Finally, the man nodded. “And what is this? I know how men act around pretty girls. They think with the wrong head.”
He couldn’t debate that fact, but Skylar was more than just a pretty girl to him. “I care about your granddaughter very much.”
“Love?”
“I…don’t know.” Aside from Addison, he had no experience with love. What he felt for Skylar was different, darker, and more layered. “I’m trying to be completely transparent here.”
“You’re a politician. Your kind’s as muddy as gravy.” He snuffed out his cigar on the side of the bucket and stood. “Here’s what I want.” His hand gripped Rhett’s shoulder in an unbreakable hold and steered him around the corner of the building. “You see the street there, where all the cars are parked?”
Rhett squinted through the alley. “Yes.”
“I want a parking spot for my driver. Every time there’s a delivery, we lose time looking for parking. You get me that, and I’ll talk to my son.”
He was freaking bribing him? What the hell was this, Good Fellas? Still, Rhett was desperate to make things right with Skylar. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Vincenzo turned and smacked him twice on the cheek. “If you really care about her, you’ll find a way.”
19
“Try to eat something, love.”
Skylar picked at her breakfast, but she didn’t have an appetite.
“If you don’t start eating, you’re going to give me a complex about my cooking.” Gran refilled her coffee, nudging it closer to Skylar’s fingertips. “At least have another cup of coffee. You’re wilting away.”
She’d been staying at the big house since the night she left Rhett’s, unable to face her parents after her father caused such a scene, nor willing to make excuses for her actions. Gran’s had always been a sanctuary, so she disappeared to the one place she’d always be welcomed and accepted, no matter what the circumstances were.
Despite how much her grandmother loved to gossip, she would never stand for one of her grandchildren being the center of unwanted attention. Skylar had given her a brief explanation, but Gran didn’t push. Pop watched her with concern, but never said anything on the subject. He simply gave her a passing cuddle and a kiss on the head, like good grandfathers are meant to do.
“You know, dear, your parents will come around. I mean, they’ll have to. They made their fair share of senseless mistakes. Glass stones and such. You know how the saying goes.”
But she hadn’t done something senseless. She always overthought her actions and choices. It offended her that everyone assumed they knew what was best for her and that they somehow believed they might know her better than herself.
“I never saw him behave like that before. It was…humiliating.” As if their family didn’t already have enough of a reputation for being the crazy people up on the mountain.
“Oh, he’s just being a dad. Hell, your grandfather once tried to leave your father for dead in the woods. Men do all kinds of stupid things when it comes to protecting their daughters.”
“He treats me like a kid.”
“That’s because you’re his first. It pisses them off, seeing their little girls turn into women. You’ve grown into a beautiful young lady, Skylar. Imagine how terrified that must make him. Plus, it reminds him he’s gettin’ old. Their fragile egos can’t handle aging.” She glanced at the hall as Pop shuffled by, picking at his ear hair as a fart squeaked out. Gran shut her eyes and solemnly shook her head. “And forget about any of them trying to age gracefully.”
Her phone buzzed, and both she and Gran read Rhett’s name on the display. Skylar silenced it. “I’m not ready to talk to him.”
Then came another text from her father. She flipped the phone over so she wouldn’t be distracted by the screen.
“You’re quite popular.”
Skylar gave a humorless grin. “Why should Dad care what I do? He’s never even around anymore.”
Her grandmother clicked her tongue with disapproval. “Hush now. Your father’s working very hard for your family. You have younger siblings he still needs to support. They’re getting older, and he has to plan for their futures. He’s not absent because he wants to be. He’s absent so that he can be around later, for the important things.”
Important things like Hannah’s graduation or Vinny, Ciera, and James’s older years. Every time he showed up at one of Frankie’s games, Skylar shoved down more envy, making excuses for the events in her life he’d been unable to attend.
She had always been the most accommodating of all their siblings, always trying to make things easier for others and put their needs first. This was the first time she acted for herself, doing something purely self-indulgent, and everyone lost their shit.
There was no excuse. “He just burst in there and started screaming. Everyone was staring at him. And then he punched Rhett!”
“Your father has a temper.”
“Uncle Kelly was standing right there, and he didn’t do anything to help matters!”
“Oh, well, Kelly probably didn’t know what was going on. Don’t be upset with your uncle.”
Her jaw locked as she thought of Colin. “None of them treat me with the respect I deserve. This wouldn’t have happened if Uncle Colin didn’t go running his mouth. He’s the biggest hypocrite of them all—acting so self-righteous, as if he never did anything wrong in his life.”
Gran burst out laughing. “My Colin? Oh, please! You can dress a man up in robes, and teach him whatever prayers you like, but it’s all just slapping lipstick on a pig at the end of the day. Colin’s no better than the rest of them, and he should know that.”
“You should have seen Uncle Colin’s face when I told him about me and Rhett. He looked at me like some sort of victim.”
“He’s just protective of you.” She sipped her coffee. “You and Frankie were the first grandbabies. I’ve had enough children to know that they all grow up eventually, but your aunts and uncles are still learning that. They’ll see. Colin’s scared because his Tallulah isn’t far behind you, and soon she’ll be going off to college, falling in love with boys, and making decisions on her own. And he’ll have no choice but to let her go.”
Maybe that was it. She never experienced that overprotective side of her uncle before. The shift from his usual supportive, encouraging position felt like a betrayal.
She thought he was her friend and confidante, someone she could go to with anything. Things were even more frustrating, because at a time like this when she found herself in a family dispute and needing guidance, she would typically go to him, but he was the one who started the drama.
She missed her friends, the ones who seemed to take her side without bias—even if their advice wasn’t always the most experienced or logical. But after high school, everyone scattered in different directions. Some went away to college, others joined the military, and a few, like her, stuck around Jasper Falls to work.
Within a few months, daily calls turned to random texts, until Skylar hardly heard from her old friends at all. She still thought of them and hung out with them occasionally when they were home for summer, but time created space and, the sense that she was now out-of-the-loop, left her feeling disconnected and alone, even when in their presence.
Her family never took a break or spent more than a few days apart, so there was never a sense of disconnect. Until now.
It seemed like the strangest oxymoron that a family as obsessed with each other as hers could somehow make her feel like an outsider. She trusted the elasticity of their connection to eventually snap them back into normal but, currently, she felt stretched thin.
Gran scooted closer and ran a hand over her back. “You know, judgement only bothers us when it’s a judgement we’ve already started to believe ourselves. If you’re sensitive about the age gap, it might not be because of what happened but because of worries you already harbored. Perhaps you should ask yourself, how much does it really matter to you? Don�
��t worry about what others think. Just try to figure out what you feel in your heart.”
She’d always been aware of Rhett’s seniority, but her concern was less about his age and more about his position as her boss. She knew it was reckless, giving in to her lust and sleeping with him, but their chemistry was too strong to resist and she was weak against the temptation.
There had been a dozen other opportunities to run off with friends and do something stupid with some forgettable guy. She had no regrets that it had been Rhett, and she counted herself lucky that he’d made it so intimate and pleasurable for her after some of the nightmares her friends had shared about their first times.
The dangerous thing about Rhett, the one thing she’d been most cautious of the entire time, was how easily she could fall in love with him. She knew him well enough to understand that such sentiments made him uncomfortable.
She couldn’t deny her feelings, but she could do her best to manage them. But sometimes, when he looked at her, her heart fell into a gallop and her chest filled with a warm, fizzing sensation. Butterflies tickled her stomach, and inexplicable smiles teased her lips.
Only because she’d been so aware of his maturity, had she tried to quell those elated emotions, fearful any giddy display might be seen as a juvenile red flag and scare him away. Then her father showed up and threw a temper tantrum in front of all of Jasper Falls’ high society.
No wonder Rhett wanted her to leave. Her father literally punched him in the face. As a teacher, and a civilized human being, it had been drilled in her head that there was no excuse to hit others.
None of it made sense. Her father couldn’t even harm a spider. He wasn’t the violent type.
Her shoulders drooped and she wrapped her cold fingers around the still warm porcelain of her coffee mug. “I just don’t get it.”
“Sometimes men just feel the need to act like jackasses, dear. You’ll only hurt yourself trying to rationalize their asinine behavior.”
She had no energy to fuel her anger, because deep down she was more hurt than anything else. Her mind kept replaying the look of mortification on Rhett’s face. He left her there. Told her to leave.
As much as she found it unacceptable that her father had burst into the mansion, fists swinging and ready to fight, she found it equally unacceptable that Rhett hadn’t fought harder for her. Now, she supposed he was fighting—texting and begging for a chance to talk—but she believed actions spoke louder than words and she couldn’t get over the look on his face when he left her standing on the steps facing everyone alone.
She couldn’t deal with a man who would run from confrontation or sticky emotions. Love was bound to get messy. If he couldn’t handle that…
She swallowed, afraid to admit that Rhett might never open up to her the way she wanted. The love she dreamed of… It should be boundless, obsessive, and intrusive in every way. The McCullough in her demanded such a love and she wasn’t sure she could settle for less.
She hadn’t been there for the fight, only the aftermath. But then, when she heard the commotion and rushed to the stairs to see what was the matter, Rhett just stared at her and gave up. Defeated.
The stares of all the guests burned into her. Her father behaved like an out-of-hand mob goon in a bad movie. And Rhett left her there.
She was used to her family acting nuts, but accustomed to their antics taking place in private. She’d never been so embarrassed in all her life.
She suddenly broke into tears. “Everything’s falling apart.”
“No, honey, this is just the mess God makes before a masterpiece. Gotta break some eggs to bake a cake. Things will get better. You have to be patient.” Gran pulled her into a hug and cocooned her in warm, maternal support.
“It’s not just what Daddy did or everything with Rhett. It’s school.” She sniffled and wiped her nose on the back of her hand, careless of her appearance at this point.
“What about school? Are you struggling?”
“I wasn’t. I did all the work and never missed a deadline. But somehow, I overlooked a page of an exam and flunked a test. The professor emailed me with a chance to retake it, but I missed the email and lost my chance. There’s nothing I can do at this point. Even if I got straight A’s in everything else, it wouldn’t be enough to bring up my grade. I’m going to have to take a withdraw-fail from the course or it will seriously damage my GPA.”
“Oh, honey.” She kissed her head and stroked a calming hand down her hair. “Accidents happen.”
“I’m always so on top of everything. I don’t understand how I got here.”
“Sometimes, dear, life just kicks us in the balls for no reason.”
She laughed, wiping her nose when snot came out. “I don’t have balls.”
“And it’s a good thing, too. Who wants to walk around with all that nonsense?” Gran handed her a napkin. “Blow your nose, love. You’re dripping.”
Skylar mopped up her face and drew in a calming breath. Gran went to the cabinet under the sink and returned with a bottle of whiskey. She topped off Skylar’s coffee and gave her a commanding nod to take a sip. Skylar didn’t argue and brought the mug to her mouth.
“Do you want my advice?”
She nodded, her coffee slipping down with a calming burn.
“I think your heart’s a little bruised over this man, which makes sense, since he’s the first you’ve ever given your heart to. They’re all clumsy, and I’m afraid it never gets easier, no matter how many times they screw up and we try to teach them better. But, if you care for this man and actually want to make things work with him, you have to talk to him. Good relationships come from good communication. Believe me. I know. Don’t hold parts of yourself back, Skylar. Show him the good, the bad, and the ugly. You have to be real with each other if you want a real love. And, trust me, you’re too genuine for an artificial relationship. So what if he screwed up the other night? You’ll make mistakes too. We all fumble. Luckily, the heart’s a difficult thing to fully break.”
Skylar tried to think over the past month with honest appraisal. Rhett didn’t like discussing his past, but had she truly expressed her desire to know him deeper? Her need to please others often made her too agreeable.
Confrontation was difficult. Her family thrived on chaos and drama. There was so much of it in her life, she learned to avoid additional conflict whenever possible. But some confrontation could be healthy. Like her grandmother had said, good relationships come from good communication.
She didn’t have to meddle in Rhett’s personal life to the degree Gran liked to meddle, but if they wanted to grow as a couple, Rhett would have to share something more personal than his appreciation for a North Carolina sky.
Maybe Skylar could explain why she needed that and, if they truly were meant to be, he’d understand that openness was a must with her.
The terrifying possibility that he might not be able to open up, however, left her shaken. No matter how bad things were at the moment, she wasn’t ready to lose him. She wanted them to figure this out.
She smiled up at her grandmother through glassy eyes. “Thank you.”
Gran pointed to her chest. “You should see the shape of my heart. It’s been through hell and back. But it still beats strong, and no matter how many times I want to strangle your grandfather, our love remains the realest thing I know, and that gets us through whatever shitstorm comes our way.”
Skylar sniffed. “What about my class?”
Gran shrugged. “You made a mistake. You’re human. I’d bet a million dollars you won’t make that same mistake twice. Learn from it, forgive yourself, and move on. Tomorrow’s another day.”
20
It took Skylar a while to face reality. Even after hiding away at her grandparents’, surrounded by love and blind acceptance, Skylar still wasn’t fully convinced she could handle what might come next, but she was certain she needed to.
There were only two days before Christmas Eve, and then her world
would be overrun by relatives and festivities. She still wasn’t sure how she would handle facing her dad and uncle.
Despite her doubts and insecurities, she got up, fixed her hair, put on her makeup, and went to clean up the mess she was in. She still had some gifts to get, so she had no choice but to face the music and head into town.
Unable to recall specific guests from the party, Skylar only remembered a blur of scrutinizing eyes judging her. When she got into town, however, she felt those same eyes ogling her again.
The problem with living in a small town was that everyone knew everything about everyone, down to what color underwear people put on in the morning. And since she was related to half the town, she often felt even more exposed.
The hair on the back of her neck rose as she passed people on the sidewalks and they stared. It was impossible to tell who had been at the art gala or heard the rumors, but they all seemed to know.
While waiting in line for a hot cocoa, two women looked at her and one covered her mouth and whispered something in her friend’s ear. Were they whispering about Skylar, talking about how she’d slept with the mayor and caused a scene at the gala?
Her stomach soured and she no longer wanted her hot cocoa, but the barista had already begun fixing it. Skylar steeled her nerves and forced herself to wait.
The women finally left, but through the front window of the café Skylar caught them staring at her as they walked away. In a town the size of Jasper Falls, there was no escaping the backlash of a good scandal. But this was the first time Skylar had been the focus of town gossip.
She wished there was time to finish her shopping online. Being so exposed drained her on an emotional level she never experienced before. But, no matter how much it pained her ego, she kept her chin high and finished shopping.
Pining For You: Jasper Falls Page 20