couch next to me, one hand around my shoulders and the other on my stomach. “Hey there, little guy, how’s the crockpot feeling today?”
Amused, I moved his hand further over to feel the little heel trying to kick out of the womb.
“Whoa, kiddo, easy on mommy.”
“Right. He hasn’t been so far, why start now?”
Josh leaned down and kissed my eight months of protruding belly. “Everything comes in balance. This guy is gonna be a perfect angel.”
Honestly, I had no expectations for what type of family we ended up having. I just wanted any children we raised to be healthy and happy, and I prayed we were decent enough parents we wouldn’t ruin them permanently.
Both Harlan and Anna dropped by around the same time. I hadn’t meant for it to turn into a weird double-date situation, but they ended up in the kitchen making us dinner.
And those two were a mystery. They’d only met a couple times, but there’d been some extremely awkward vibes between them. One second I thought they were friends, and then the next, I felt they shouldn’t be in the same room together.
And any time I asked Anna why I sensed weirdness between them, she just brushed it off as clashing personalities.
I decided I was going to keep a close eye on them both.
Josh pulled over a box of mine and sat down again—a box that I hadn’t even unpacked when I moved into my apartment eighteen months ago. “You wanna see what’s in here so we can do the ‘yay or nay’ game?”
I nodded, so he took his pocket knife and sliced the tape. He folded the lid flaps back and peered inside. “Hmm, looks like random stuff.”
“Hence the ‘miscellaneous’ label on the box,” I joked.
He shot me an eyebrow. “All right, well, let’s see what amazing miscellaneous items Mrs. Josh Cameron has.” He pulled a few things out, nothing of importance to me. Then he paused as he stared into the box. Turning to me with surprise, he asked, “You still have it?”
Not sure what he meant, I shrugged. “Have what?”
He reached into the box and removed something small. I eyed it in the palm of his hand. It was my Tin Man ornament.
“You kept it after all these years?”
Funny how your perspective changes with time. The Tin Man had just been a part of my past, an object I didn’t think had any meaning once my life had shifted a certain way almost a dozen years ago.
I took the ornament from his hand and studied it in my own palm. Oddly, I was hit with a memory of high school graduation and a particular parting gift Josh had given me. It’d been surprising—a Christmas ornament in June—but he’d said something about it that day. What was it…
“I know it’s strange, but I saw this in a store the other day and thought of you,” he smiled somewhat shyly. “Just reminded me of the first time you invited me over and our conversation about the movie.”
Amused, I stared at the little figurine in my hand. He’d bought something because it made him think of me. That was really sweet.
“Notice the red heart,” he told me, motioning to it. “I drew that on there with a Sharpie,” he chuckled. “Now you can always remember it’s there even when it doesn’t seem like it.”
I smiled and shook my head. It’d been sort of a joke; I’d asked him if he thought the Tin Man without a he
art could represent all of our dark moments in life. Even though The Wizard of Oz had mostly been political interpretations, we’d made up our own. Mine had been that we lose our true selves now and then so we could be restored as something better, something we could appreciate more.
“This is amazing, Josh. Thank you.”
I was trying not to cry. For a gift that was so simple, it sure held a lot of meaning. But here we were, about to part our separate ways. Maybe this was his way of breaking up with me without making it hurt so much. It was a reminder that my heart would beat for someone else another day.
“You’re welcome, Jo.” He shifted his stance. “Um, good luck with everything, okay? You’ll keep in touch?”
All around us were classmates and their families, photo sessions and congratulatory conversations. And there we were, using the moment as a clean break before we opened the next chapter of our lives.
It hurt more than I wanted to admit.
“I’ll keep in touch.” I forced a smile. “Friends first, right?”
He made eye contact for a few seconds and then gradually smiled. “Yeah, friends first. Always.”
He hugged me as his parents called him over for photos with his brother. His arms lingered for a moment, and then he lightly squeezed my shoulder before he pulled away.
“Take care, JoJo.”
I watched him walk away. He glanced back one brief second, but that was the last time I saw Josh Cameron.
“His heart is pretty faded; I’ll have to redraw it on there,” his present voice interrupted my reverie.
My thumb automatically made a circular motion on the Tin Man’s chest. The action was familiar, and I felt my soul stir with a bit of nostalgia.
“Still feel the same way?” Josh asked. “That we lose our heart sometimes? Just so we can appreciate the good things when we have ‘em?”
How the hell could he remember all of that when I was just now recalling it? Had I suppressed those memories back then, or had I deliberately quashed them when we’d parted ways?
I didn’t know, but God, how thankful I was to have those memories now.
“I do,” I whispered, nodding.
Tears pricked my eyes, but I continued to stare at the ornament, still rubbing my thumb over the heart, realizing why it had faded so much. Feelings of confusion suddenly resurfaced, feelings I could now remember having sometime before.
Leaning my head against his shoulder, I added, “Now more than ever.”
THE END
Thank you for reading The Dirty Version. If you’re interested in learning more about Harlan, be on the lookout for The British Version, tentatively arriving in 2018.
Other books by Hadley Quinn:
Ivory
Always Be the ONE
Level Up
ON AIR
The McCallan series:
Kiss This
Tame This
Only This
Maybe This
Saving This
The Fighter’s Block series:
Donovan, Book 1
Cole, Book 2
Cody, Book 3 (fall 2017)
To contact the author:
www.hadleyquinnauthor.com
www.facebook.com/AuthorHadleyQuinn
www.twitter.com/theHadleyQuinn
www.instagram.com/theHadleyQuinn
From the author:
Thank you to all who took the time to read this novel. There are many amazing stories out there by some incredible authors; it’s an honor for mine to be chosen amongst them.
Thank you to those who helped perfect this story: Jennifer Severino of Twitching Pen Editing, Sommer Stein from Perfect Pear Creative Covers, and all the beta readers who gave me some great feedback. Your hard work is much appreciated.
A huge thank you to my kids, as always, for supporting me in something I love to do. And for all the times they have to hear me say, “Hang on, just let me finish this chapter.” I love them dearly and know my life wouldn’t be as enjoyable without them.
Jared, I love you. Thank you for believing in me, supporting me, encouraging me, and most of all, loving me. It takes a strong person to understand my world and what makes me who I am. There are so many things to achieve and opportunities to grow, and I cannot wait to do them together.
And last, but not least, thank you to those who have read every one of my books and support me in all that I do. You know who you are and you mean the world to me. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Hadley
