There We'll Be (Together #3)

by Alla Kar

  Dad curled his hands into fists, and stepped forward. “Don’t you dare talk to me like that, boy. You don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”

  “No, you shut up!” Josie screamed, pointing her finger at my dad.

  His head jerked backward.

  “You don’t have any right to be here. You and my mother are the worst human beings! My dad is dying!”

  Mrs. Sawyer stepped forward to block Josie’s view from my dad. “You better watch your mouth, missy. You may be grown but you’re not too old for an ass whoopin’.”

  Josie barked out a laugh. “I dare you! You’ve never cared enough before to whoop my ass or discipline me. Why start now? Because you’re scared I’ll go tell Dad? Or does he already know? He is withering away in a hospital bed, spending his last days knowing his wife is sleeping with another man?”

  Mrs. Sawyer’s face turned white. “You don’t know what you’re—”

  “How long, Mother? How long have you been sleeping with him? Or did you never stop? We know you two dated in high school. We saw the yearbook and the notes. I want to know how long. And I want to know who the girl is in the pictures!”

  “I knew you were in my room,” she whispered, shaking her head. “This isn’t what it’s supposed to be and your daddy isn’t all you think he is, either.”

  Josie shoved her. Mrs. Sawyer stumbled backward, fell on her ass, and let out an exasperated gasp. “Josie,” I said, grabbing her from behind. “Calm down.”

  A sob broke from her. “No. Tell me. How long? You’re going to go to hell. What the hell did he ever do to you?”

  My dad’s gaze turned toward Josie and he helped her mother up. “It wasn’t supposed to be him,” Mrs. Sawyer cried, covering her face. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

  “You need to get out of here,” my dad said to me. “I don’t care what happens to me, but I care about you. Now get out of here.”

  Josie shook in my arms. “You don’t tell him to get out. You get out! This isn’t your house.”

  Dad’s jaw tightened, but by the way he stared at Josie, I could see the pity in his eyes. The heartache. The lies. It dawned on me that the lies had worn him down over the years.

  “Tell me, Mom. Tell me why this is happening. Why are you ruining everyone’s lives?”

  Mrs. Sawyer kept her eyes cast downward. “I can’t tell you, Josie. I can’t tell you anything. Go ask your father.”

  And by the way Josie’s body weighed down, I knew she was beat. This shit was beating her. The only person that had always been there for her was being fucked over by the one person that never gave a damn. And our entire relationship had been doomed because the sins of our fathers.

  Mrs. Sawyer pulled away from Dad and stormed out of the house. The cool wind slipped inside and sent chills up my back. Dad hung his head low and wiped his palm across his forehead. “I’m so sorry, son. This is all my fault.”

  But before I could ask, he walked out of the door that had just been slammed by Mrs. Sawyer’s exit.

  Silence overtook the room, and as badly as I wanted to run after my father and force him to tell me everything, I held Josie instead. She clutched my hands wrapped around her stomach. “Why is this happenin’?” she asked.

  I lifted her up, and hooked my arm underneath her knees. “Let’s just get out of here. I’m going to take you to the treehouse. Okay?”

  She nodded and let her tear-streaked cheek rest against my shoulder. Carrying her upstairs, I walked into her room and faced Sam.

  Her face was pale, which told me she’d heard everything. “We’re going to go have a little time alone.”

  Sam nodded, and clutched the covers. “I’m so sorry, Sookie. I love you.”

  Josie smiled. “I love you too. I’ll be back in the morning,” she whispered. The sadness in her voice broke my heart.

  I sat Josie down and I watched as she dressed and grabbed her pillow. She was losing her mind, and I could feel it even though she tried to hide it. The war raging inside of her was building. She needed a distraction from this, and being out of the house was the first step.

  The walk to the property line was long. Josie kept her hand in mine but she felt distant. The way her eyes explored the ground and not the sky told me more about her than she knew. She loved the sky. She’d watch it as a kid, and I always wondered what she was thinking.

  “When you look at the sky, what do you see?”

  Josie glanced upward. Her blond hair blew across her face, and her normally flushed cheeks were pale. “No limits,” she whispered.

  “We have no limits,” I whispered to her. “We can’t let their sins dictate us. There is always going to be an us.”

  Josie frowned. “Boone, there’s way more to this than we know.”

  I stopped her and dragged my knuckles down her jaw. “Josie. I don’t care what else we find out. Let’s just—let’s just be together. Not hide. Go out in public. What’s the worst that can happen?”

  She screwed her eyes shut. “What about my dad? I feel like I’m throwing this in his face now. I mean—my mother is sleeping with your dad.”

  “Hey,” I snapped, anger clogging my thoughts. “It’s not our fault or problem. Now we know it’s because of them that these rules even exist. It’s a never-ending line of hate that I refuse to let ruin my chances of being with you. So are you with me?”

  Josie’s face softened and a small smile lifted the corner of her mouth. “Yes.”

  Reaching forward, I cupped her jaw and brought her lips to mine. “But I’m going to go talk to my dad tomorrow,” she said, her lips touching mine. “I’m going to show him the picture this time.”

  The way her grip tightened against my own betrayed how scared she was. “Let’s go lie down. You’re shivering.”

  I tucked her underneath my arm and we walked the rest of the way to the treehouse.

  I had a feeling that the storm hadn’t blown over yet—not even close.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Josie

  I left Boone sleeping in the treehouse. There hadn’t been one part of me that had the heart to wake him. A calmness was on his face, and I knew he deserved it. After last night, I think a year of vacation was due. How had I never noticed this before? My mother was never in love with my dad?

  I shook my head and walked to my house. It seemed peaceful—like always. The swimming pool reflected the morning sun, and the perfectly cut grass was covered in dew. But the peace was superficial.

  I walked through the backdoor, since there was really no need to hide anything anymore. Bug was in the kitchen with her back to me, but I knew she heard me. The way her shoulders tensed freaked me out. “Wendy, you need to be more—” She stopped mid-sentence when she saw it was me.

  “Careful?” I asked. “When she’s sneaking back in from seeing Mr. Cross?” Bug’s eyes rounded. “You missed quite a show last night. We found out a lot about how my mother doesn’t love my dad.” I let out a bitter laugh. “Why didn’t you tell me? I have the right to know—hell, my dad has the right to know. And that’s the reason why I can’t see Boone? Oh, no, wait, there’s more we don’t know that no one wants to tell us.” I shrugged my shoulders. “I guess it doesn’t matter, does it? Dad’s dying.”

  Bug squared her shoulders. “You don’t judge people, missy. You’ve been spreading ya legs for that Cross boy.”

  I smiled. “Yeah, I have, and he’s really good at it, too. But he’s not a married man.”

  She sneered at me. “You stop talkin’ about ya momma. And you stop digging around for stuff because what you find might not be something you like. That woman has had nothing but your best interests at heart.”

  Best interests? “Now that’s how I know you’re wrong. My mother doesn’t have a heart. I’m going with Sam to visit my dad. Ya know, the one that’s dying in the hospital?”

  I turned on my heels and ran upstairs. I hated being mean to her, but knowing she knew about this made me want to claw her eyes out. Was
I the only person in this house who didn’t know?

  Sam was dressed and making my bed when I walked in. She swung around with an oh shit look on her face. I stopped and lifted a brow. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” she blurted out, tugging at her hair.

  I glanced around the room but didn’t notice anything out of place. “Why are you smiling like that? What’s wrong?”

  “Uh … ”

  The bathroom door swung opened and Jace walked out. My mouth dropped open. He was dressed—thank God—and wearing his usual smart-ass grin. “Hey, Josie Grosie, you feelin’ all right this morning?”

  I turned and stared at Sam. “Tell me you didn’t have sex in my bed.”

  “No!” she nearly yelled. “I got scared after you left last night. There was this noise outside that sounded like a damn lady screaming and—”

  “It was a panther,” Jace said, taking a seat on my bed. “And she called me because she was scared. I came over and we slept—only slept—in your bed last night.” He grinned and started putting on his shoes.

  “Do you know that your grandmother is downstairs? What if she comes up here?”

  He waved me off. “Ah, I ain’t worried about it. She isn’t coming up here.”

  I sighed and walked over to my dresser to get my clothes. “I’m going to get a shower, and then we can go see my dad. I’m goin’ to ask him about the picture.”

  Sam nodded but kept her eyes on Jace as he finished dressing. The look on her face was priceless. I’d seen Samantha with several guys since I moved in with her, but she really seemed to like Jace. I mean—he was really cute, I guess. I’d just never paid attention to him because Boone had stolen the show from day one.

  Jace turned to look at me. “Did my grandma cook breakfast?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yes, but you can’t go down there. She’ll know you were here all night.”

  “Go get me something to eat,” he said. “Please?”

  “I’m not on good terms with your grandma right now. She thought I was my mom sneaking in this morning.”

  Jace frowned. “Sam told me about what y’all found out. That’s really fucked up.” He stood and scooped me into a hug. Tears brimmed in my eyes but I pushed them back down. I didn’t want to cry, so I hugged Jace tighter.

  “Thank you. But we’re going to figure it out.” I pulled back and smiled up at him.

  “Jace!”

  Oh shit.

  Bug stood at the door, a fist placed on each hip and eyes narrowed. She kept looking from Sam to Jace. “You get your ass out of here before I whoop it! I’m gonna tell ya daddy you’re sneakin’ into people’s houses and sleeping with girls you just met!”

  Jace rolled his eyes and ruffled his dark hair. “Mamaw, please, I didn’t sleep with her. It’s actually insulting that you think I’m so easy.” He winked at Sam who giggled behind her hand.

  “Out!’ she yelled.

  Jace leaned over and brushed a kiss against Sam’s cheek. “I’ll call you later, City.”

  City? They had nicknames already?

  Bug swatted at his head on the way out and tossed a disgusted look our way. “Easy girls,” she whispered on the way out.

  Sam and I both broke into laughter.

  Once we were dressed and on the road, I turned the radio down. “So, what in the hell is up with you and Jace?”

  Sam sighed dramatically. “Well, exactly what he told you. And more … ” She smiled.

  I lifted a brow. “You kissed?”

  Sam nodded and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, which I knew was a nervous habit. Since when is Sam nervous around boys? “He makes me feel so girly. He’s so strong.”

  I knew what she meant. “Welcome to the South, Sam. It’s called being corn fed.”

  Sam snorted. “I’d like him to feed me some—”

  “Stop,” I cut her off. “Don’t go any further.”

  She pouted. “You don’t think Jace is cute?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yes, but I also grew up with him. And I was there in first grade when he picked his boogers and in fifth when he mooned the entire class. It’s different for me.”

  She giggled. “Good. Stay away from my cowboy.”

  ***

  Daddy was awake when I walked in. Samantha trailed behind me, and her presence helped calm the nervous voice in my head telling me to turn around. The picture in my right jeans pocket felt like a two-ton brick.

  Daddy’s face brightened. “Hey there, Princess. Who is your friend?”

  I smiled over at Sam. “This is Sam. She’s my roommate in California.”

  Daddy smiled and brought her hand to his mouth. His dark eyes were focused today, which was better than my last visit, when I think the medicine had fogged the entire three hours I was with him.

  “It’s nice to meet you, hon. You’re a pretty thing, aren’t you?”

  Sam blushed and winked at my dad. “That’s what they say.”

  I rolled my eyes and leaned down to give Dad a hug before taking a seat in the oversized chair in the corner. My legs nervously tapped against the ground, and Sam kept giving me the stare across the room.

  “So, how long are you down, Sam?” Dad asked. “Until I kick the can?”

  Oh my— “Dad,” I snapped. “Stop saying things like that. She’s down to help me because I’m struggling with this and you’re making it worse saying things like that.”

  Dad frowned and closed his eyes. “I’m so sorry, Princess. I wish you had better support.” He shook his head and clutched the hospital blanket. “Come on over here.”

  I got up on shaky legs and sat on the edge of his bed. “I love you and don’t you ever forget it, okay?”

  I nodded. “I won’t.”

  “So what you two ladies got planned for today?”

  Sam propped her feet against the side of my dad’s bed, and leaned back against her chair. “We’re chilling with you, Mr. S.”

  The smile on his face grew. “That sounds like the best idea I’ve heard all day.”

  Sam gave me a look, and started turning the channels on the TV in the corner. I knew I needed to ask but my heart was slamming against my ribs and I could hear it in my head.

  “You okay, Princess? You look pale.”

  I swallowed, and slowly dug the picture from my pocket. With shaky fingers, I unfolded it and looked down at my dad. “Actually, I wanted to ask you a question.”

  Dad’s gaze followed the picture until it was in his hands. At first, I thought he’d zoned out but then the monitor started beeping. “Dad?”

  The picture fluttered down to the hospital bedspread, and my dad’s hand went to his chest. “Nurse!” Sam yelled, running out of the room.

  The entire room felt like it was going to collapse on me. Dad wheezed and coughed, his breath coming in short gasps. What had I done? Was he dying? Who was that in the picture?

  A nurse stormed inside with the doctor, and we were quickly escorted out. “Is he okay? Should we stay here or go to the waiting room?” Sam asked. I was thankful because I couldn’t get my mouth to open.

  She frowned and glanced over her shoulder. “He’s fine. It’s probably best we let him rest for the day though,” the nurse said before shutting the door. I stood staring at the closed door with tears streaming down my cheeks.

  Sam’s arms wrapped around me. “It’s okay, Josie. He’ll be fine. We probably just need to go and let him rest.”

  I left the hospital and let Sam drive home. Too much was going on. I couldn’t think straight. “Are you okay?” Sam asked.

  “No, turn left here,” I said.

  Sam furrowed her brow. “Where are we going?”

  “We’re going to my grandma’s. I’m going to search my mom’s old room for clues, and you’re going to distract her.”

  Sam grinned and pretended to primp her dark hair. “Oh, honey, I got this. But are you sure you’re okay to do this?”

  “I’m fine.” I sighed. “I just want to figure e
verything out. I only have a couple more weeks with my dad, Sam. I need to know everything.”

  Sam reached over and patted my knee. “I’m here with ya, Sookie.”

  And I knew she was.

  Grandma’s car sat in the driveway next to her Ranger when we rounded the next curb. Sam let out a long whistle. “So, all of your family is loaded? Both sides?”

  I shrugged. “Old money.”

  She snorted. “It looks pretty new to me. Is that her in the garden right there? Oh, how freaking cute. She’s wearing matching hat and gloves.”

  Grandma lifted her head and smiled as we got out. “Well, look who it is. I was wonderin’ when you’d come by to see ya ol’ grandma again. And who is this pretty girl?”

  “This is Sam,” I said, giving my grandma a hug. She looked like she’d been sweating, which was more than I was used to seeing.

  Grandma pulled her into a hug. “Hi, darlin’. It’s so nice to meet you and nice you came down to visit. Sorry I’m so sweaty.” She pulled at her shirt. “The doctor says I need to do more exercise. This is as close as it gets.”

  “You smell fine to me.” Sam smiled.

  Grandma chuckled and waved us in the direction of the house. “You ladies want a dip in the pool? I just had a slide put in.”

  Sam’s mouth popped opened. “Will you be joining us?”

  Grandma shook her head. “No ma’am. I’m too old for that thing. I had it put in so that whenever Josie was over she would have somewhere to play.”

  “I actually want to see some photo albums from when Josie was little. No one has showed me any so far. I need to make fun of her.”

  Sam gave me a quick look, and I knew that was my distraction. And she could look for pictures of the mystery girl while she was at it. We walked inside and I relaxed into the cool air.

  “Okay, you girlies get situated on the couch and I’ll bring out the pictures. Josie, there are cookies on the stove.”

  “Score,” Samantha said. “I’m dying for some cookies.”