What is she going to say to me? She’s sorry? Offer some kind of explanation? I don’t want to talk to her after what she did, but a part of me wants to know why she did it and what she has to say for herself.
I made my way downstairs to find Dane, Alissa, and Lennox all sitting around the island in the kitchen drinking coffee. I took a seat with the rest of them, I needed to explain where I was going.
“Nicole called, she has something she wants to talk about. So, I’m going to go hear what she has to say?”
Everyone’s eyes were on me, but they remained quiet.
“I know what you guys are thinking and you may be right,” I leaned back, rubbing my hand through my hair. “But, I need to hear her out. The last time I saw her, after the doctor said she wasn’t pregnant, I didn’t give her a chance. I just left and haven’t talked to her since. I know I don’t owe her anything, but I really want to know what she has to say. And, it would mean a lot to me if you guys supported this.”
“Yeah, okay,” Dane shrugged before turning his attention back to Alissa, not giving a shit about what I did.
“Lennox?” I questioned when she remained quiet.
“Well, this is your decision and if it’s what you want to do, I will support it.”
I could tell by the look on her face that she didn’t want me to go. Her eyebrows were pulled into a frown, she refused to make eye contact, and she was biting her lower lip.
“Thank you.” I stood and bent down to give her a kiss. “I love you and I will be back soon.”
I made the hour drive to Nicole’s house and knocked on her door.
She opened the door with a look of surprise. “Hi, I didn’t know if you were going to make it.” She stepped back and opened the door wider, allowing me to walk in.
“I had to talk myself into it.”
I followed her into the kitchen and sat down at the table. “So, what do you have to tell me?”
“I feel like I owe you an explanation.” She sat a cup of coffee down in front of me.
“Okay, this should be good,” I cross my arms over my chest as I leaned back in the chair, not bothering with the coffee. “I would love to hear why you thought it was a good idea to tell me you were pregnant.”
Nicole sat down in the chair next to mine, holding her cup with her one good hand. “I know I never should have lied about being pregnant. I was just so afraid that I would lose you.”
I didn’t move or say anything. I didn’t care why she lied. The point was, she lied about being pregnant with my child.
When I didn’t say anything, Nicole took a sip of coffee and began again. “I didn’t believe you when you said that I had nothing to worry about with Lennox. From the moment she came to town, you were different. You were reserved. I knew what she meant to you, and knew if she wanted you, she could take you and I wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. So when I was approached Sunday leaving work and given the pictures, I knew I had to do something before you were gone for good. That’s when I thought up the pregnancy story. I knew you would stick around to care for your child. I just thought that maybe I could get pregnant for real before you found out.”
I didn’t know what to say to her. “I can’t believe you would do something like that. I don’t even know what to say to you, right now.” I shook my head and rubbed my temples.
She reached across the table and tried taking my hand in hers, but I pulled away. “I’m sorry. I just panicked, I didn’t want to lose you.”
I sat back thinking over everything. Suddenly, a much more important question came to me. “Who gave you the pictures?”
“I don’t know, she didn’t tell me her name.”
She?
“What did she look like?”
Nicole wrinkled up her face, probably wondering why that was so important. “Well, she had long blonde hair, thin, kind of tall, and she had a small scar on her forehead.”
Ashley.
I knew it was Ashley when Nicole said she had a scar on her forehead. Lennox caused that scar when they got into the fight at the bar. Ashley took the pictures and showed them to Nicole, making her come up with the pregnancy story. I couldn’t believe Ashley would start shit again.
What the fuck is wrong with that girl?
“I need to go.” I pushed away from the table.
“Wait,” Nicole called after me.
I stopped with my hand on the doorknob.
“Do you forgive me?” she asked, lingering in the doorway behind me.
“I don’t know, Nicole. I can’t right now, what you did was wrong. I hope one day we can get past this.” I opened the door and left without looking back at her.
As I climbed into my truck, my phone rang. “Hello?” I answered while starting the truck to leave.
“Mr. Reynolds?”
“Yeah, who is this?”
“This is Mark with Ocean Water Insurance Company. How are you doing today, Sir?”
“I’m great,” I answered, waiting for the ball to drop.
“I’m glad to hear it. We have inspected the property and have a check ready for you. You are clear to rebuild.”
“Thank you, that’s great news.” I hung up the phone after listening to him spew on about the check being in the mail.
I started to make my way home, but decided to stop and check out the damage. I pulled into the parking lot and stopped in front of the burnt down building. The roof had caved in, bringing down the walls. The whole building was nothing but a burnt pile of my past. Something my dad worked hard for. The only thing that was holding me there, was gone.
I felt like I had let my dad down somehow. He built the shop from the ground up, he worked hard every day, and when he died he left it for me to take care of.
Now look at it, it’s nothing but burnt, scorched wood.
I leaned back in my seat, looking over the burned down shop. This is what I gave up my life for? This was everything to my family, and now it’s gone. Should I rebuild in my father’s memory? Should I take the check and run? Take Lennox and finally leave this town behind?
I couldn’t take looking at it anymore. I put my truck in reverse and backed away from my past that was nothing more than a crumbled mess. I turned the truck around and left without a look back. I made it home an hour later to find Alissa and Dane nowhere in sight.
“Where are they? They better not have left you here alone,” I said walking into the living room where Lennox was watching TV.
“Upstairs. What did Nicole have to say?”
“Brace yourself,” I warned.
“Nicole knew about us, about our weekend. Sunday, the day I was going to break up with her, she was approached by a girl who gave her an envelope with the pictures in it. She knew I was going to leave her and that’s when she made up the fake pregnancy story.”
Lennox’s brow rose. “Who gave her the pictures?”
“She said she didn’t know who she was, but she described what she looked like and it sounds like Ashley to me.”
“Ashley?” She asked, pulling her eyebrows together, causing her forehead to wrinkle.
“Yep.”
“I can’t believe this.” Lennox shook her head.
“Why not? Ashley has always been crazy, I’m not surprised at all, actually.”
“It’s my fault,” she whispered.
“Why would you say that? She’s always had it out for you.”
“I ran into her the day after we slept together. She tried to apologize to me but I wouldn’t accept it, instead I insulted her.”
“It’s not your fault, Lennox. After all the trouble she’s caused, you have every right to still be angry with her,” I pulled her to my side. I needed to feel her against me, remind myself that she was mine again. “I got a call from the insurance company. They have a check for me and I’m clear to rebuild.”
“That’s great.” Lennox turned to look at me, her green eyes were full of excitement.
I tore my eyes away from hers, not
sharing the feeling. “I’m not so sure.”
“Why?” Alarm was etched in her voice.
I rubbed the scruff of my jaw. “That place, it has been the only thing holding me back,” I turned back to her. “Maybe, it’s good that it’s gone.”
“Why would you say that? That was your dad’s dream, he left it for you. You’ve worked so hard to keep it afloat.”
“It’s the only reason I didn’t go with you to Tennessee. With it being gone, there’s nothing left holding me here.”
“Don’t decide on anything yet. This isn’t something that should be decided on a whim. I won’t leave you again.” She placed her palm to my cheek and looked into my eyes.
“What happens when all this is over with Chris and you decide you want your life back? I will be stuck here working the shop. I’m not letting you go again, Lennox. I will follow you around the world. I don’t want anything holding me back this time.”
She crawled onto my lap, straddling me, and placed her hands on my face to make sure I was looking into her eyes. “I love you, I’m not going to leave you again. I might decide to go back to performing but I won’t move back to California. I can go on short tours for a couple months and come back here. I’m not leaving you ever again, Mason.” She pressed a kiss to my lips.
My lips tingled with excitement as part of me came alive. I tangled my fingers into her hair as she wrapped her arms around my neck and teased my lips.
Just as I was about to pick her up and carry her ass upstairs, Dane came into the room.
“We’re having a house party.”
“What?” Lennox asked, breaking the kiss. She tried to move from my lap, but I placed my hands on her hips, holding her there. I didn’t want everyone getting a view of how excited I was.
“Okay, listen,” he sat down in the chair across from us. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Life’s been shitty lately, right? Between the girls having to be watched constantly, the shop burning down, you being in the hospital. Let’s take a night off and have a party. We won’t have to worry about anything for one night. Just stay here, invite some people over and get shit faced.” Dane smiled to himself before leaning back and getting comfortable.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Alissa said coming into the room and crawling onto Dane’s lap.
“What the fuck is going on with you two? A week ago you couldn’t stand him, now you’re sitting in his lap?” I asked, confused as hell.
“We’re working on it.” Alissa shrugged.
“So a party, huh?” I looked up to Lennox’s big green eyes that were watching me.
“It doesn’t have to be anything big. Just get Trent to call a few people.” Lennox smiled.
“You want to have a party now too?”
She shrugged and offered up a smile. “It would be nice to forget about everything for one night and just have fun.”
I never could resist that face. “Fine.”
“Alissa and I will make a run, grab some food, and drinks.” Dane smacked Alissa on her ass when she stood. She squealed and took his hand in hers to lead him to the front door.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this again. You know, that last party I had was your going away party.”
“Well, this can be my coming home party.” Lennox brought her lips back to mine.
I broke the kiss quickly. “We have the house all to ourselves.”
“Let’s go get ready for the party.” Lennox took me by the hand and led me toward the stairs.
After taking a shower with Lennox and making good use of our alone time, we were walking down the stairs as Dane and Alissa came in with their arms full of bags.
“Never take this one to a store,” he motioned toward Alissa with a nod of his head. “She spent six hundred dollars.”
“You didn’t let her buy Cheetos, did you?” Lennox asked pulling items out of the bags to put away.
“Yeah, I think. Why?” Dane asked confused.
“Would you guys leave that alone, it happened one time.” Alissa sounded annoyed.
“What happened with Cheetos?” Dane asked.
“Nothing, don’t ask.” Alissa took the Cheetos away from Dane, staring us down.
Dane dropped the subject, knowing he wouldn’t ever get an answer to his question.
Dane began unloading the liquor and sitting the bottles on the island. “The kegs should be here anytime.”
“Kegs? How many did you order?” I asked moving around the kitchen to put up the various items.
“Only three.”
“Three? You’re not ordering for a bar, Dane. This is just supposed to be a small party, asshole.”
Dane shrugged and continued setting up the liquor.
“Calm down, it will be fun.” Lennox wrapped her arms around me, instantly calming my nerves.
Just having her touch me in the slightest way, made everything else fall away. I finally decided to accept it, kick back and have fun for once. After everything that had been happening, we all deserved a fun night.
The kegs were delivered a short while later as Trent and Sarah were pulling up.
“How many kegs did you order?” Trent asked as soon as he stepped out of the car.
“Dane ordered three.” I signed the paper and directed them into the house.
“That won’t be enough. Dane, we talked about this.” He threw his arms up before walking into the house.
“Hey, Sarah. How’s the baby?” I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and walked her into the house.
“She’s great, she gets to stay with grandma tonight and be spoiled rotten.”
The girls found each other and stood in the center of the room talking.
The three of us sat back and watched them. We were all in awe. We never dreamt we would be there. Dane got Alissa back, Trent married Sarah, and I finally had Lennox. You couldn’t beat the smiles off our faces just from watching them stand in a circle and talk.
“Let’s get this party started,” Dane said turning on the music while Trent tapped the keg.
I poured all the girls a beer and searched for the Jack, I poured six shots, one for everyone.
We all stood around the kitchen island. “To a fun filled night,” I said. We all clanked glasses and took the shot, slamming the glasses down on the counter.
18
Lennox
For the longest time, my life had been full of pain and sadness. When I had finally gotten away from Chris, I thought everything would be better, but coming home and seeing Mason in a relationship was hard. Even though he was with someone, I held out hope that we would be together again, until the pregnancy announcement. That was rock bottom for me. I knew Mason would do the right thing by the baby and I soon accepted we would never get another chance.
After Mason told me she lied about the pregnancy and we could finally be together, I was the happiest I had been in my life. But that was also ruined when Chris decided to make his presence known and burn down Mason’s shop. Mason getting hurt shook me. I was scared and stressed. I couldn’t picture my life without him.
After the fire, watching his recovery was hard. I knew he needed rest but was too stubborn to let anyone help. When Dane suggested a party, I was all in. We needed to have a little fun for once.
Before I knew it, kegs were being brought in and Sarah and Trent had made it over. Trent was hassling Dane about only buying three kegs, but it was only supposed to be a small get together. Three kegs seemed like a lot to me, but I didn’t know how many people he had invited either.
Mason always kept to himself. He didn’t invite many people over. When the town got a chance to come party at his house, everyone showed up until the place was packed full.
Mason brought Sarah, Alissa, and myself a beer before retreating to the kitchen. The next thing I knew, the group was being called into the kitchen for the first shot of the night. We all took a shot before the party got started.
Eventually, people I didn’t even know we
re filing in through the front door. The kitchen was full of people getting beer and pouring drinks. One keg in the kitchen, one in the living room, and one out back, caused lines to form throughout the house.
Finally, after everyone had gotten their drinks, the lines started to fade and a crowded dance floor in the living room was made. Tables were pulled together outside for beer pong, and the dining room had turned into the strip poker room. People crowded up and down the stairs, hanging out in groups talking and dancing. The party was a success.
“Let’s play beer pong,” Sarah said, pulling me out the sliding glass door.
I grabbed a hold of Mason and drug him with me.
“What are you doing?” he asked being pulled alongside me.
“Last time I played beer pong with her, she kicked my ass and I was drunk. If I have to play so do you.”
Alissa and Sarah were on one team, while Mason and I were on the opposing team. Trent learned his lesson and refused to play against Sarah ever again, he sat back and watched his wife kick our ass just like she used to.
When it was my turn, I tossed the ping pong ball and sunk it into the cup. I jumped and cheered like I had won the lottery. Alissa took her shot and missed. Mason went and made his shot making Sarah drink the cup. Mason and I prepared ourselves for Sarah’s next turn.
She tossed the ball, it bounced off the side of the cup and rolled off the table. Mason and I both cheered.
Mason and I won the game, which Sarah wasn’t happy about. She was undefeated until that night.
“Come on, let’s get you a drink,” I told Sarah, wrapping my arm around her.
“It isn’t fair, I’m out of practice. I haven’t played in a long time. Best two out of three?” She raised her eyebrows looking hopeful.
“No way, I just survived a game against you. I’m not risking that.” I shook my head while leading her to the kitchen to get a drink.
Sarah and I took our shot and I began to look for Alissa. “Where’d Alissa go? I thought she was behind us.”
“I saw her sneak up stairs with Dane.” Sarah motioned toward the stairs with her full cup of beer, causing it to slosh out the side.
A Second Chance at Forever (Chance #2) Page 18