9. Mae
NINE
Mae
Seth and I work most of the weekend and manage to get quite a few more bookings for the hideaway weekend. By Tuesday afternoon, I’m exhausted.
“I think you fell asleep,” Seth says.
“No. I’m resting my eyes.” I almost took my laptop and sat on the couch in the back corner, but I was afraid I’d really fall asleep. Maybe the hard chairs didn’t help.
“You should take off early today.”
I blink my eyes open. “Seth, are you trying to get rid of me?” I give him a grin.
He chuckles. “No. But I don’t want to work you to death either. Go, take a nap. Read a book. Do something relaxing.”
I stretch my foot out and find his knee. “I can think of a few relaxing things we can do.” I wiggle my eyebrows to show I’m joking, but maybe not.
He squeezes my foot before pushing it away. “Seriously. Go.”
I nod and stand. I don’t think I can stare at the screen for another second. “I’ll be back first thing in the morning. We’re making such good progress, and I don’t want to lose steam.”
“Me neither. See you tomorrow morning. I’ll bring Mom’s muffins.”
“Only if they are chocolate chip.”
“They are always chocolate chip. I told Mom they were your favorite.”
I probably have a stupid smile on my face as I leave the office, and I barely know where I’m going. I wonder if I’d feel this giddy about him if we could actually be together. Probably.
“Mae,” someone shouts, and I flinch. I blink, and dread pools in my stomach. I plaster on a fake smile. “Rick, what are you doing here?”
He stands there holding a bouquet of cheap gas station red roses, carnations, and a wilting sunflower. “I thought I’d surprise you.”
“I’m definitely surprised.” I take the flowers, and he pulls me into a hug. I expect him to let go after a second, but he holds me longer than he used to. His body is warm next to mine, and his arms fit perfectly around me. I breathe in the scent of Old Spice and sigh. I did miss him.
He lets go and gives me a sheepish smile. “We should talk.”
I gesture toward a narrow dirt path that winds down to the river. The sun peeks through the trees, and the sound of rushing water fills my ears. After spending days cooped up in the stuffy office with Seth, I want to stay outside.
Rick doesn’t say anything for a moment, and for the first time in a while, I find myself missing what we had. Things with Rick weren’t always easy, but it was comfortable. And safe.
“Why did you come?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “Your dad called me and told me how much you missed me. I thought maybe we could work something out. I didn’t mean what I said. You’re beautiful, and you’re definitely smarter than me.”
I clench and unclench my fists. “You made me feel like I wasn’t good enough.” That I could never be what he wanted.
He stops and runs a hand over his face. “I know. It was stupid. That trip to D.C. where I hung out with a few of the senators, they basically told me what I needed my wife to be if I wanted to be successful, and it was everything you weren’t. I know I said you were not pretty or savvy enough, but that’s not what it was. They said I needed to marry a woman who had political connections and a plastic surgeon on speed dial. Then they gave me a list of women that fit that bill.”
And that’s supposed to make me forget his words and take away the pain he caused? He can’t be serious.
All I can do is stare at him. “Wow, that makes me feel so much better,” I say dryly.
His face relaxes. “Oh. Good. It was stupid. I miss you. I don’t want anyone else, Mae, just you. We’ll make our way in D.C. You are amazing, and you’ll talk circles around all those wives with connections and plastic surgeons. I’m sorry. Can we try again?”
Rick had never, ever apologized to me. Although to be truthful, he never had to before. That fight was the first big one we ever had. His apology is refreshing and sweet, and I probably should give him another chance. I lay a hand on his arm. “Can I think about it? I’ve had a lot on my mind, and you kind of just sprung this on me.”
His eyebrows lower, and his jaw tenses as he lets out a frustrated sigh, but he nods. “Can we at least do dinner tonight?”
“Of course. Where are you staying?”
“Your dad’s house.”
A double betrayal. Dad and I are going to have words over his loyalty.
“I can meet you at the gazebo at 6:30. Is that okay?”
He agrees and leaves me holding his flowers as he returns to his car.
Maybe I’m being a fool by holding out for Seth. I think about heading to the small wedding chapel on my dad’s property to sit and mull all of this over, but it’s farther than I want to go. Instead, I take a left down a more hidden path that ends at a wide, flat rock that I can sit on and stare out over the river. I meditate and pray a little, but my mind is as confused as ever.
Rick was good for me. He is stable and calming. He can be sweet, and he’s dedicated to his career and supportive of mine. The night I got the call about my internship, he took me to my favorite restaurant and did a big post on Instagram talking about how proud he was of me. He didn’t know that internship wasn’t my dream.
A life with Rick would be secure and interesting, I’m sure. All the things I didn’t like about him were things he couldn’t help because he didn’t know the real me. That’s my fault for not sharing my true self with him, not his. That night he dumped me, if he’d proposed instead, I would’ve said yes because I loved him.
At least I thought I did…until Seth came home. I head back to the bunkhouse, collapse into my bed and pick up my phone.
Mae: Rick’s here.
Seth: What? Why?
Mae: Dad told him I missed him. Rick now wants to get back together.
Seth: So. Are you getting back together?
Mae: I’m confused. Tell me what to do.
Seth: What do you want me to say?
I want him to say to tell Rick to go to hell because I’m his. That’s what I want him to say. But I can’t tell him that, and I wish I could. That would be way too bold and scary. Plus, I’d be asking him to risk his family’s business, and that’s not fair.
On the other hand, if he tells me to pursue Rick, I will, because he’s okay with it. I hate that I have this unconscious need to please everyone.
Mae: I don’t know.
It’s a long few moments before he responds again.
Seth: Your dad brought him here. And I know he made you happy before. Maybe you should make an effort. If nothing else, it’ll keep your dad off your back. And it’s not like there’s anything happening with us. Even if we want it to.
Mae: I don’t want you to be right. But you are.
* * *
The next morning, Abi pokes her head over the side of the bed, her face wild with excitement. “Isaac needs our help today.”
“I have another job, remember. I can’t join you. Darn.”
Isaac only ever needs our help for one thing—taking groups of campers on a trail ride.
And I hate it.
The horses are fine. I like animals, and I’ve ridden the same horse for years. She likes me well enough, but it’s uncomfortable, and I hate the jarring up-and-down motion. I’ve never, ever told Abi this. She loves riding horses, so we go as often as she wants, and I pretend that I love it.
“I’ve already messaged Seth,” she says, missing my sarcasm as I expected. “It’ll be good to get some vids and things with the horses, and we’ve got nothing on them yet.”
She drops back into bed, and I pick up my phone.
Mae: Isn’t it supposed to rain today?
Seth: Maybe. But I thought you’d enjoy the change of scenery.
Mae: I like the scenery in the office just fine, thanks.
Seth: It’s only a morning ride. I’ll see you in the afternoon, and you can admire the scenery then.
Mae: But won’t you go through Mae withdrawals?
Seth: It will be hard, but I’ll survive. Besides, maybe you can take Rick with you. How did your dinner go last night?
I frown at the phone. I don’t want to talk about it. The dinner was fine. Rick was his usual self, chatty and sweet. He complimented me and listened to me ramble on about my new job. We talked about what life in D.C. would be like, which made me nervous, but he was excited about it. He gave me a goodnight kiss afterward, and it felt nice. Nothing earth-shattering, but nice.
But do I really want just nice for the rest of my life?
Mae: It was fine. Comfortable.
Seth: Good. You deserve to be happy.
I could be happy with Rick. Maybe.
My stomach clenches.
Or maybe I’ll always know he was my second choice and a life I didn’t really want.
Abi pops her head up again. “Come on, those horses aren’t going to saddle themselves.”
I slide out of bed. “Why does Isaac need us? He does these things all the time by himself.”
“It’s a bachelorette party weekend, and apparently, when they did the wild animal tour yesterday, three of them tried to get him to sleep with them. So he doesn’t want to take them.”
“I certainly hope one of them wasn’t the bride.”
Abi shrugs. “It wouldn’t be the first time a married woman has flirted with my brothers. I’m pretty sure Ethan got in a fight with a guy who thought he slept with his wife because she was fawning over him.”
It takes us about thirty minutes to prepare and get the six horses ready to go. We’ve done bigger groups before, so this shouldn’t be that bad. The weather today is fairly nice, but the ground is muddy from the rain yesterday.
“Let’s get this party started…The bride is in the house!”
I turn around and find four women about my age, maybe a little older. Three wear short shorts, and one is in a tight dress. All four have flip-flops on.
“This is going to be a disaster,” I mutter to Abi.
She takes a deep breath and nods, then faces the group. “I would highly recommend that you go change before we ride. Jeans and closed-toed shoes will be better.”
The women all look at each other. “We don’t have jeans with us, and these are the only shoes we brought.”
Abi lets out an exasperated sigh. She can be flighty and irresponsible, but where the horses are concerned, she’s very serious.
“Well, you’ll be sore when it’s over, and be careful around the horse hooves. They could take your toes off.” She gives them another glance. “You all haven’t been drinking already this morning, have you? We don’t allow our guests to ride drunk. It’s dangerous.”
The bride shakes her head, and another girl hands each of the others hydration backpacks.
“At least one of them is sensible,” I mutter to Abi.
“Where’s Isaac?” The bride narrows her eyes at Abi.
“Busy. We’re taking you today.”
The woman pouts for a second and then shrugs, sipping from her pack. The others seem to be going to town on them as well. I bet no one told them they’d have to pee in the woods.
It takes a good thirty minutes to get them all loaded onto the horses. Flip-flops were flying everywhere, but nobody fell off, which is a miracle in my opinion. These girls have obviously never been around horses before.
The ride starts off easy enough with the women all trying to get close to each other and take selfies. Just before we reach the path into the woods, they spot Levi chopping wood, and the bride flashes him.
I look to Abi. She grimaces and holds up her phone, mouthing, “I missed it.”
I’m not a hundred percent sure he saw her anyway.
“We’ll go down to the river.” Abi motions toward the path. “It’s about a half hour there, and then we can cross and go to the grove, which is another half hour. Then we’ll come back the same way.”
“Let’s do it,” one woman squeals, and the others cheer in agreement. They are overly excited about this ride. Something is definitely off.
Ten minutes in, and I’ve dismounted four times to fetch flip-flops. This two-and-a-half-hour ride will take all day.
Forty-five minutes later, we finally make it to the river. It’s a fairly shallow and calm area, and the horses hang out for a minute and drink. Then we are off again toward the grove on the Martin’s property. They let us bring our horses out here, and we let them use our swimming holes and camp whenever they want.
“Dusty, sweet Dusty Wusty. You’re my favorite horsey in the world.” One of the women is leaning over, stroking Dusty’s mane.
I wait until the path opens and pull up next to her. She still hasn’t sat back up.
“Are you okay?” I ask. She sits up, her face a little slack.
“What? Oh, yeah. I just love my horse. So much. Have you seen his eyes? They are so pretty. I think I want to marry this horse. It’s a boy, right?”
I blink at her for a minute, unsure what’s going on. Before I can respond, she leans over and kisses Dusty’s mane. Then she licks him.
“Woo,” the girl in front of me cheers so loud that my horse spooks. I quickly get her under control, but my neighbor isn’t so lucky. Dusty rears up. But since the woman is already leaning forward, she wraps her arms around his neck and miraculously manages to stay on.
“See, he loves me too. You can’t fight true love,” she says. “Men are assholes. Horseys are better.”
I grab both horses’ reins so they don’t do anything reckless and glance up at Abi. She’s looking back at me with wide eyes.
“We’re fine,” I say. But in that instant, the girl in front shouts “woo” again, and her horse takes off running. Abi goes after her, and I keep everyone calm here. I leave Horse Lover behind and check on the bride and her other friend. The bride seems fine but a little bored. Her friend, however, is suddenly sobbing out of the blue.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“Did you see that?” she says between sobs. “Amy just took off into the woods. We’re never going to see her again. She’s lost to us forever.”
“I’m sure Abi will find her.” These women are nuts. I wonder what they drank or took before we started our journey.
“Abi can do that?” Her mouth drops like I just said Abi was a heart surgeon. “She must be a superhero.” She whispers the last word. Then she bursts into tears again. “I’m going to be alone forever. No man will ever love me.”
The bride huffs. “Don’t mind her. She’s always whining about true love.”
“That’s why I chose the horse.” Horse Lover trails kisses along Dusty’s mane. The bride continues sucking down on her pack, and Abi comes back with Woo Girl and her horse. She’s singing now at the top of her lungs.
I join Abi up front and trust the girls will follow us. I know I can’t stay with her in the lead position long, especially if my suspicions are true, but we’ve got to talk.
Abi shakes her head and glances back. “Miraculously, in the two minutes we’ve taken our eyes off of them, they’re still all there. We’re gonna turn around. We’ll take a break at the small clearing up there so I can make sure the horses are all okay and then head back. The women won’t know we didn’t go the whole way.” We can see the clearing. It’s a good place to turn around.
“I don’t think it’s water in those packs.”
“I agree, but I asked that girl, and she said it was just water. Got a little defensive actually.”
“Hmm. I wonder if I can get one of them to share?”
“You trust where those mouths have been?” Abi asks.
“No, but we need to find out. I’ll check with the sobbing girl. She seems the most likely to not have mouth herpes. On account of her sobbing that she’ll never find a man.”
“I don’t know if it’s worth it.”
I fall back, and Woo Girl grabs my horse’s reins. “Wahoo. Look at me. I’m a cowgirl.”
Then she starts singing “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy).” Luckily my horse likes me and is calm while I wrestle the reins back from her. We make it to the clearing, and Abi dismounts and takes the reins of all the horses. She ties them up before letting anyone dismount. Which is a good thing because three of the four fall off. Only the bride manages to keep herself astride her horse. But even she stumbles once she gets down.
Woo Girl and Horse Lover are on the ground with their arms around each other, singing the theme song to My Little Pony. Loudly.
The bride seems bored, and the weeper is weeping. I sink down next to her.
“Beautiful day for a ride, huh?”
Weeper sniffs. “Yeah.”
“Hey, I forgot my water. Can I have some of yours?”
She doesn’t answer but holds out the nozzle. I take a sip and splutter. Definitely not water.
I wave Abi over. “Wine… Red wine.”
Abi glowers. “Gimme.”
The girl shrugs off the pack. Abi opens it up and dumps the rest of the wine onto the ground. Weeper just sobs more. “You’re wasting all the good stuff.”
“Hey,” the bride yells. “What are you doing?”
Abi holds her hand out. “Give me the backpack. This is dangerous and reckless and completely against the rules.”
“No.” She takes a swing at Abi but misses by a mile.
“Hey,” Weeper yells, tugging on the bride’s arm, “be careful. You don’t want to get arrested like you did at that bar in Staunton.”
Abi pinches the bridge of her nose. “I’ll leave you out here.”
The bride stumbles back a few feet. “You would not.”
“I would. I’ll take the horses and tell them it wasn’t safe for you to ride them back, and you refused to give up your alcohol. Give it to me now. All of you.”
They grudgingly oblige, but Woo girl shouts some very not-nice words at us. Once Abi has rounded up the bags, she dumps out the wine and hands them back. “If you have to pee, go now. We’re heading back right away, and we’re not stopping. I’m tying the horses together so they all walk in a single line, and you don’t have to worry about steering. I’ll have to untie them at the water, but camp is not very far after that.”
They stumble into the woods, and Abi rolls her eyes at them.
“We might be here a few minutes,” I mutter.
Abi nods. “How is your asshole ex doing anyway?”
“Abi. He’s not that bad. You liked him until we broke up.” She and Rick were pretty good friends until that night.
“Yep, and then he dumped you and made you feel bad about yourself. I don’t know why you’re even giving him another shot.”
“Because I love him. And those feelings don’t just go away.” But even as I say the words, I feel the falseness in them. I thought I loved him, but something was always missing.
The women stumble back out of the woods with their arms around each other. Abi and I help them back onto their horses. We manage to get to the river without another incident, except for Woo Girl occasionally cursing us out, and Abi unties the horses.
“Whoops.” Woo Girl laughs as her flip-flops float off in the water.
“I’m going to fall.” Weeper clutches her horse like she’s about to get swept off.
“Nooo,” Horse Lover cries as her phone drops from her hand. The water is shallow but moving fast. I’m not bothering to chase after it.
The bride’s face is pale, and she’s holding onto her stomach tightly. She’d better not toss her cookies right here.
Even as annoying as these women are, I can’t help but laugh at it all. Seth will get such a big kick out of it when I tell him the story.
I let out a big sigh. Seth is the first one I thought of telling.
Not Rick.
I point at the bride. “She’s not looking so hot, is she?” And here I thought she’d been holding her alcohol so well.
The bride flops over on her stomach, letting go of the reins while her horse leans down for a drink. She slowly slides forward, down the horse’s neck, and into the water she goes.
Pandemonium erupts as the rest of them start screaming and shouting. Abi and I dismount and rush to her side. She sits up, spluttering. “Your horse bucked me off!”
“No, sweetie, you passed out and fell off,” Abi says.
She shakes her head. “No. That’s not right. He kicked me off.” Then she eyes me. “You’re about my size. We need to change clothes. I hate wet clothes.”
“I’m not giving you my clothes. Let’s get you up on your horse, and we’ll get back to camp so you can change.”
“I’m not getting on that thing again.” Her eyes widen as she backs away.
There’s no way I’m staying out here with those women. “I’ll ride back and grab Levi and the Gator. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
The bride sort of whimpers but nods.
It takes me about fifteen minutes to get back and another ten for me and Levi to get the Gator down there.
“Are you wearing lipstick?” I ask. His lips are a funny pink color. It’s a stark contrast to his dark beard.
He glances over me. “What, no.” Then he rubs at his lips. “Is it gone?”
“Yeah. Are you gonna tell me where it came from?” I’m not sure I want to know. Levi isn’t really the one I see hooking up with guests, so the lipstick is odd. Maybe he has a girl.
He shakes his head.
When we arrive, the women all fawn over Levi, and he shoots daggers at Abi when she tells him that we need to get the horses back, so he’s on his own. The bride is already practically in his lap.
Once we get the horses to the stables, I feed mine a few treats and then leave for the bunkhouse for a shower. Then I need to find Seth and tell him what happened.
“Thinking about me?”
I jerk my head up and realize I have a big smile on my face. Rick swoops me up into a hug and gives me a long kiss. I try to enjoy it, I really do, but I have no overwhelming desire for him.
He pulls away and brings his lips to my ears. “Why don’t we go find a quiet spot in the woods and have some fun.”
“I wish I could, but I have to work. I had to do horses with Abi all morning, and now I need to get a couple of hours in at the office.”
He creases his eyebrows. “Why were you riding horses? I thought your job was giving you real marketing experience.”
“It is. It’s just that the group that went out today was a horrid bachelorette party.” I loop my arm through his and launch into the tale of the girls.
“Where do I get wifi service here?” He interrupts and holds up his phone. “I’m waiting for a few important messages, and your dad doesn’t have it for some reason.”
“Guess you’ll just have to wait.” I grin at him and wink. Dad is just like Todd in that way. “There isn’t much wifi out here.” I resume my tale, but he interrupts again.
“I don’t care about the stupid bachelorette party. This is real work, not some play stuff. I need to have a connection.”
I blink. This is completely out of character for him. But come to think of it, he was always glued to his phone. It was something everyone did, so I never thought much about it.
I should take him with me to the office, but he’s being an asshole and doesn’t deserve it. Besides, I don’t want him and Seth in the same room because then I might see exactly what I’m missing if I stay with Rick.
“You’ll have to go into town and find a diner with wifi. I’ll see you at dinner?”
He stares at his phone in frustration. “Yeah, okay. I don’t know how you survive out here.”
I leave him at his car with a quick kiss and head over to the office.
Seth is there, playing on his phone, his feet propped on his desk. He’s wearing a purple and gold tie today and the socks with Abi’s and my faces on them. He drops the phone onto the desk, a smile lighting up his face.
“How was horseback riding? Isaac told me about the bridesmaids.”
“It was awful but also hysterically funny.” I tell him all about the girls getting drunker and drunker as the morning went on. Seth listens and laughs without a glance at his phone, and my heart constricts a little. I need to give Rick a chance, but I want this instead.
Too bad I can’t have it.
* * *
When I wake up the next morning, there’s already a text from Seth waiting for me.
Seth: How did dinner with Dick…I mean Rick go?
Mae: It was fine. And you shouldn’t call him names.
I chuckle at his comment though.
Seth: Why not? He’s getting the girl I want. Even if he was the nicest guy in the whole world, I’d still call him names.
Butterflies erupt in my stomach as I imagine how relaxing my night would’ve been with Seth, a night that would’ve ended in the hottest kiss ever instead of the lukewarm, sloppy kiss I actually got.
This probably isn’t fair to Rick at all. I’m trying—I really am—but I was so bored at dinner last night.
Mae: I don’t know how to respond to that.
Seth: I probably shouldn’t have said it. I’m sorry. Oh no, they didn’t.
Mae: Did what?
Seth: I’m gonna kill Mark and Levi.
Mae: What did they do now?
Seth: I’ll send a picture.
It takes a second for the picture to arrive, and I giggle. Every single one of his white pressed shirts in his closet is covered in lipstick kisses. It must’ve taken them forever.
“What’s so funny?” Abi asks, and I show her the picture.
“Oh yeah, I wondered what they needed my lipstick for. The tubes came back nearly empty.”
And here I thought Levi had managed to get some.
“And you didn’t think to ask?”
“Honestly, I didn’t want to know. What are you and Seth up to today?”
“More of the same. Answering comments on the socials and hopefully securing a couple more bookings. I’ve got two people on the fence who are close to making a decision.”
She nods absentmindedly. I realize we’ve spent hardly any time together recently. The bachelorette party doesn’t count.
“Hey, you want to hang out tonight, just you and me? Maybe we can have a movie night up at the house. Make cookie dough and eat it instead of baking them?”
Abi’s face lights up. “You’re on, but I’m picking the movie.”
“Have you ever let me pick one?”
She shakes her head and giggles. “I’ll see you after work.”
I get ready and head out. Seth’s waiting for me outside the office in a golf cart to bring me to Beverly’s to look at bouquets for the cabins and glamping tents. We drive over, and she meets us outside her house. The scent of flowers hangs everywhere.
Beverly hands us a small basket and waves toward the field. “Take a walk and bring me back the ones you like. I’ll put together some arrangements and send you pictures for approval.”
Seth leans over and gives the old woman a kiss. She blushes, and I wink at her. She’s always loved flirting with the Blackwood men. And I don’t blame her.
As we stroll through the picturesque flower farm, Seth and I are lost in a discussion about which blooms would look best in the cabins. My hand brushes against the petals of a purple hyacinth, its sweet aroma enveloping me.
“I’m telling you, sunflowers are the way to go,” Seth teases, playfully nudging my shoulder. I roll my eyes.
“Sunflowers don’t smell good.” I counter and cut one of the hyacinths and hand it to him. “See, these smell good.”
He brings his nose to the blooms, and his eyes widen a little. “Those do smell good.” He leans down and cuts a few more.
I steer Seth away from the sunflowers. Rick’s mom loves sunflowers, so that’s what he usually got me when he brought me flowers. I think it’s sweet he thinks of her, but they aren’t my favorite.
Seth picks a sprig of lavender and hands it to me. “What about this? Does it smell good enough for you?”
“Yep. ” It’s the same color as the hyacinths we picked, and I wonder if he realizes that purple flowers are my favorite. We never talked about it before. But Seth’s always been observant. Even without me telling him, he seems to know the things I like.
We gather a few more flowers. Some that smell good and some that just look pretty. I make sure there’s a variety of colors that complement the purple flowers. Then we leave the basket with Beverly and head to our office.
The roses that Rick got me earlier sit in a vase by my computer. I glower at them.
Seth must have noticed my change in mood because he gently asks, “Is something wrong?”
“I just don’t really like red flowers. Or white ones. Or even yellow.” My mother loved roses, but she only ever planted red, white, and yellow ones. A year after she left, Dad and I tore the bushes out. I didn’t even realize how much I hated them until Rick got me those flowers on our second date.
* * *
Late that night, Abi and I spread out on the floor of Terry’s living room with cookie dough and a bowl of popcorn. Bisbee and Gilbert are cuddled up next to us, waiting for more dropped popcorn. We’ve just finished a silly rom-com, which is what she always picks, and now we’re starting Passengers for the second. I still haven’t finished the book of the week, so Abi very nearly canceled the movies and made me read instead, but I promised her I’d finish it tomorrow.
It’s been good to take my mind off of things. Rick didn’t seem all that bothered when he found I was spending the evening with Abi instead of him. Normally he would’ve been. And I think he probably should’ve been. He’s only here for a few days, and I take one of those to hang out with a girl I see every day. But he just gave me a quick kiss and told me to have fun and that he’ll see me in the morning. Maybe he’s really trying to be a better person.
If that’s the case, then I need to try harder to make things work with him. Though I will admit that, halfway through the movie, I really wished it was Seth sitting next to me instead of Abi.
Shouts suddenly erupt outside our window, and Abi and I lock eyes for a split second before we jump up from the couch and sprint out the front door. In the middle of the yard is my dad, Todd, Rick, and the bride from hell.
My dad’s face twists with anger, his fists clenched at his sides as he glares at Rick. Todd stands between them, his arms outstretched, holding my dad back.
“Calm down, Keith. Fighting is never the answer. Let’s go.” Todd speaks in a calm but strong voice.
Dad shakes him off and gets in Rick’s face. “I took you in. Encouraged my daughter to give you another chance, and then I find you canoodling with this thing in the gazebo.” He waves his hand at the bride, who looks very hastily dressed.
Wait a second. What?
Canoodling?
Anger rises in my chest, and I march up to them.
“You slept with her?” I push myself between him and Dad. Rick’s face is beet red, and he takes a step back.
“Like you’re all innocent. Movies with Abi my ass. You just wanted to hook up with your boss.”
Abi runs over, fists clenched, the two dogs following. “I’m right here, asshole. And she was with me all night.”
He runs a hand through his hair and glares at me. My vision clouds, and my pulse races.
“What the hell were you thinking?”
His lip curls, and he steps into my space. “No woman like you could keep a man satisfied. I’d been cheating on you long before this. I just never got caught.”
The punches come so fast that he doesn’t even see them. First me and then Abi. I get him in the nose, and her shot knocks him to the ground. Todd grabs our arms and shoves us toward my dad. “Keith, take the girls inside. I’ll take care of things out here.”
Dad looks like he wants to argue, but he places his hands gently on our backs and leads us inside. I feel so stupid for giving him another chance. He’s an even bigger asshole than I thought.
My dad drops his eyes and paces back and forth in front of us. “I’m sorry I invited him back.”
“Yeah, well, maybe you should talk to me before interfering in my life again. You know, Seth wouldn’t do this to me.” Never in a million years.
Dad doesn’t say anything else, but I can still feel his anger too. Maybe I shouldn’t be bringing up Seth right now, but this is all Dad’s fault.
The door is closed, blocking out whatever’s happening outside. Abi and I look at each other and dissolve into giggles. I wonder if Rick’s nose will ever be the same. I hope not.
“I think I broke my hand,” Abi says between her fits of laughter.
“Me too,” I wheeze, the pain finally hitting.
My dad just shakes his head. “I’ll go get Terry. She’ll fix you guys right up.”
“Thanks for having my back, sis,” I say. I am so grateful to have her as a friend. Maybe someday I’ll get her as a sister as well.
She grins. “No problem. I’m glad you didn’t marry that guy.”
She has no idea how many different reasons I have for that.
Or maybe she does.