by Alison Ryan
Table of Contents
Don’t forget!
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Small Town Love
The Small Town Trilogy
Alison Ryan
Copyright © 2017 by Alison Ryan
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
Don’t forget!
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Don’t forget!
… To follow me on Facebook. Or better yet, join BOOK BOYFRIEND CENTRAL to discuss all things romance. It’s a fun place. We’d love to have you.
To get news on releases and giveaways, sign up for my newsletter. No spam, just fun.
THE SMALL TOWN TRILOGY is a series where the conclusion and ending will be in the final book. Hope you enjoy this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it.
“In a small town, past and present stand side by side, almost too close to tell the difference.” –Terry Teachout
1
There was no place to go. Not really.
I had left the house and the big revelation behind for a moment. I needed space to think, air that was my own to breathe. It was the first and only time that I could remember where my grandma was on the other side of a wrong. Because to have kept this big family secret from me was wrong. There was enough to be in the dark about in my life. She knew that but had kept me in that oblivious place anyway.
I also didn’t see the point of it. Had I known about Bennett, my mother’s actions over the years would’ve made a whole hell of a lot more sense to me. Maybe if I’d known, she could have stopped running. I liked to have thought I could bring new meaning to her life- I might not have felt like such an albatross she had to carry around. My mother always had a way of making me feel guilty for existing. Now I could see that she had only been trying to cover up her own mess.
I walked over to the trees between Grandma’s house and the Holts. I could see the Holts eating dinner in their dining room. Rhiannon was with them, of course, and they were laughing over something Mr. Holt was saying. Mrs. Holt was scooping out mashed potatoes onto everyone’s plates. They lived free of the knowledge I now had. I envied them in that moment.
I climbed onto one of the lower branches of an oak and straddled a large limb, letting my legs dangle. My flip flops fell off, but I didn’t care. The sun was slowly setting behind the clouds as I pondered what the hell I was supposed to do with the information thrust upon me.
I sat there for about ten minutes, peeking in on the Holts and Rhiannon from time to time. They were eating dessert now, some kind of pie.
Suddenly, I heard Grandma’s front screen door open and swing shut. Expecting to see my melodramatic mother fleeing the latest scene, I was surprised to see Grandma standing on the porch looking around.
“I’m over here!” I called from the tree.
“I’m comin’ over,” she said, slowly making her way down the front steps.
“No, no, I’ll come to you.” I slid down the branch and jumped down to the soft earth below. I grabbed my flip flops and walked barefoot over to her.
She slowly sat down on the steps, patting the space next to her. Even just this small movement had her out of breath.
We sat quietly for a while as her breathing slowed and went back to normal. She clutched my hand. Mine felt like a baseball mitt compared to hers. Somehow she’d grown tinier in the last day.
“That was a lot to find out,” she said, staring out at nothing.
“That’s putting it mildly,” I responded.
She turned, “I wish it hadn’t happened like that. And you should have always known anyway. But Naomi- your momma- she made us all promise not to tell you. I was afraid if you knew she might keep you away from here forever.” Grandma’s voice cracked for a moment.
I nodded, my anger towards her dissipating. She was probably right.
“It kind of makes things make a lot more sense,” I said. “Her never wanting to come home. The way she is. She clearly hasn’t made peace with it. And for that, I can’t completely blame her. I can’t imagine having something like that over me. Accident or not.”
Grandma nodded, “It was a terrible thing. But it’s part of who we are. It defined us. You knowing about it is like showing you another part of ourselves that we hid for a long time. Thinking we were protecting you from our own pain.”
“But really you weren’t,” I said. “Something like that… For both of you there must be a before and after identity. The person you were before it happened and the person you are after. And I’ve been living with only the after. So in a way, you’re a stranger to me. And that makes me sad.”
Grandma looked at me, surprised.
“Anyone ever tell you how smart you are?” she said. “I had never thought of it like that, but you’re completely on the money. Once Bennett was gone, a part of me was obliterated.”
I looked out at the sunset, “Yeah. I can only imagine.”
“But what you don’t know,” she said, scooting close to me, “is that you were the after, too. I see it as no coincidence that you share his birthday. The day you were born, my heart came back to me. You are a piece of Bennett that God chose to send back, to save all of us. From that day on, I became a believer again. Addie, you are the reason I believe there is something bigger. Because I don’t believe in coincidence. The universe is always pushing you towards your destiny.”
I laughed, “Mom gets her dramatics from you.”
Grandma smiled, “Oh, that’s most definitely true.”
2
Grandma and I both agreed that my inevitable conversation with Mom could wait until tomorrow. Aunt Shayla had given my mother a valium and she was upstairs snoozing away. It was probably for the best.
I could hear Rhiannon and McKenna laughing on her pack porch. After hugging Grandma good night and making sure she got back into the house okay, I walked down the path to the Holts. I needed a night of boozy laughter and hijinks. I hoped Bode Hinton had made good on another alcohol promise.
“Hey, ladies.” I hopped up the back steps and swung the screen door open.
Both girls were sitting on the glider swing, poring over a new edition of People magazine. Prince William was on the cover. LOOK WHO’S A TEEN IDOL, the headline screamed across the page.
“If he wasn’t the future King of England, he’d just be an average guy. There’s nothing exceptional about him,” I said, as they scooted over to make room for me.
“You’re crazy!” exclaimed McKenna. “Look at that face! And his gorgeous hair. He’s still a tiny bit awkward, but you can tell he’s going to be sexy as hell.”
“He looks like his mother. Thank God.”
Rhiannon turned one of the pages.
I rolled my eyes, “He looks like a million other dorky freshman starting school this fall. Take away the glamour and what are you really left with? I bet he has the personality of a brick.”
They both shook their heads and kept flipping the pages. I sighed and sat back in the glider, enjoying the sound of the cicadas. Prince William is no Ryan Kidson, I thought.
“How was dinner?” Rhiannon asked. “Did you find out who Bennett is?”
My stomach dropped a bit. I hadn’t planned on really talking about it, but they were both looking at me with expectant eyes.
“Yeah,” I said, reluctantly. “Apparently he’s my mom’s brother. They never told me about him because he died so young and it was traumatic for them or whatever.”
McKenna frowned, “That’s so terrible. I’m so sorry. I never knew your grandma had any other kids. That’s crazy they never told you. He’s your uncle.”
I nodded. I hadn’t actually thought of that. It was weird to think I once had an uncle. If he was still alive he’d be about 27 now. He might even have kids of his own. They would have been my cousins. It was a lot to take in. I don’t know how my grandma had kept it from me for so long. She must have caught herself so many times wanting to say his name or tell me a story about him.
At least now she could.
Desperately wanting to change the subject, I asked, “Did Bode bring any Boone’s?”
McKenna shook her head, her blond ponytail slipping over one of her bare shoulders that were tan and freckled from the sun, “Not yet. He usually comes after ten or so, when my parents are usually asleep.”
Rhiannon was still looking at me, a sympathetic expression on her face. “When are you seeing Ryan again?”
“Yeah, let’s get into this,” McKenna said, sitting up while placing the People magazine on the wicker table in front of us. “You and Ryan. What’s happening with that?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. We just really love hanging out together. He helps me get my mind off things.”
Being that McKenna was often not the most optimistic about my potential relationship with Ryan, it was hard to know how much to tell her. I wanted to say “I’m pretty sure I’m desperately in love with him. His kisses make me do that silly thing that girls do in the movies where they get kissed and one leg goes up. If you find me staring out in a trance there is a 175 percent chance that I’m probably thinking of him. And did I mention his body? Because I could watch him mow a lawn shirtless for the rest of my life and die a very happy old woman.”
Before McKenna could say anything else, we heard the sound of a truck, its radio loud and obnoxious over the sound of the night. Bode Hinton had arrived.
As he stepped out of his red Chevy, I could see him spit something onto the driveway. When he looked up I noticed his chin seemed to be jutting out.
“What’s wrong with his face?” I whispered.
“Oh, he’s dippin’. You know. Tobacco.”
I had never heard of any teenage boy chewing tobacco. I had thought that was something only baseball players did. Good grief, I hoped that was something Ryan Kidson didn’t care for. Bode looked like someone trying desperately to be older and cooler than he was. Like someone trying to put on a pair of shoes that were too big for them.
Bode sauntered up the steps. He wore his same camo ball cap with a fish hook on the brim. Bode had a squirrely face, and eyes that seemed to be a little behind the conversation when he spoke. He was simple, but he seemed harmless.
“Hey, ladies,” he said, lifting his hat in salutation. His hair was dark and curly underneath, matted and sweaty from the heat. He placed a brown grocery bag down in front of us. McKenna leaned in and looked, a smile lighting up her pretty face.
“Boone’s! And Hooch!” she said, lifting a large pink bottle out of the bag. “You never let me down, Bode.”
Bode beamed at the compliment. “Well, it’s what I do best.” He hocked a tobacco spit over the porch railing.
The three of us squished in together on the glider while Bode stood in front of us, leaning against the porch railing. McKenna was drinking straight from the bottle of her Strawberry Hill flavored Boone’s Farm and passing it to each of us for a swig. Bode watched us with a look of wonder.
“Y’all look like a bunch of girls who are up to no good tonight,” he chuckled.
McKenna laughed, “Yeah right. Because there’s just so much to get into in the Rut.”
Bode nodded, “True. I’m surprised y’all aren’t up at Kyle Joel’s house. He’s having a bunch of people over. I’m headin’ over after I leave here.”
McKenna had been holding the bottle when he’d said it. It was as if all the energy was sucked out of her all at once and I’ve never seen someone go from happy and bubbly to completely despondent in such a quick fashion.
“I didn’t know that,” she said, handing Rhiannon the drink. “Who’s over there?”
Bode shrugged, “The usual suspects. Well, except for Jackson and Ryan. They’re home gettin’ ready for some basketball camp they’re volunteering at tomorrow. Maybe that’s why y’all didn’t hear. I think Courtney Showalter and her crew are there. I guess you heard about Kyle and Jennifer.”
My stomach dropped and Rhiannon and I both looked at McKenna. Her eyes were wide and I could see her left leg was shaking a bit.
“Jennifer Ronaldson?” she almost squeaked. I could tell she was trying not to show her emotions. “Kyle and Jennifer are together?”
Bode nodded, “Apparently. She just got back from cheer camp yesterday and he was waiting for her with roses at the airport. Such a Kyle Joel move.” Bode shook his head and laughed, not noticing or perceiving the girl across from him who was flinching at every word out of his mouth.
“So I guess you should be heading over there, huh?” Rhiannon interjected. McKenna was staring down at her bare feet. Bode was completely oblivious.
“Yeah, probably so. Won’t be as fun without y’all,” he said, kindly.
“Bye, Bode.” We all said in unenthused unison.
Bode Hinton stumbled down the steps and back to his truck, spitting tobacco towards the woods on his way out.
As soon as he was out of earshot, both Rhiannon and I wrapped our arms around McKenna, who was now silently crying.
“It’s barely been 48 hours since we were at the lake,” she cried. “How could he already be waiting for Jennifer Ronaldson at the airport?”
“Because he’s a dickwad.” Rhiannon said it defiantly, as if there was no argument even possible. I nodded in agreement.
McKenna just cried more and I looked over her head at Rhiannon who was frowning while rubbing McKenna’s back.
“Who is Jennifer Ronaldson anyway?” I asked. “There’s no way she could be half as great as you.”
“She’s not,” confirmed Rhiannon. “She’s part of the evil trinity. Rachel Lawson, Courtney Showalter, and Jennifer Ronaldson. Rachel’s the beauty, Courtney’s the brawn, and Jennifer is the dumbass.”
I laughed and immediately felt bad, being that McKenna was sobbing in my lap. But even McKenna chuckled at the reference.
“She really is supremely stupid,” McKenna agreed.
“She once asked the teacher where the state of Chicago was,” Rhiannon said. “This was not in elementary school. This was last year in 10th grade history.”
“She doesn’t have to be smart,” said McKenna, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands. “She’s got big boobs and beautiful hair and she has a reputation for giving good head. Basically, she’s the average teenage guy’s dream girlfriend.”
“If I was a guy, a girl not knowing that Chicago was a city would make me lose my boner permanently,” I said. Rhiannon laughed.
McKenna shook her head, “That’s why you’re a girl. Because who someone is matters to you. But to guys it doesn’t. All that matters to them is that you’re hot and always willing. And at the lake the other day I failed the test. So he moved on to t
he girl who will. But he could have waited a few minutes at least. And I mean Jennifer Ronaldson of all damn people!” She started crying again, leaning into my shoulder.
I didn’t say it out loud, but I thought that maybe it wasn’t that all guys wanted dumb, sexually adventurous girls. Just guys like Kyle Joel. But what did I know?
It took us less than an hour to consume all of the alcohol Bode Hinton had brought us. Even then, the buzz was weak. Maybe even imagined. All Rhiannon and I wanted to do was somehow cheer McKenna up. Because from our point of view, she had lost nothing. Anyone with eyes could see that someone like McKenna Holt was many tiers above the likes of someone like Kyle Joel who had a Big Johnson bumper sticker on his Jeep.
But telling a girl they’re better than the guy who rejected them doesn’t do much. After all, if she was the better of the two, shouldn’t she be the one doing the rejecting? Of course. It was pointless to go on and on about it. So we drank instead.
As the cicadas sang, and McKenna rehashed the day at the lake to Rhiannon for the twelfth time, my mind wandered to Ryan. I wondered what he was doing at that moment. Did he think of me as much as I thought of him? Probably not since that would mean he thought of nothing else, something I found hard to believe.
As McKenna finished talking, we were all quiet for a moment.
“What’s the story with these girls anyway?” I asked, breaking the silence. “What’s so damn great about Rachel, Courtney, and Jennifer? You two are beautiful and funny and great. And why aren’t you friends with them anymore?”
McKenna and Rhiannon looked at one another.
“It’s your story to tell,” Rhiannon said, nodding at McKenna. “We’ve got all night. Regale her with the saga of The Bitch Brigade.”