“Hey.” Jake claimed the stool next to me. “You okay?”
I didn’t say anything, just pulled my glass back in front of me and stirred the melty liquid around with my straw.
“I’m sorry about tonight.”
Sorry wouldn’t cut it, but I didn’t want to waste the breath to tell him that.
Jake scooted closer. “I didn’t mean for things to go the way they did.”
My eyes stayed on the bar. “Which part? The part where you left me naked in your bed? Or the part where I flashed your entire apartment complex?”
“Neither.” His voice went low, all soft and raspy, like it used to right after we’d made love. “You coming back here, damn, it’s thrown me.”
I risked a glance at his face. He looked toward the ceiling like it was hard for him to talk.
“I didn’t mean to throw you. It’s just…”
“What?” His gaze met mine, and he reached for my hand.
“I thought you’d want the same things I do. That’s why I came back. I realized I made a mistake when I let you go, and now I want to fix it.”
He squinted. “It’s been a long time.”
Shrugging, I angled my stool to get a better look at him. “What can I say, I’m stubborn. I don’t like to admit it when I’ve messed up, and I came back to admit it.”
“Is that what you’ve been doing all this time?” he asked.
I nodded. The need to tell him about my recent revelations overwhelmed me. “You’re my one person, my most important person and I want to spend forever with you, and make all those babies and get married, and—”
“Whoa.” He put his hand over my mouth. “Before you say another word, let me take you home. We can talk tomorrow, after we’ve both had a good night’s sleep.”
“Okay,” I mumbled against his palm. Going home with things so unsettled between us wasn’t how I wanted this evening to end. But it was better than how we’d left things when I’d pulled out of his parking lot with my underwear in my hand.
Jake stood first, waiting for me to slide off my stool. Then he followed me out of the bar, his hand providing a steadying influence on my elbow.
And just like that, a tiny glimmer of hope sparked in my heart.
22
Jake
I hadn’t heard from Misty all morning, although I wasn’t surprised. She was probably still in bed, nursing a humdinger of a hangover, or she’d gotten up early and was sitting in the family pew while her dad preached his weekly sermon to the faithful folks of Swallow Springs.
After the kind of day we’d had yesterday, I figured some time spent apart was in both of our best interests. But before the work week cranked into high gear again, I did want to get some things settled between us. Last night, after I’d dropped her off at her folks’ house, I’d spent a lot of time thinking. If she was for real, and she meant all those things she’d admitted while under the influence of piña coladas, then I’d live with lifelong regret if I didn’t give us a chance.
I didn’t want to take it slow and see how it would go. Before I put my heart on the line, I needed some sort of guarantee that she wouldn’t break it again. We needed to talk.
But first, I’d promised Robbie I’d help out with this afternoon’s fundraiser for the team. He’d arranged for us to bag groceries down at the Piggly Wiggly. Any tips we got would be donated to our cause. So instead of tracking down Misty, I leaned against the checkout lane, waiting for someone to come through so I could cart their purchases out to their car.
“Why’s it so slow?” Robbie crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the lane across from me.
“Could be church is getting out late?” I suggested. Usually the store would be bustling by now with people getting their weekend shopping done. But maybe it would give me a chance to get Robbie’s opinion. “While we have some down time, can I ask you a question?”
He took in a deep breath. “Is it about Misty?”
I raised my eyebrows. “Yeah. Is that a deal breaker?”
“Nah. What’s on your mind?”
“I’ve thought about it a lot, so don’t go trying to talk me out of it, okay?”
Robbie shrugged. “How can I talk you out of something when I don’t even know what it is?”
“I think I want to propose.”
My best friend didn’t so much as lift an eyebrow. He stood, frozen like a statue.
“Did you hear me?”
“Yeah, I heard you.”
“And?” I shrugged. Didn’t matter to me whether Robbie agreed. All I needed was an idea on how to implement my plan.
“And what? The two of you go together like peanut butter and jelly.” His shoulders rose and fell in a giant shrug. “The sooner you both realize that, the happier the rest of us will be.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I looked at him through squinty eyes.
He clamped a hand on my shoulder. “It means yes. Ask her. Please get it over with.”
“Okay.” I shrugged out of his hold. “How?”
“Hell if I know. What does she like? Roses? Champagne?”
I thought about that for a sec before answering. Misty might look like a big city girl now, but she had a small-town heart. “It doesn’t need to be an expensive gesture, just something memorable. And soon.”
“Why the rush?”
Robbie and I had known each other since birth. Lying to him would be like trying to lie to myself. “I want a guarantee that she means what she says about wanting to get back together. Before I go getting all attached again, I want to know she’s all in. You think that’s a bad reason?”
“I think it’s inevitable that the two of you are going to end up together whether you propose or not. If you’d rather have that ring on her finger, then I say go for it. In fact, why not do it now? We can come up with something right here in the Piggly Wiggly.” Robbie walked past the registers toward the middle of the store. “We’ll get it all set up then you can call Misty and have her come on down. All you’re missing is a ring.”
“You know, you might be onto something.” I stalked toward the front of the store where a huge display took up most of the entrance. Plastic bottles of soda stacked three feet high around the base. Cans of baked beans formed a giant pyramid in the middle. Everything needed for a cookout including charcoal, paper plates, hamburger and hot dog buns, bags of potato chips and a huge bin of watermelons sat around the perimeter.
“What are you thinking?” Robbie asked. “You going to pop the question in front of a potato chip display?
“Better than that. I’ll do it here. I’m going to spell out ‘Will You Marry Me’ in canned goods. I’ve still got the ring I proposed to her with the first time in my car. We both worked here for a bit in high school, remember?”
“I remember you getting fired for making out in the walk-in cooler.” Robbie shook his head. “What was that, day three?”
I tried to remember. We’d actually made out in the cooler on day one, but I didn’t think we got fired until almost a week in. “Doesn’t matter. It’s shared history. Now, are you going to help me set this up or not?”
Robbie shrugged. “Let’s get to it.”
I clenched my hand into a fist and raised it for a fist bump. This was happening, really happening. If Misty wasn’t playing for keeps, I’d be calling her bluff. But if she was…my heart swelled at the thought. If she meant what she’d said, then this was going to go down in history as one of the most memorable days of my life.
23
Jake
“I’ve got to hand it to you, this looks a lot better than I thought it would.” Robbie stepped back, admiring our efforts.
Since the team wasn’t busy bagging groceries, they’d hauled cases of beans from the storage room to make sure I had enough. Not only had I spelled out “Will You Marry Me?” I also had enough to enclose the question in a heart. The store manager had given up on trying to corral my creative energy an hour ago. Although, he perked
up when Robbie mentioned he might be able to submit pictures of my creation to some book of world records and claim the store hosted the largest canned goods proposal. That must have made his day because he brought over some flowering potted plants from the floral section to add to my display.
“Looks pretty good, doesn’t it?” I smiled so big it felt like my face might split right in two.
“She’ll be surprised, that’s for sure.” Robbie stepped aside as a family in church-going clothes grabbed a shopping cart and entered the store. “Where do you go from here?”
“I’ve tried calling her a few times, but she hasn’t picked up. I was wondering—”
“That’s not a good sign.”
“Hear me out, okay?”
He nodded.
“I think it would be best if you go get Misty and bring her over. Just tell her I have a surprise for her.”
Robbie’s mouth turned down in a slight frown. “Wouldn’t it be better if you went and got her?”
“I want her to be surprised when she walks in. I’ll be standing here, right by the watermelons. Then I’ll bend down on one knee…” I slowly lowered to a knee in front of Rob.
“Fine. I’ll do it. You don’t have to play out the whole scene.” He took his keys out of his pocket. “Give me twenty minutes. But in the meantime, go make sure those kids are working their asses off. We need to make a ton in tips today if we want to get them to that tournament.”
“Will do.” We parted ways—me to go get the team to turn on the charm. And Robbie to go get Misty so I could find out if she was ready to follow through on what she’d drunkenly divulged last night. I’d figured we’d start slow, get to know each other again. But when she let it slip that she wanted to make babies and get married…it made me realize that we were already on the same page.
As the minutes passed with no sign of Robbie and Misty, I started to worry. Finally, forty three minutes after he left, Robbie’s truck pulled into the parking lot. Go time. I dropped to one knee, pasted a giant grin on my face, and held the ring box out in front of me.
Robbie came in. By himself.
I craned my neck, trying to catch sight of Misty behind him.
She wasn’t there.
The look on Robbie’s face said it all. My initial instincts had been right. She didn’t really mean forever.
“I’m sorry.” Robbie thrust his hand in front of me. “Get up, man.”
I let him help me to my feet. Business had picked up since he’d been gone so shoppers swirled around us. “Where’s Misty?”
He adjusted the baseball cap then looked at his shoes.
“Rob?”
His gaze met mine for a millisecond before he looked away. “Her parents said she went back to Omaha.”
I swallowed hard. I’d been played. She had no intention of settling down with me. Sure, she talked about it, but that’s all it was. Knowing Misty, she’d probably been feeling a little homesick and decided to come slumming back at her original stomping grounds.
“Why don’t you go on home? The guys and I can clean this up,” Robbie offered.
The store shrank around me, closing in on me, making me hyper aware of every little noise. A cart with a squeaky wheel went by. Familiar faces passed. In a town the size of Swallow Springs, it was almost impossible to come across a stranger. Which meant everyone who’d been through the Piggy Wiggly in the past hour or so knew I intended to propose to Misty Greene this afternoon.
Which would be impossible.
Because she was gone.
My body went numb. I couldn’t feel a thing. Robbie said something—I could tell because his mouth moved—but I couldn’t focus on what he said. Everything moved in slow motion. I needed to shake myself out of whatever was happening to me. I closed my eyes, made a fist, and punched.
And then all hell broke loose.
24
Misty
I grinned as I cracked open the door to my apartment. A stale smell drifted out of the doorway. It was the smell of emptiness. My apartment had sat untouched since the day I left. I used to think it was a bright location, full of natural sunlight with a great view overlooking one of the downtown area parks. But after being back in Swallow Springs, I recognized it for what it was—a lonely, desolate hideout.
It was time to let it go. Being around Jake had cemented my goals and clarified my future. My future was with him whether that was in Swallow Springs or not. If he moved to Ireland to shear sheep or Italy to stomp grapes, or even to the moon to harvest cheese—I was going with him. I could replace my apartment, my things, and even my job. But what I couldn’t replace was the rare connection between us.
Eager to surprise him by getting back as quickly as possible, I began to throw things into suitcases. It would take multiple trips to haul everything home, but I needed to get started. I had to show Jake that I meant what I’d said and that I wanted to come back for good. For him. For me. For us.
I sorted through the mail that had piled up in my absence, making a mental checklist of everything I’d need to do over the next couple of weeks. Break lease. Quit job. Shut off utilities.
Expecting a wave of panic to bowl me over at the idea of giving up everything I’d worked so hard to attain, I was surprised by the serenity. That meant I was secure and sure of my decision. Now that I’d proven to myself I could make it on my own, I knew I could make it anywhere—from Omaha to Swallow Springs, or anywhere in between.
As I shuffled through the mail, separating the mass majority of junk from the few bills, my cell pinged. I reached for it, noticing a text from Robbie.
I clicked the link, expecting some inappropriate meme or GIF. Instead, the link took me to a social media site. A video began to play. Jake was being led out of the Piggly Wiggly in handcuffs. My mouth dropped open. What was this about? Didn’t matter. I needed to know what was going on.
Robbie answered before the phone even rang. “Figured I’d hear from you soon.”
“What’s going on? Why is Jake being arrested?”
“It’s kind of a long story.”
“Can you make it a short one?”
“He got mad when he heard you’d left town and took out his aggression on a cookout display at the grocery store. It’s a mess. They had to shut the whole place down.”
My heart jackhammered against the walls of my chest. “How did he know I left?”
“He’s been trying to call you all afternoon. When you didn’t answer, he asked me to stop by your parents’ place. They told me you left town.”
“But I didn’t leave town.” I’d planned on calling Jake later, after the fundraiser ended, to fill him in on my plans. I figured he’d be too busy this afternoon to even notice I’d left.
“So you’re not in Omaha?” Robbie asked.
“Well, yes. But not because I came back for good. I had to check my mail and pack up my things so I can move back to Swallow Springs.”
Robbie’s groan filled my ear. “Sure wish you’d told Jake that. He wouldn’t have gotten himself in so much trouble.”
“Where are they taking him?” I needed to fix this. It was my fault he’d ended up in such a mess.
“Not far. They’ll probably just book him then let him go. It’s not like he’s a flight risk.”
That was true. Jake had barely been out of Swallow Springs. He wasn’t likely to leave town, much less make a break for it. “This is all my fault.”
“Yeah, but ultimately he’s the one who took out a pyramid of soda pop. You should have seen the way those two-liters started spraying when they slammed to the ground. It was like the fireworks came early.”
Only Robbie would look for the humor in the situation so soon. “I’m coming back.”
“Good. Maybe that’ll cheer him up. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets kicked off the coaching staff. The manager shut down the fundraiser so we didn’t get to earn out the rest of the funds we need.”
I tried to massage the twinge of pain pinching at my templ
es in an attempt to hold a monster headache at bay. “I’m going to fix this. I’ll figure something out on the way, okay?”
He sighed. “I sure hope so.”
“Thanks for letting me know.”
We disconnected. I let my hand fall to my side, my phone dangling from my fingers. Somehow I had to make this right. I tossed enough clean clothes in my bag to last a few days and less than an hour after I’d returned home, I was on my way out again. Back to Swallow Springs. Back to save the man I loved. Back to salvage our future.
25
Jake
“Aw, hell, Dewey. Can’t you just put an ankle thing on me and let me go?” I wrapped my hands around the metal bars of the only jail cell in Swallow Springs.
“Seeing as how it’s Sunday, we won’t be able to get you in front of the judge until tomorrow.” Dewey plopped his dirt-caked boots on the edge of the desk and flipped open an issue of some hunting magazine.
“Judge Thomas is my mom’s uncle’s stepson’s dad. We’re practically blood relatives. I’m sure he’d be fine with you letting me go overnight.”
Dewey popped a handful of sunflower seeds in his mouth and tried to talk around them. “Can’t go showing you any kind of special treatment, now.”
Groaning, I paced the cell. I’d royally screwed myself over this time. Not only had I lost Misty, but I’d managed to shut down the Piggly Wiggly, guarantee the team wouldn’t be headed to the tournament next month, and piss off my best friend all in the space of one sunny Sunday afternoon.
“Fine. Do I get my phone call though?”
“Nobody said anything about a phone call.” Dewey didn’t look up from his magazine.
“Everyone knows you get a phone call. It’s in the movies. And on all those cop shows, too. I should get to call my lawyer.”
Sweetest Obsessions - Anthology Page 314
