As I’m frying the potatoes, my phone rings and I see Mama’s face on my screen as I answer the call.
“Hey, how’s Daddy?”
“He’s okay. His vitals are good and there doesn’t seem to be any lasting damage from the TIA. They’re adjusting his meds—upping his dosage of blood thinners. They want to monitor him on this new dose for a couple of days, but they’re guessing he’ll be released on Saturday.”
“That’s great. Two days is nothing, Mama. And don’t you worry, Rat has made a new best friend.”
She laughs. “He’s fallen in love with Wyatt too, huh?”
“Oh yeah. He gave him food and water, he’s been taking him outside for exercise and bathroom breaks, and I think they played fetch in the living room for about an hour. You never know, Rat might not even notice you’re gone.”
She laughs. “I wouldn’t notice much either if Wyatt played with me all day.”
“Mama!” I yell. “This is my boyfriend you’re talking about.”
“Oh, so there’s a label now, is there?” she teases me.
I roll my eyes. “No, there’s no label. But we’re sleeping together, so we’re something,” I laugh out.
“Destiny Danielle Parker!” Mama says, only making me laugh harder.
“What? You didn’t think I was still a virgin, did you?”
I can literally hear her shaking her head. I can hear her earrings tapping against the phone. “Good night, Destiny.”
“Night, Mama. Love you,” I say, hanging up the phone and going back to my fried potatoes.
“Was that your mom?” Wyatt asks, walking in with Rat trailing along behind him.
“Yeah, she says they think Daddy will be released Saturday.”
“That’s great,” he says, walking up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. “The food smells amazing.”
I smile. “Thank you. We have some grilled pork chops, fried potatoes, cornbread, and a salad. Sound good?”
“Sounds perfect,” he says, spinning me around in his arms and pressing a kiss to my lips.
I live in this kiss. We’ve been alone like this many times since we ran into each other, but this feels different. This feels like a glimpse into our future. Me, standing at the stove cooking dinner, while he just comes in from work. I can imagine a couple of kids playing noisily upstairs, and our family dog trotting along by our feet.
“Wash up and have a seat. Everything’s done,” I tell him, swatting him away as he goes to the bathroom to wash his hands.
I platter everything up and place four grilled pork chops in a dish. I pour the potatoes into a big bowl with a spoon. I pop the cornbread muffins out of their tin and put them in a basket, and I grab the bowl of salad out of the fridge along with butter, ketchup, and BBQ sauce. He sits at the table as I take a chair across from him.
He looks over the selection. “This looks amazing. I haven’t had a meal like this in a long time.” He starts digging in, taking two pork chops.
I laugh and take one, along with a little of everything else. I smother my pork chop in BBQ sauce while he uses ketchup. He breaks the top off of his cornbread muffin and stuffs it in his mouth. His eyes roll back as he makes a moaning sound. “God, I love cornbread. Why haven’t I had this in so long?”
I laugh. “I thought the same thing when I saw the box in the cabinet. It’s like you can’t ever find a restaurant that has it, so it can’t be ordered. It’s only in Mama’s kitchen.”
He finishes his muffin and grabs another.
We sit at the table—eating, talking, and laughing. When we finish, I go to sit and rest while my food settles, and he stays in the kitchen to clean up. I offered to help, but he insisted I relax. I’m almost asleep when he joins me in the living room. He plops down on the couch, causing me to bounce awake.
“Whatcha watching?”
“I don’t know . . . some movie,” I mumble, laying my head in his lap. He runs his fingers through my hair and I relax into his touch. He kicks his feet up onto the coffee table and leans back to watch TV. Together, we drift into a deep sleep.
When I wake in the morning, I open my eyes to find that I’m somehow in my bedroom. I roll to my side and find Wyatt asleep next to me. I stretch and yawn as his eyes flutter open.
“Hey,” he says around a sleepy smile.
“Did you carry me in here?” I ask.
He nods. “No way were you cheating me out of my teenage fantasy.”
I laugh and shake my head. “Well, what would teenage Wyatt think about joining me for a shower in my teenage bathroom?”
His smile widens. “Oh, teenage Wyatt would love that. Let’s go.” He starts tickling me until I’m moving at a pace that meets his approval.
I reach into the shower and turn the water on before stripping down to nothing. I climb in with him behind me. As I wash, he stands back and watches with a smirk. Finally, when we’re both washed and clean, he presses my back against the wall and kisses me breathless.
I break the kiss and look into his hooded eyes. “What would teenage Wyatt think about sex in my teenage bedroom?”
He grins. “Oh, that’s part of the fantasy,” he laughs out, moving back in to kiss me.
Saturday approaches and Wyatt and I continue to stay at my parents’ house, waiting for them to make it home. I spend the day cleaning to make sure there’s nothing for Mama to do but rest when she gets home. I also get started on dinner, cooking Daddy’s favorite: fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, fresh-baked dinner rolls, and peach cobbler for dessert.
“Hey, Mark’s celebrating his birthday tonight at the bar. Wanna go?” Wyatt asks as I’m taking the cobbler out of the oven.
“I can’t. I really need to stay here to help with Daddy.” I glance over my shoulder at him and see his shoulders fall. “You should go though,” I add on.
“Really?” he asks, looking hopeful.
I nod as I walk toward him. “Yes, he’s your old best friend and you haven’t spent much time with him since you’ve been back.” I wrap my arms around his waist.
He pulls me against his chest, his eyes finding mine. “I wish you could come. Even if it’s late after your dad’s gone to bed.”
“I would, but we really need to keep an eye on him for a while. It’ll be fine. You go to the party and I’ll stay here. We can get together tomorrow if you want to come back over.”
He kisses the top of my head. “It’s about time to muck the stalls again. I’ll be over tomorrow.”
I hear the crunch of gravel and pull away from Wyatt as I run to the door. “They’re home!” I say, pushing through it. I run out into the yard, and Mama pulls the van to a stop right beside me. She shuts off the engine and climbs out, walking around to the back to get my dad’s walker.
“How was your drive?” I ask, just as Wyatt comes out to get the walker for her.
She rolls her eyes. “Horrible. Traffic was the worst I’ve ever seen.”
I laugh. “So you ran into, what, four other cars?”
She laughs. “Something like that.” She closes the hatch after Wyatt takes the walker and I take the bag.
Wyatt helps my dad out of the van and we all walk at his pace to the door. When we make it in, Wyatt helps my dad down in the recliner.
“What’s that delicious smell?” Mama asks.
“I made dinner and dessert.” I turn to look at Wyatt. “Can you stay for dinner, or do you need to go?”
He looks at his watch. “I can stay a little while.”
I take his hand and lead him to the kitchen, where we all start making our plates. Mama makes one for Daddy and places it all on a tray she takes to him. She comes back to make her own plate, but takes it to the connected living room so he doesn’t have to eat alone.
Instead of sitting at the table like I normally would, Wyatt and I go to the living room too. I just want to spend as much time with my dad as I can. If all this has taught me anything, it’s that life can change in an instant.
The four of us sit and eat and talk. We try talking to Daddy, but he’s too focused on eating and watching whatever show is playing, so most of the questions we ask him, my mom ends up answering. After dinner, she helps him to the bedroom for a shower, followed by some rest. He seems extra tired after the long drive, plus I’m sure all the stimulation has worn on him as well. I head to the kitchen to start cleaning up. Wyatt puts everything in the sink. He wraps his arms around me and kisses my neck.
“I would stay to help clean up, but it’s getting late and I need to go.”
I nod. “It’s okay. I’ll walk you out.” I turn off the water and he takes my hand, walking out the door and down to his car. Once we reach it, he spins me around and presses my back to the driver’s-side door. With his hands on my hips, he leans in for a kiss.
I kiss him deeply, not wanting him to leave but knowing he should. He needs to celebrate with his friend, and honestly, I could use the alone time with my parents. Things between Wyatt and me have blossomed so fast. It doesn’t feel like it’s only been a couple of weeks—it feels like we never parted to begin with. When I feel him begin to harden against me, I push him back a step.
“If you want to go to this party, you’d better go now, because if we keep doing this, you’re going to be stuck here for the night,” I joke.
He laughs. “Well, maybe that wouldn’t be so bad after all.”
I laugh and roll my eyes. “Go. Have fun. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” I step away from the car and he moves to get inside. “Stay out of trouble!” I shout just as he’s closing the door.
He lifts his hand and waves before starting the car and driving away. I stand back and watch his taillights get farther and farther away. The wind picks up and I wrap my arms around myself. I look up at the dark sky that’s filled with thousands of tiny little stars. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Something tells me that everything is about to change. Daddy needs more care than ever, Mama needs more help, and all I can think about is getting on with my life with Wyatt by my side. That isn’t even possible right now. My family needs me. I can only hope that Wyatt sees that and can wait for us to start our lives together.
When a shiver takes over, I turn and walk back toward the house. When I walk in, Rat is curled into a ball in his bed that sits in the corner of the room. The living room is dark, with the exception of the soft blue glow of the TV, and I can’t hear Mama or Daddy talking. I feel alone and a little sad, but I shake the feeling away and get to work on cleaning up the kitchen.
17
Wyatt
I hate leaving Destiny at home, but I know she’s right. Mark is my oldest friend and I haven’t seen much of him lately. I should go to the party—I just wish I had Destiny by my side. When I leave her house, I go home to shower and change before swinging by the bar. I finally pull up around 8 p.m., and the parking lot is fuller than I’ve ever seen it. I park my car on the side of the building and make my way inside.
The loud music hits my ears before I’ve even opened the doors. When I pull the door open, it just gets louder as it mixes with the sound of people cheering, glasses clinking, and pool balls clacking. As I walk across the floor to the bar, I take in everyone around me. I went to school with a lot of these people. I stop and order a glass of whiskey. Mark finds me while I wait, and he’s already three sheets to the wind.
“Hey, man!” he says, bumping his shoulder into mine.
“Hey, what’d you do—invite the whole graduating class?”
He smiles wide. “Yeah, I did, actually. Now I finally get to sleep with all the girls I didn’t get to back then. Who should be my first? Hey, where’s Destiny?”
I laugh and lightly punch his arm. ”You’re not sleeping with Destiny.”
He rolls his eyes. “I think she’s been yours long enough. It’s time the rest of us get a shot.”
I hold up my middle finger as I drink down the whiskey, only making him laugh.
“I was going to hire some strippers, but the owner wouldn’t let me. Something about not having the right permits or some shit.” He scoffs before tipping his beer back.
“I knew I never should’ve expected you to keep things low-key.”
He laughs. “Fuck that! Let’s play some pool.”
He leads me over to the pool tables in the back and gets busy racking the balls. I grab a stick and chalk the end. Just as I’m bending down to break, Ashely walks up, sitting her ass on the table right by my head.
I stand up and take a deep breath, looking at her with annoyance.
“Where’s Destiny?” she asks.
“She’s not here,” I tell her, wishing she’d go away.
She fakes a frown. “So you’re all alone?”
I shake my head but don’t bother answering her question. Instead, I stand there, waiting for her to leave.
“I’ll keep you company,” she says, standing up and getting closer to me. I step back, but she wraps her arms around my neck. “Don’t run off, Wyatt. You used to like it when I did this, remember?” She presses her lips to my neck and I finally manage to push her away gently.
“Don’t start this shit, Ashely. You know I’m back with Destiny.”
She shrugs and offers a smile. “So? What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her, now will it?”
“Go find some other guy to fuck with.” I sidestep her and bend back down to line up my shot.
I break the balls, and when I stand back up, she’s walking off. Deep down, I thank God for getting her away from me, but I’m sure she’s not done. She doesn’t take rejection well. This was only her opening statement, so to speak. She’ll be back. I just have to keep my guard up.
A little while—and several drinks—later, Mark and I are sitting around a table, talking about the good old days. We’re laughing and drinking more than we should. There are several other guys sitting with us—guys we went to school with and people I haven’t seen in years. I forget all about the bar and get so engrossed in the conversation that I’m surprised when someone slips herself into my lap.
I sit back, holding my hands up. My eyes land on Ashely’s. She’s in my lap with her arms wrapped around my neck. “Well, well, well, look who we have here,” she says, looking at all the guys. “Mark, James, Ryan, how’ve you guys been?” she asks them.
Anger floods my body. The last fucking thing I need is all of these guys seeing Ashely on my lap. Destiny will hear about this for sure. I can only hope she believes me this time. “Ashely, get off of me,” I say, softly enough that only she can hear. But she ignores me, choosing instead to keep talking with the guys.
I ask again, only to be ignored again. Finally, I reach behind my neck and unclasp her hands. I gently push her off of me and she looks down at me, surprised. I stand up and walk forward a few steps, making her step back. When I’m good and close to her, her eyes go wide with fear. She doesn’t know if I’m going to yell at her or pull her against me.
“Don’t try pulling that shit again, you hear me? I’m with Destiny and you know it. I don’t want anyone but her, and I don’t need all the drama that comes along with you. What we had was great at the time, but that time is over. I couldn’t care less if I never see you again. Now, run along and find some other guy to trap, because it won’t be me. Understand?” I level my eyes on her and she nods her head, lips parted, eyes wide.
I turn and walk away, back to my table.
The rest of the night is a drunken blur. I don’t remember what happens or how I get home. All I know is that when I wake in the morning, my head is pounding, my ears are ringing, and my stomach feels like it’s doing somersaults. I groan and roll to my side to sit up. The fast action makes me feel dizzy, and I have to steady myself with one hand on each side of my body. When I get up, it feels like my head is traveling faster than my feet—like my head weighs more than my entire body and it’s falling out ahead of me instead of being able to remain upright.
I hold my hand out in front of me to keep from bashing my head into any
thing as I move toward the bathroom. After emptying my stomach of any remaining alcohol, I crawl into the shower and sit on the floor until all the hot water is gone. I wrap a towel around my waist and fall back onto my bed. I turn my head to the side, looking for my cell phone, but it’s not on the bedside table like usual. I probably left it in my pocket. With a groan, I force myself to grab my pants off the floor, but the pockets are empty.
Fuck. I must have left it in the car. I decide I need to get up, put some clothes on, and go in search of my phone. I’m sure Destiny will be calling soon about the stables. My head is still pounding as I walk downstairs, but stepping out into the sunshine makes me cover my eyes in pain. I somehow manage to find my way to the car, despite the bright sun and my pounding head. I climb in and look at the floorboards, the middle console, and the back seat. However, I come up empty-handed.
Giving up, I head back to the bar. The place is dark when I walk in, but then my eyes adjust and I’m able to make out the bar.
“Hey, did I leave my phone here last night?”
The bartender looks up and gives me a disapproving look, but reaches for something under the bar and slides over my phone.
“Thanks,” I say, taking the phone. I press the button for the home screen to make sure it’s mine. “What the hell happened last night?”
“Seriously?” she asks, giving me a dirty look.
“I don’t remember anything. How’d I get home?”
She shrugs. “You left with your buddy and some girl.”
“My buddy?”
“The birthday boy,” she clarifies, seemingly annoyed.
“Oh, Mark? Who was the girl?”
“That blonde girl. The annoying one who kept getting drinks bought for her all night.”
Fuck. I hope she isn’t talking about Ashely. “Okay, thanks.” I turn and head for my car, phone in my hand, dialing Mark’s number.
“Hey, man,” he answers, sleep in his voice.
“What the fuck happened last night? How’d I get home?”
Loves Me NOT: A Small Town, Second-Chance Romance (Slade Brothers Book 4) Page 11