39. Chapter 39
thirty-nine
“Mercy, what’s going on?”
She’d texted me at lunch asking me to come by after school, so I headed straight to Bennett Realty after class.
She’s at her desk as I walk in, staring at her computer like it personally offended her.
She looks up. “What? Nothing.”
“You texted at lunch so it’s something.”
She lifts one shoulder, eyes sliding away. “Nothing to talk about. I’m over it now.”
“Mercy.” I close the door behind me and lower my voice. “I’m an open book with you. Now tell me what’s wrong.”
A long breath leaves her, slow and defeated. “It’s not going to work,” she says quietly.
My stomach dips. “Why? What happened?”
“Nothing happened.” She shakes her head, frustrated with herself. “That’s the problem. Nothing happened. He’s just… he’s a flirt. He can’t help it. It’s who he is.”
“So are you.”
“No, I’m not.” Her voice cracks. “That’s just it. I’m not. And he is.”
She swallows hard, blinking fast. “I walked into the Dust Devil at lunch, and this new waitress was all over him. Laughing at everything he said. Touching his arm. You know the type.”
“Oh, Mercy…”
“I walked out.” Her mouth twists. “He saw. And he got mad.”
Her phone buzzes on the desk. Tanner’s name lights up the screen.
She hits send to voicemail without blinking.
“You need to talk to him,” I say gently.
“I can’t.” Her voice is thin, frayed. “I can’t do it to myself. I’ve got to end it now, before he breaks my heart.”
I sink back in the chair, heart aching for her. “Mercy—he’s crazy about you. I see it all over him.”
She shakes her head, her brown eyes shining.
“We haven’t gone there, you know. I’ve held him back this time.
Because I know, if I go there, I won’t be able to come back.
I mean—we’re so invested in each other. But Tanner’s just…
Tanner. He’s the kind of man who’s going to have women drooling over him when he’s sixty years old. And I know myself. I can’t handle it.”
She stands abruptly, pacing, looking around the office like she’s trying to find an escape hatch. “What’ll I do? The Dust Devil is the only place in this town to go out. I can’t go there anymore. Can’t see him.”
She sinks back into her chair, defeated. “Maybe I’ll move. To Austin. I’m a realtor. I can sell houses and property anywhere.”
My chest goes tight. I just got her back. I can’t lose her.
“Mercy, please—please don’t do this. I just got here. We’re together. We’re—”
“You and Calder will be fine. He’d marry you tomorrow, Laurel. Today. But we’re not a foursome anymore. I simply can’t do it.”
She drops her head into her hands and whispers, “Go. I need to be alone.”
“I don’t want to leave you, Mercy.”
Her eyes meet mine, glassy. “Please, Laurel. I don’t want you to see me cry. And I’m going to.” She swallows.
Fire flashes inside me. “I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.” I stand, ready to march to the Dust Devil, but she shakes her head, eyes pleading. “No, Laurel. Let me deal with it the way I have to.”
An extended stare. “Fine. But Calder’s going to hear about it.”
I take her in my arms, squeezing her hard before I leave, my heart hurting for her. Love is such a bitch.
Driving to the hardware, I text him. He said he wanted to be there if I came to the hardware store, and I don’t want to deal with Darla right now. I might pull her hair out. And I’m only half kidding.
Calder meets me outside in the parking lot. “What’s going on?”
“You know about Mercy and Tanner?”
He shoves a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what the fuck happened. They were perfect and now she won’t take his calls. Said he’s been calling all afternoon.”
“He needs to go see her.”
Calder lifts a sly brow. “You know her temper. I think he’s afraid to.”
“What happened?” I demand.
“Fuck, I don’t know. He said some chick he hired got handsy. Hell, Tanner’s used to that. He doesn’t pay it any attention. I guess she misunderstood what she saw. He’s all in on Mercy.”
“Has he told you that?”
“Well, fuck, no. But I’ve known him all my life, Laurel. She’s the one. I know it.” He takes my arm. “Let’s go in the office and we’ll talk.”
He keeps his hand on my back, protectively, as we walk through—Jesus, you’d think we were walking through a lion’s den. I don’t see Darla, just another kid helping a customer.
In his office, he closes the door—and being Calder, he draws me to him like he’s just been waiting for this moment. “It’s been days,” he murmurs, his forehead brushing mine, his hands warm on my ass, pulling me into him.
Inhaling him, the closeness steals my breath. Everything in me leans toward him, answering the pull I’ve been fighting since he showed up in my driveway with that tricycle. I’m just starting to melt into him when there’s a rap on the door.
It swings open.
Darla.
She clears her throat. “Excuse me, boss. Customer wants to see you.”
“And you couldn’t use the intercom?” Calder asks over his shoulder.
She stares at him, then at me. “Obviously not.” She swings the door wide. Her face is flat, but I see molten lava in her eyes.
“Tell the customer I’ll be there in just a minute. I’m tied up.” He catches the edge of the door, pulling it out of her grip, and shuts it in her face.
We just stare at each other.
“Can I see you later?” he asks.
I rest my hands on his hard, warm chest and peer up. “I’ve got to get home. Tomorrow night?”
“It’s a date.” He presses a warm kiss under my jaw, and my whole body lights up. “But if you keep your hands on me like that—you’re not going to make it home anytime soon,” he whispers low in my ear.
“Calder,” I chuckle, “Stop.”
“Don’t want to.” He pulls my body against him, and I feel how hard he is already. His breath on my neck—my core aches for him. I have goosebumps.
I also have a son waiting at home.
I pull away. “Will you talk to Tanner? Seriously, I think her heart’s breaking. She said she might move to Austin.”
“What?” he whisper-shouts, stunned.
“She says the only place she can go out here is the Dust Devil, and she can’t do it and she refuses to cower inside her house.”
“Well, fuck. Yeah. I’ll talk to him.”
“I can’t imagine her not being here. We have to stop this.”
But I know my best friend. Nothing can stop her when her mind’s made up. And she asked for privacy. I have to give it to her. I text her three heart emojis and head home.
“Mommy! Mommy! How was skull?” Bowie’s face lights up the second he sees me. He drops his toys and rushes to me, arms out.
A greeting like that erases everything. I pick him up, swinging him high. “It was great. I have a lot of new students.”
“Students?”
I settle him on my hip. “Yeah. Kids who want to learn.”
“Any problems?” Mom asks.
“Not that I couldn’t handle. And Mrs. Simms was right. I’ve got a couple of budding geniuses. But I don’t want to talk about my day. I want to hear about yours, Bowie Hayes Prescott. You’re my genius. What did you do while I was at work?”
“Grammy’s all out of tomatoes.”
“Aww. What else?”
“Rode my trike! You want to see?”
“I can’t wait to see. Let me get out of these work clothes and we’ll go in the backyard and you can show me. Have you ridden it on the grass yet?”
“Grammy won’t let me ’til you say it’s okay.”
“But he’s hell on wheels on the patio,” Dad says, coming through the garage door. “What kept you?”
“Mercy.”
“What about Mercy?”
“She’s talking about moving.”
“Oh hell, no. Mercy can’t move. She’s the only real realtor in the county.”
“That’s two, Pop-Pop.” Bowie holds up two fingers splayed, his other fist on his hip and looks over his shoulder. “One more, right Grammy?”
“He knows how to count?” Dad grumbles.
“Teaching him,” Mom says. “It’s only fair after your new three-word rule.”
“One, two, three, four,” Bowie says, holding up one finger at a time, and I beam with pride. My son can count. A milestone, like his potty-training. He hasn’t had an accident since his first day here.
When my phone trills in my purse, my stomach nosedives pulling it out. Grant.
I send it to voicemail. I’m not about to let him spoil my time with Bowie.