Chapter 17
Viper
“Why did you come here tonight?”
“I came to tell you that I’m moving.” She slightly shrugged, then sighed.
“I guess there was a piece of me that hoped when you heard that I was leaving you’d try and talk me out of it, that you’d reconsider things between you and me, but then I saw you with Rebecca.
I remember a time when you looked at me the way you look at her.
Right now, that seems like a lifetime ago … ”
Her voice trailed off for a moment, and then she looked up at me with a soul-searching stare. “Anyway, seeing you together made me realize I was hoping for something that wasn’t going to happen. Or am I wrong about that?”
“No, Mia. You’re not wrong.” I didn’t want a life with Mia, not anymore, but that didn’t mean I didn’t care about her. I cared a great deal. “Where ya going?”
“Not far. Just back to Murfreesboro.” There was a hopeful tone to her voice as she continued, “I’m going into business with an old sorority sister of mine. She’s got the cutest little bakery in town, and she’s offered to let me partner with her.”
“All right, that sounds good.” I crossed my arms as I leaned against the back of the sofa. “What does Camden have to say about it?”
“Actually, he’s been very supportive about the whole thing. Not that he has much choice in the matter,” she scoffed. “I told him right off the bat that I was leaving him and that I wanted a divorce.”
“And how’d he take it?”
“He wasn’t exactly surprised. I mean, seriously.
After everything he’d done, he had to know it was coming, but overall he was amicable.
Pretty much exactly the way you’d expect Camden to be.
He offered to give me the house, the car, and whatever else I could possibly want.
He never did get it.” Her eyes met mine.
“I liked having nice things, but I liked feeling loved more.”
“I get that.”
“I hate that I made such a mess of things, Thatch.” Anguish dripped from her words. “I wasted so many years and would give anything to go back and do things differently.”
“It might be hard to see it now, but life has a way of working out the way it’s supposed to.”
“Like with you and Rebecca,” she sassed.
As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she regretted it and started trying to backpedal. “I didn’t mean it like that. She’s really great, Thatch. Her daughter is, too. I’m happy for you.”
“I wish you meant that. I really do.”
“It’s just so hard. I honestly think we could’ve had something great together.”
“Maybe, but you made your choice when you walked down that fucking aisle with my brother.” I shook my head. “We’ve both paid the consequences for that, but I’m done paying, Mia. Been done for a long fucking time. I just didn’t know it until I met Rebecca.”
“So, that’s it.”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
“I guess I better get going.” She walked over and wound her arms around me, then hugged me. “I love you, Thatch. I always will.”
I didn’t respond.
I simply hugged her back, then showed her to the door.
Once she was gone, I walked into the kitchen to get my phone. I wanted to check and make sure Rebecca and Cat made it back home okay, but as I pulled up her number, I realized I didn’t want to talk to her on the phone.
I wanted to see her.
Even though she appeared to be fine when she left, I knew it had to be unsettling for her to walk out of here knowing Mia and I had a history together. I wanted her to know she had nothing to worry about, so I grabbed the keys and headed out to my bike.
On my way over to Rebecca’s, I thought back to our night together and how Bec had handled herself with Mia. Never once did she act jealous or suspicious. She conducted herself the way she always did—with kindness and respect, and her daughter behaved the same. The two were quite the pair.
When I pulled up to her house, it was well after ten.
The lights were out, and I had no doubt they were both in bed.
I could’ve just called her, but for some reason, I decided to grab a couple of pebbles from the driveway and started tossing them up at her bedroom window. One by one, they clinked against the glass until the curtains finally whipped back, and Rebecca came into view.
Her brows were furrowed as she opened the window and stuck her head out. “Thatch? What in the world are you doing?”
“I was trying to get your attention.”
“You scared me to death,” she fussed. “Couldn’t you just call or maybe knock on the front door?”
“I was trying for a romantic gesture here.” I chuckled. “I failed epically.”
She shook her head, then whispered, “Just come to the front door.”
I did as she requested, and by the time I reached the front steps, she was waiting for me in the doorway in her pink robe and slippers. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you.”
“I gathered that, but why? Is something wrong?”
“No, I just needed to see you.”
“Oh.” A soft smile crossed her face as she further opened the door. “Well, come on in out of the cold.”
Once I was inside, she took my coat and hung it on the rack, then led me into the living room. The house was quiet, so I whispered, “Is Cat asleep?”
“Oh yeah. She was out before we made it home. I was barely able to get her up to bed.”
“That’s what I was hoping you’d say.”
I stepped towards her and placed my hands on her hips, about to pull her close when she grabbed my arms and pushed herself free. “Hold on there, hot stuff. We have things to discuss before all that.”
“All that?”
“You know what I mean.”
“Okay.” I already knew exactly what was on her mind and let out a breath. “What is it that you’d like to discuss?”
“Like you don’t know.”
Her slippers dragged across the floor as she turned and started into the kitchen. Amused, I followed her, then watched silently as she opened the fridge and poured herself a glass of sweet tea. After taking a sip, she walked over and sat down at the counter next to me. “Okay, spill it.”
“Spill it?”
“Yes, spill it,” she pushed. “I told you all about Trevor. It wasn’t easy, but I did it. Now, it’s your turn to tell me about you and Mia.”
“I already told you the basics about her a long time ago. The rest, she filled in tonight.”
“You’re not seriously going to try and get away with that, are you?”
“I was, but obviously, that isn’t going to work.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Okay, well, I guess I’ll try and fill in the blanks.”
I reached for her glass of tea, and after I had taken a drink, I picked up the story from where Mia left off. I explained how Camden and I had both fallen for Mia, but I had it in my head that one day she’d be mine.
It wasn’t easy rehashing the bits about leaving for basic. It was even harder telling her about the letter I’d gotten from Mia saying that she was engaged to Camden. Rebecca’s mouth dropped as she gasped. “She was engaged to Camden? As in, your brother, Camden?”
“The one and only.” I shrugged. “I should’ve seen it coming. All the signs were there in her letters, but I refused to acknowledge them. I just kept letting myself believe that she’d end up with me… even when she showed up in my room a few days before they were supposed to get married.”
“What?”
“Yeah, I was home for a few days between tours, and Mia just showed up. It was the first and only time we slept together. Wouldn’t have happened then if she hadn’t told me that she was having second thoughts about marrying Camden.
” I ran a hand over my face with a mixture of frustration and borderline embarrassment.
“She said I was the one she loved and that she’d loved me all along and wanted to be with me. I was foolish enough to believe her.”
“So, what happened?”
“We spent the night hidden away in my room, talking and making love, and I thought we had it all worked out. I thought she’d break things off with Camden and marry me instead, but when I woke up the next morning, she was gone.
” Rebecca looked completely stunned. “She wrote me a note saying she couldn’t go through with it, and I left it at that.
I packed my bag and headed back for my second tour early. ”
“Oh, Thatch. I can’t imagine how hard that must’ve been for you.”
“Being away made it easier.”
I told her about how they were married by the time I made it back home and how they had their lives and I had my own. She seemed baffled by the whole saga. “How were things when you got back?”
“They weren’t great. It was tough seeing them together, but eventually, it got easier.
Camden was busy getting his career off the ground, so there were times when I’d go over and help her out with things around the house.
Dumb shit, but it gave me an excuse to see her, check on her, and that was enough. At least, that’s what I told myself.”
I went on to tell her the rest of the story.
The good, the bad, and the ugly.
When I was done, Bec sat there staring at me for a moment, then let out a deep breath. “Wow, that’s like a Nicholas Sparks book gone bad.”
“A what?”
“Never mind.” She shook her head. “Is it bad that I feel sorry for Camden?”
“You can feel the way you feel, babe, but not sure why you’d feel sorry for him.”
“He loved Mia, too. He married her and wanted a life with her, but she had eyes for another. And not just any man—she had feelings for his twin brother. I can’t imagine how hard that must’ve been for him.”
“He could’ve left.”
“Yeah, but she could have, too. Seems all three of you are pretty stubborn that way.” Rebecca looked at me with a scowl. “I just don’t get it. How did you not hate Mia? How could you keep going to her place and doing things for her after everything she’d done?”
“I thought I loved her. I was trying to hold on to something that just wasn’t there.” I stood up and stepped over to her, then slipped my arms around her waist. “I didn’t know any better until I fell in love with you.”
“You’re in love with me?”
“It took me some time to figure it out, but yeah, I love you.”
“Oh, Thatch, I love you, too.”