“So what happened?” Colton asked, reaching over to hold my hand. Just that little action gave me the support and courage I needed to get through this conversation.
I shrugged. “I guess he changed his mind. After we graduated, he told me he planned to get a job in our town. But over the summer, he kept partying with his friends and became more distant. Then he told me he got accepted to an out-of-state university and that he was going. He didn’t even come back for the birth,” I said, remembering how heartbroken I was. “And when Ava was two weeks old, he called to tell me he didn’t want anything to with her. Or me.”
“Anyone who would leave you like that is a grade-A asshole,” he stated, his voice filled with rage. “You could’ve fought it, though, right? I mean, legally, he should’ve been responsible.”
“No,” I said firmly, “I didn’t want that. If he didn’t want to be involved, then he would’ve been a terrible father.” I gave him a small smile. “Ava and I do pretty well for ourselves. We have a good life together.”
Colton looked down at our intertwined hands and fiddled with my fingers.
“I’m hoping you’ll let me be a part of that life,” he said softly before glancing back up at my face. My heart skipped a beat because his words were so sincere, so honest. “Do you want to bring Ava to dinner with us?”
I paused, taken aback. “You want to take Ava on our date?”
“Sure, why not? I don’t know much about kids, but I can learn. She’s cool as shit.” He grinned, then his face turned horrified. “I mean—shit. Crap.” He shook his head and laughed at his inability to stop cussing. “I’m gonna have to learn how to watch my language.”
I nodded. “She’s heard me slip a few times, but I try to control myself. She’s like a little sponge. Kids soak up everything they see and hear,” I said. “And you have no idea how much it means to me that you want to know her. But tonight, I’d kind of like for it to just be you and me.”
“Maybe next time, then?” he asked hopefully and I could tell he meant it—he really wanted to include Ava.
“Definitely.” I couldn’t stop the big goofy smile on my face. “So what are we doing tonight?”
“Going dancing.”
CHAPTER 19
BRIELLE
When Colton said dancing, he meant line dancing. I had no idea this was something he liked doing, but I was up for it.
That is, until I saw him attempt the moves.
As ‘Head Over Boots’ played through the tavern, he looked totally lost as he watched the people around him and tried to copy their steps. I wasn’t familiar with this particular dance, but years of dance classes made it easier for me to follow along.
Colton bumped into an older woman and apologized, sending her a charming grin, and I swear I saw her blush.
The small-town bar he took me to was way busier than I expected it to be. When we arrived, the gravel parking lot had been so full we had to park down the street. Aptly named The Brick House, it was exactly that—a ranch-style home with a brick exterior, metal roof, and pink shutters. The inside smelled like fried food, beer, and popcorn, and the small wooden dancefloor was packed.
“Colton.” I motioned down to my feet. “Here, like this.”
I took his hand and tried to show him the steps, but he was hopeless. Colton shrugged, put his hands on his hips, and literally started doing a bad imitation of River Dancing. I started laughing so hard that I doubled over with my hands on my stomach and people moved around us.
Giving up on his ridiculous display, he grabbed me around the waist, put my right hand in his left, and started spinning us around while swaying to the music.
The song changed over to ‘Why Don’t We Just Dance’ by Josh Turner and I had an idea.
“I can teach you how to two-step,” I told Colton. “It’s really easy.”
Keeping our hands clasped together, I put some space between our bodies so we could look down at our feet.
“Okay, so you’re going to step forward with your left foot, and I’ll step back with my right,” I instructed and when I glanced up at his face he looked uneasy.
“I’m going to step on your toes,” he warned.
“Probably.” I laughed. “But it’ll be fun. Now, you’re going to take two quick steps, then two slow. Like this…” Colton started to follow me. “Good. You’re doing good. Quick, quick—ouch!”
“Sorry,” he apologized and bent down to inspect my injured foot.
Giggling, I pulled him back up. “It’s okay. Let’s try again.”
Colton may have been good at a lot of things, but it turned out that two-stepping wasn’t a talent he possessed.
But he tried. After a few songs he started to get the hang of it, but I was getting hungry so we decided to take a break.
Hand in hand, we walked off the dancefloor to go back to our table.
“You didn’t do too bad,” I said, and he made a scoffing sound. “Seriously. You only stepped on my feet, like, three or four times.”
Just to tease him, I started doing an exaggerated limp. But my joke blew up in my face when he picked me up, tossed my body over his shoulder, and carried me to our table caveman-style. I laughed as he sat me down and my face burned with embarrassment when I realized we’d caused a scene.
“Nothing to see here, folks,” Colton said with humor. “My girl really put her life on the line out there.”
Someone shouted from a nearby table, “You’re a brave woman, honey! Everyone knows Colton can’t dance.”
“Hey!” he yelled back, pretending to be offended. “I thought you guys were my friends.”
Snickering, I tried not to read too much into the fact that he called me his girl. “Do you know everyone here?”
He shrugged. “Pretty much. We’re only about five miles from Tolson. You know how small towns are.”
I nodded because he was right—I did know. Hemswell might’ve been a little bigger, but the small-town mentality was still the same.
After we ordered—a burger and fries for me and a giant steak for him—we talked.
“What do you do for fun? I have to assume your hobbies have evolved from mud pies and sand castles,” Colton joked before dumping half a bottle of steak sauce on his plate.
“This is going to sound totally lame.” I grimaced. “But I don’t really have a social life. Or hobbies. Ava’s my life now.” Shrugging, I continued. “I could sing all the words to most kids’ songs, but I’ve never tweeted on Twitter. What’s the past tense of tweeting? Twatting? I’ve never twatted before.”
Colton threw his head back and laughed. “Tell me more. I want to know everything.”
It was so nice to sit across from him and talk about my life, lame details and all. In a way, it felt like we’d just picked up right where we left off. Only this time we were adults and my feelings for him weren’t unrequited. He was still just as good at listening as he was when we were younger.
I filled Colton in on how I loved working at Caged, but wanted to be a nurse. How Chloe had talked me into applying to the program and how nervous I was about being in school for the first time in over three years.
He told me about starting on at the shop as a teenager and how he became a certified mechanic after high school. His face lit up when he talked about Hank and Sons Transport and it was obvious that he had a passion for his career.
When he asked about Ava, I rambled on about her for a good twenty minutes. I told him everything, from her favorite shows to how she had a speech impediment. Ticking off the list on my fingers, I named her favorite foods, which included Oreos, mac n’ cheese, and broccoli—in that order.
“Broccoli?” he asked, his mouth twisting in disgust. “That’s kind of weird.”
I laughed. “Kids are strange. She has this weird habit where she likes to rub my earlobe. Kind of like a security
blanket. She’s done it since she was a baby and she only does it to me and my dad.”
“That’s cute. Must mean she loves you a lot.”
“Well, she seemed to like you,” I said, remembering the way Ava was 100% herself around him. “She’s usually shy around strangers. I’m surprised she was so talkative when you came over.”
A cocky smirk appeared on his face. “What can I say? She’s obviously a great judge of character.”
“Actually, she really is. It’s almost freaky how she can sense people.”
Colton leaned forward, setting his elbows on the table, and I admired the way his biceps strained against the material of his blue plaid button-up. “I guess now I can understand why you still live with your parents. It must be tough raising a kid alone,” he said, his eyebrows furrowing.
I nodded. “Honestly, I don’t think I’d be able to do it without them. I usually put Ava to bed before I leave for work. Luckily for my parents, she’s a good sleeper. I’m pretty sure most of the time she doesn’t even realize I’m gone.”
“So, how did you end up in Champaign?” he asked, taking a sip of his soda. “If I’d known you were so close, I might’ve tried to find you sooner.”
I grimaced, not wanting to relive how harsh everyone in our small town had been over the scandal. “People were pretty judgmental about the fact that I ended up pregnant in high school. I stayed after graduation, planning to find a job, but no one would hire me. It’s not like there were many choices anyway.”
“Either the diner, the grocery store, or the antiques shop,” Colton said.
“You remember.” I smiled, but my grin faded as I recalled the real reason for moving away. “After Josh decided he didn’t want to be involved, he spread rumors that he wasn’t the father. That was the final nail in the coffin. People were rude to me. My parents heard the whispers all around town. My dad got a teaching position at the university in Champaign and Mom got a job at Hobby Lobby. Moving to a place where no one knew us seemed like a good idea.”
“If I ever see this fucker…” he warned, looking seriously pissed on my behalf.
Fighting a smile, I shook my head. “I haven’t seen or talked to him in over three years. It’s honestly not even worth being angry about.” Wanting to keep the mood light, I decided it was time to talk about something less depressing. “So how’s your dad?”
Colton’s shoulders relaxed. “He’s great. You already know about the auto shop and the trucking business.” He shrugged. “That’s all there is to tell.”
“Has he ever dated at all since…” I trailed off, not wanting to bring up painful memories. But just like when we were kids, I didn’t need to finish the sentence.
“Technically, no.”
“Technically?” My eyebrows went up. “What does that mean?”
He huffed out a laugh. “Well, once I tried to set him up with Travis’s mom, Karen, but it didn’t work out. I think he was interested, but she wasn’t. Travis’s dad died when he was little and Karen never really got over it.”
“That’s sad,” I said, frowning, and he nodded.
“But Dad seems happy. He’s made the business his life. And he’s got me,” he added, leaning back in the booth and cockily spreading his arms out. It reminded me of the little boy I used to know—even at five years old, he’d been so full of himself.
I smiled. “I still remember the first time I ever saw you.”
Colton grinned. “By the monkey bars. Tommy Ackerman made fun of you because he saw your underwear. I kicked his ass.”
Laughing, I shook my head. “You’re wrong.”
“I shoved him down. In kindergarten, that’s kicking someone’s ass,” he insisted, crossing his arms over his chest.
“I mean, you’re wrong about that being the first time I saw you. That was the day we became friends, but I’d noticed you before.” Colton gave me a questioning look so I continued. “It was the first day of school. The whole left side of your face was covered in scabs…” I paused and touched my cheek, thinking about how painful it had looked. “You’d fallen off your bike—hit your face on the sidewalk. At least, that’s what I heard you telling people.”
He groaned. “That was the worst case of road rash ever. How do you even remember that?”
Suddenly feeling shy, I looked down and shrugged. “Even when your face looked like hamburger meat, I still thought you were the most beautiful boy I’d ever seen.”
CHAPTER 20
COLTON
Ellie’s confession hit me straight in the chest because it reminded me again how far back her feelings for me went. It made me feel insanely happy and incredibly guilty at the same time.
Reaching across the table, I took her hand in mine.
“Will you be honest with me about something?” I asked, keeping my face expressionless. She nodded. “You really thought I was beautiful?” I cracked a teasing smile and the corners of her lips tipped up.
“I still do,” she admitted quietly.
Loud laughter broke out at the bar, and I was suddenly very aware of all the people around us. The intimate nature of our conversation had me wishing we were alone.
“Do you want to get out of here?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she replied with a smile. “I’m not sure my feet can take any more abuse tonight.”
I just snickered because I didn’t even have a witty comeback. At least I warned her about my lack of two-stepping skills beforehand.
Dropping cash on the table, I stood up and looped my arm around Ellie. As we walked out of the restaurant, I pulled her close and planted a kiss at her temple.
Sighing, she melted into me.
The drive away from the bar was quiet except for the low music on the radio. ‘Middle of a Memory’ by Cole Swindell was on, and it reminded me of the way Ellie ran away from me that first night on the dance floor.
It was cute that she thought she could get away from me.
She was all mine now.
I enjoyed the way Ellie’s hand felt in mine, and my whole body buzzed with anticipation as we left the town lights behind.
After several minutes, I pulled my truck over on a deserted country road and put it in park.
“What are we doing here?” Ellie asked, and I answered her question by waggling my eyebrows and sending her a suggestive smirk. “Oh,” she breathed out and blushed.
“I think I have something to apologize for first,” I told her, wanting to get any old shit out of the way. “I’m sorry I stopped writing to you.”
When I looked over at Ellie, I could see the hurt that lingered in her eyes.
“Why did you?” she asked quietly.
“I missed you. A lot. Every time I got a new letter from you, it was just a reminder of something I couldn’t have.” Guilt weighed heavily on me as I pictured Ellie anxiously waiting for my next letter and the disappointment she experienced when it never came. We’d written back and forth a few times after I moved away, but shortly after my eighth birthday, I decided to stop responding. I’d gotten two more letters and a card from her before they stopped coming, and then I never heard from her again.
“So you thought it was just best to cut off contact?” she asked quietly, looking down at her hand and rubbing at the knuckle on her left thumb.
“I know it doesn’t make sense,” I said as I placed my hand over hers. “We were just kids. I could barely write a legible sentence.”
“I lived for those letters.” Her confession only caused me to feel worse.
“I wonder what would’ve happened if we’d kept in touch,” I thought out loud. “What we could’ve been if…” My words faded away as I thought about what it might’ve been like if we’d gotten together as teenagers. If Ellie could have been my one and only. Then I shook my head, chasing the what-ifs away. “I’m glad things are the way they are now,”
I told her honestly. “If anything had been different, there might not be an Ava, and I’d never want to change that.”
When I glanced back over at Ellie, a tear balanced on her eyelashes, but she brushed it away before it could fall.
“Colton,” she whispered, “you have no idea how much that means to me.”
Even if it was a happy tear, I still hated seeing her cry. Reaching over, I swept my thumb under her eye before tweaking her chin, causing her to smile.
I held my hand out. “How about a game of thumb war? For old time’s sake.”
There was no way she could win now. My hand was almost twice the size of hers.
“You just think now that we’re older you can beat me,” she accused, as if she read my mind. Then she shrugged. “I guess I do owe you a rematch.”
Her hand felt warm in mine and after saying the beginning chant, we went to war. Well, I guess you couldn’t really call it war. It would be more accurate to say I got my ass handed to me.
“What the hell?” I frowned down at my thumb and Ellie giggled. “You have bionic thumbs. It isn’t natural.”
“Sore loser,” she taunted.
I huffed, although I wasn’t upset—I was impressed as hell. A few seconds passed, neither of us saying anything. We stared at each other, both lost in old memories.
“Do you believe things happen for a reason?” I asked, breaking the silence, and she nodded. “I think everything is the way it’s supposed to be now.”
“And how are things now? What does that mean?” As she asked the question, I could see the doubt behind her eyes.
She was still unsure about us.
Well, that was going to stop right now.
“It means now that I found you again, I’m not letting you go.”
CHAPTER 21
BRIELLE
Dancer (The Good Guys Book 2) Page 11
