by B. A. Wolfe
“It’s like you read my mind,” she said, gesturing to her head as she peaced out. She’d make new friends in no time, knowing her.
A tap on my shoulder and a turn of my heel later, Kacey, Jason and Moose’s childhood friend, stood in front of me. I’d met her the night Jason took me to Dog Gone. Her hair was still short with a few curls, and her smile still shone as if she were at a high school reunion. The only thing missing was her lipstick red cowgirl boots.
“Cassandra!” she squealed and wrapped her arms around my neck. I hugged her back and couldn’t deny how good it was to see her familiar face. “I never thought I’d see you again,” she said, stepping back.
“Me either. It’s so good to see you.”
Her eyes drifted to Moose. The look they exchanged had awkward written all over it. His uncomfortable smile was one I’d never seen.
“Moose,” she said politely, as if acknowledging a distant relative or co-worker. He mimicked her tone and dipped his head, his hands shoved in his back pockets. Something was off kilter. The last time I was here they acted like best friends, and from what I understood, they all were. The uneasiness filtered through us all as our little group remained silent. Thank god for a nosy Mel, who sauntered over to join in the conversation.
“Who’s this? Care to introduce us?” Mel asked, sizing her up, but not in a girl versus girl way. She did it to everyone. It was how she gauged their character.
“Mel, this is Kacey. Kacey, this is Mel.”
Mel nodded approvingly. “Nice to meet you,” she said as they shook hands. I’d bet money they’d be hugging by the end of the day.
We started chatting until a hysterical crying girl broke into our conversation. The high-pitched cries sounded more like a dying cat than a person who was, in fact, sobbing. Our eyes all searched the area, hoping to find the animal in such pain that it pierced our eardrums.
“Oh, Lord,” Moose said in a huffed breath. We followed his gaze. Bingo. The dying cat had a name. Anna. Her hysterics were watched and heard by all, but only our little group appeared disgusted. The town loved her, it seemed.
“I didn’t think she was coming,” Kacey said as she craned her neck to get a better visual.
Anna wailed into her hands, her back hunched as she wept beside Trish, who patted her back and consoled her like the mom she was. Bile seeped up, burning the raw flesh in my throat as I continued to watch her Oscar-worthy performance in revulsion.
“Ugh,” I said, having seen enough.
“Somebody needs to shoot it,” Mel spit through gritted teeth, turning her focus back to us.
I stole glances at the train wreck every few seconds while we chatted, but had lost all focus. Aidan, looking far too good in his dark-colored jeans that hung low on his hips and simple Henley pullover, came into view. With a panther-like prowl, he headed in our direction.
I glanced at Mel. “I’ll be back. I’m gonna go mingle.” I bailed and didn’t give anyone a chance to say anything. I wove in and out of the crowd, and before I realized it, my dodging put me in the very path of the howling feline herself.
“Why are you here? Haven’t you done enough?” Anna asked.
It was like nails on a chalkboard as her words screeched in my ears.
This girl had it out for me. She was going to make this day pure hell, I could already tell. “How can you say that? What are you doing here? He was done with you, didn’t you get the message?” My eyes ventured around. I felt as if I was screaming, but luckily those around were too far to overhear us.
“That’s not what he told me in the letter he wrote me. Yes, he wrote me letters. Can’t say the same, can you?” Her pointy little chin stuck in the air so high I was sure she’d catch wind and drift away.
I shook my head. She’d pierced my heart with her words. “He didn’t say that. I knew him.”
Her grin grew to epic proportions. I swear I saw the horns on her head emerge. “Oh, he did. He said he missed me.”
I couldn’t take any more. I backed up and prepared to run, not even looking where I was headed. I didn’t make it but a few feet before I ran into a solid chest—a chest that wore an off-white Henley stretched tight across it.
Aidan circled me in his arms. “Don’t listen to her,” he whispered into my ear.
“Why is she here? Why is she doing this to me? Doesn’t she realize we all lost him?” I asked with my face buried in his soft shirt.
“Dan, my sister’s looking for you.” Her catty voice trilled.
“Hey, Anna?” As he said her name, I lifted my head up and away from his chest.
She batted her false eyelashes a few times. “Yeah?”
“Go fuck yourself,” he said softly, but the words were anything but.
My jaw dropped. The phrase that came flying out of his mouth was unreal. I also couldn’t help but relish the moment of watching Anna get told off by a Bradley . . . yet again.
She huffed with her jaw gaping on her pathetic little face and twirled on her heels, strutting away in the opposite direction.
“Oh, and Anna?” The grin on his face never left.
She stopped and turned her head in his direction with a scowl on her face. “What?” she hissed, keeping her eyes off of mine.
“If you talk to Cassie one more time, I’ll let everyone know exactly what Jase thought of you.” Her eyes grew wide. “We good, pumpkin?”
She didn’t move a muscle.
“That’s what I thought. And tell your sister that we broke up a long time ago. I’m not looking for her, so she can stop trying to find me.” What? My body tensed at his words. He had been with Anna’s sister?
“You’re such an asshole,” Anna spit.
“And you’re just a bitch who broke my brother’s heart.” With his final verbal assault, she was off faster than a woman entering a sale at Macy’s.
My eyes met his and there weren’t enough thanks I could give. His hold grew a little tighter and I hated that I loved being in his arms.
Aidan released a heavy sigh and popped a brow. He was waiting for my voice, but before I could say anything, Mel approached. His arms left my body and his warm embrace was now a cold memory. He tucked his hands in his pockets as Mel tore me away.
After an hour of filling a curious Mel in on what happened, we parted ways and I hunted my son down in a sea of people. I took Jase inside to feed and change him, and then rejoined the party.
“There’s the little guy,” Bart said as we stepped onto the porch. He sat next to Grandma Maggie on the cushioned swing.
“He’s a happy camper now.” I rubbed his little belly. “How about a smile for Momma. I know there’s one in there.”
Bart and Maggie joined in my cooing and had Jase in full blown smiles, making us all laugh.
“He’s precious, dear,” Grandma Maggie chimed.
“Do you mind if I hold him?” Bart asked.
His eyes never once strayed from Jase’s little face. My heart melted. It was something I’d always wished would someday happen for Jase with his own grandfather, but if I held my breath for it, I’d end up dead.
“Absolutely.” I handed Jase over to Bart.
“You got lucky with this one,” he said as he held him close to his chest. His eyes closed a moment and what I wouldn’t give to know what memory was seeping through him right then.
“I’ll be back. If he starts fussing, here’s his binks.” I handed him the binky and left, taking one last glance at the two of them swinging with Grandma Maggie. Yep, my heart had definitely melted.
I went to the garage to grab a drink, but my Anna radar kicked in along the way. In no mood to play her games, I switched directions and ended up walking toward the backyard.
“You shouldn’t let her get to you like that, Sweet Tea.” His voice sounded through my ears.
My heart went straight to five hundred beats per minute in no time flat when I saw Aidan with his leg kicked up against the house.
“Hey.” I lifted my hand and waved
. “Thanks for stepping in. I don’t know why my hand won’t just come in contact with her face.”
A smile spread across his lips. “She wasn’t always like that.” He pushed himself off the house and moved to stand three feet in front of me.
He was more than mistaken. “Oh, I guarantee you she was. You don’t just get a bitch award without years of practice.”
He fought a laugh. “It’s hard to believe, I know. But she was a lot different then. Jase would’ve never been with the girl she is now.”
I still couldn’t accept that. There was no way Anna used to be different unless hell had become a new playground for the saints. Something else sat and picked at me, though. Stung where it hurt the most. I had to ask him.
“You and her sister, huh?” I bit down on my lip, hard. My gaze drifted to the grass by my feet. Why did the thought hurt so much? Why did I have the need to feel possessive? Especially when I had been with his freaking brother?
It was because I had a moment with Aidan at the bar, and then another over the phone where the clouds parted and the sun beamed down on me. That, and his ex was related to the girl who’d scorned me in the worst possible way.
He shifted his weight to his other leg. “Yes, I used to date her sister Shay. Why?”
His voice brought me out of all things hatred, hot, and confusing. He didn’t seem ashamed to admit they’d dated, but something in the way he had to swallow hard after he said it spoke volumes.
My head swayed back and forth. “No reason. I better get back.” My chest pounded as I flashed him a wave and turned. I had to leave.
“You keep avoiding me. I thought we were friends?” His husky voice reverberated around me, halting my feet in their place.
Slowly, I turned on my heels and sighed.
He stood tall with his hands tucked in his back pockets and his head cocked to the side. That damn sexy grin stared back at me, begging me to give in and smile. He inched closer, closing the space between us. One hand left his pocket and before I knew it, his fingers ghosted down the side of my cheek. I stood motionless as he leaned in and dropped his mouth close to my ear. “You don’t need to avoid me, Sweet Tea.”
The little hairs raised on my neck as his voice streamed through my ear. My eyelids closed as I soaked in the words. Was I avoiding him? Yes, I was. My heart and mind had a way of protecting themselves.
I opened my eyes and he was gone. It was as if he evaporated into thin air, Chris Angel style. For a short moment I thought I’d actually gone crazy and imagined the whole thing, but as I spun around, he appeared in the distance, leaving through the open gate. I ended up watching him walk away.
“He does have a damn sexy backside, doesn’t he?” Melanie bumped my shoulder with hers.
“Where’d you come from?” I asked, still watching the view. “How long have you been out here?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know, Sweet Tea?” She giggled under her breath.
I couldn’t even smack her, I was laughing too hard. She’d heard all of it, or at least enough of our conversation. “Where’ve you been?”
“Eating. Trish and Maggie are amazing cooks. Did you eat yet?”
She looked as if she were in pure heaven. This family style was new for her too. I continuously forgot that even though we had different lives, they were still similar. Both of our parents sucked at life.
My stomach growled, grabbing both our attentions. “I’m going to get some food real quick. Jase okay?” I eyed her cautiously. I hadn’t seen him for well over an hour and it had just started to sink in.
“He’s fine, calm down. Trish is showing him off,” she assured me. I let out a breath of relief and headed inside. I didn’t make it ten steps before the claws were back on the chalkboard, screeching in my ears.
“Excuse me.” Anna brushed past me as I made my way into the kitchen. “You’re always in the way, you know that?” She shot a scowl over her shoulder as she took her plate and marched to the front of the house.
Aidan’s advice echoed in my mind, but it was easier said than done. Men had such a profound way of brushing shit off. Not this girl. The remnants of Anna continued to dig into me until I no longer craved food. I passed a few people in the kitchen and escaped to the basement. I opened the door to my room and shut myself inside. I dropped my gaze to the floor, catching sight of Jason’s dresser in the process.
“You can get into everything except the bottom right dresser drawer.”
All my focus went straight to the forbidden drawer that now bellowed at me to open it. What would it hurt now? I moved as though I trudged through thick mud, my feet not wanting to do this, but my heart already set on its course. I knelt before the damn drawer and reached a shaky hand to open it.
“There is nothing hidden in there. It’s just personal items that I’m not ready to share yet.”
Jason stole my vision and I was taken back to a moment that felt like only yesterday. His hand had rested ever so gently on my skin with the reassurance that he hid nothing in there, but would show me when the time was right. I clenched my jaw as a pain in my chest emerged.
Would the contents of this drawer have changed things for me? For Jase? What in the hell was in this damn thing? I couldn’t be trusted. I had to find out.
I tugged on the drawer; it was too stubborn to pull open easily. “Come on, you stupid hunk of junk. Open!” I screamed at the infuriating piece of furniture. It screeched a little more until my skin about flew off my body.
“Ahem.” The sound of Mel’s voice had my body freezing in place. I slouched my shoulders and turned to face my punishment.
“What’re you doing?” She leaned against the dresser as she peered down at me.
My hands retreated to my lap. “Mel, I have my reasons.”
“To snoop? Who are you trying to be, here? Harriett the Spy?”
“No, I just . . .” I let out a sigh of defeat. “I wanted to know what he kept hidden from me, that’s all.” It was a sign, a crystal clear sign from above. I laughed and stared at the ceiling. “I get it, okay? I’ll stop.”
“Okay, I’m glad. Don’t do it again,” she answered as though I was talking to her and not some higher power of being.
“It’s empty, anyway.” Anna rested against the doorframe, investigating her nail beds, acting as nonchalant as could be. Was it her goal in life to aggravate the hell out of me until I gave in?
Mel twisted on her feet. “Nice show you put on upstairs. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll get an Oscar for that performance. I can see it now. Worst performance at a BBQ goes to, drum roll please . . . Bitch Nugget, for her terrible display of water works. Congrats.” She clapped slowly, wearing a snarky grin.
“And who are you?” Anna sized her up, her lip snarling.
“Melanie. You really don’t care about self-preservation do you? Who sits and cries like that? The dude didn’t even love you. Get over yourself, woman. And why in the hell are you down here?”
“This isn’t your house, Mel-a-nie.”
“Okay, you just hit the wrong nerve. It’s not my house, but I’m staying here. That gives me the right to kick your ass out. Go!” she said, accompanied by shooing motions with her hands. “You’re like a damn fly that won’t go away.” She stood behind Anna the whole time, making sure she left.
Anna looked over her shoulder, and our eyes met one last time. I lifted a brow and shrugged. She had it coming.
“Thank you,” I told Melanie.
“No need. But seriously,” she said, pointing to the door. “How in God’s name was he ever with that?”
“I dunno,” I said, anger bubbling inside like hot cheese on a pizza. “Harriet the Spy or not, I’m over it. I’m seeing what’s in this damn drawer.” Mel kept her lips sealed this time. One hard tug on the stubborn drawer and it opened, bearing its guts for me. Except . . .
“The snot skank was right!” Mel shouted, beating me to the punch.
The sucker punch hit right in the gut, taking my breath away a
s I searched frantically in the empty abyss.
“How?” I asked, not expecting an answer in return as I stared blankly at the bare wood, my resolve dumped to the wayside. The answers to everything were supposed to be sitting there, waiting to be discovered. Now I’d never know the truth behind his words.
“I told you it was empty. Don’t you listen?”
Time stood still as I gritted my teeth at the sound of Anna’s voice. Mel turned on her heels and I knew what was coming. I felt it on my skin, in my bones. The bitchslap was imminent. But I wasn’t going to allow it.
Nope.
It would be my trembling hand that would sting the flesh of Anna’s caked up face.
My heart raced as I stood and closed the distance between Anna and me. I forced Mel’s aiming hand out of the way and went in for the kill. Anna’s head swished to the side, her hair sheeting her face as she gasped. I couldn’t even give attention to the sting burning my palm. “Don’t you listen? I believe you were told to leave!” Spit flew from my mouth as I watched her in disgust. She shot daggers at me as she ran up the stairs, still cupping her face.
“Yeah, I told you to leave before, Vagina Face,” Mel shouted after her. She gazed at me; not a word escaping her gaping mouth as she stared. I didn’t have any, either. Nothing would have come out that made sense, other than the fact I hated Anna and she deserved it.
“She had it coming,” I admitted, airing out my stinging palm.
“I’ve never been so proud in my life.” The smile on Melanie’s lips grew with each passing second. “Wait, I take that back. When you told your prissy ass mom off, I was proud then. But this . . . this, woman is a damn close second. God, where did that come from?”
My eyes drifted to the carpet. “I couldn’t control it. Everything went to slow motion and bam! I was preparing for battle.”
“You amaze me. Next thing you know, you’ll be dropping F bombs and chain smoking like a gangsta.”
I laughed and peered up at her proud expression. “Don’t count on it. That was a once-in-a-lifetime moment. I’m not proud.” I investigated my reddening palm. “But God, it felt good.”
