8.
I’ve found that the quickest way to get something done is to tell a man he’s too old to do it.
Patrice Donovan
LARA
Good morning, Cupcake.
“She got her morning text!” Lake announced cheerfully.
“Look at her getting flustered,” Lara teased. “I used to get giddy like that when Clay sent me a message. Now it’s mostly just questions about where I put something or asking me about something food-related. He’s usually asking what I have planned for dinner.”
“I still get a thrill when Mark sends me a message after I haven’t talked to him in a few hours,” Lake added, “even though our texts are much the same.”
“Any chance of having either of you come up here and hold this for me?” I asked.
“Not a single one,” Lana said.
At the same time, Lake answered, “That would be a no from me.”
I had placed a couch in the back of the boutique so people could relax while they waited for a dressing room or for the person they were with to try on clothes. My sisters had dragged it to the front of the store so they could lounge comfortably while they watched me work on the window display.
Of course, they were here on the pretense of helping me, but considering neither of them had gotten up to do anything besides go to the restroom or refill their coffee, it didn’t seem like that was really the focus anymore.
I thought about how many times I’d lazed in the shade while I watched Lake working in the garden, or perched on a chair out of the way while Lara worked her magic to transform a space from blah into something magazine-worthy.
I knew it was only fair that they got their turn too.
Eventually, they’d end up crowding my space and giving me input I probably wouldn’t listen to, which would start the bickering we were known for before we finally agreed that things were perfect.
Lake and Lana started discussing what they were thinking of getting Conner, our birth mother’s youngest child, for his fifth birthday next month. Since I had already picked out his gifts, I bowed out of the conversation to reply to Shiloh.
Good morning, Sugar Dumplin’.
Cute. I like that one.
How is your day going?
I’ve got a repeat customer here, complaining because I couldn’t find the source of the mysterious noise her car is making. It’s incredibly frustrating. I’m considering quitting my job to become a professional rodeo clown.
A rodeo clown? Don’t most people say they’re going to run away and join the circus?
A clown’s a clown, right? Speaking of clowns, what did the cops say?
I sighed in frustration. Jeremy had been an absolute pain in the ass since Shiloh confronted him in my store last week.
Not only had he shown up two more times, but he’d sent me flowers three times, each with a heartfelt note reminding me of what he referred to as “one of the good times” in our relationship.
Oddly enough, when we were dating, I would have agreed. However, now that we’d been apart for a while, I could see things in a different light.
The first card mentioned our trip to the mountains when we spent the weekend in a gorgeous cabin, surrounded by wildlife and nature . . . all of which Jeremy bitched about when he wasn’t complaining that there wasn’t anything to do in “the boonies.”
The second card was a reminder of the romantic evening we spent snuggled under a blanket in the cornfield behind Tom and Lori’s house while we watched a lunar eclipse.
I was excited to see it since it didn’t happen very often, but Jeremy’s complaining ruined it.
The ground was too hard, his hay fever was acting up, and he was too cold.
Those were just a few of the subjects he whined about until I finally suggested we just drive back to Marlboro.
I knew he wouldn’t shut up and let me relax until I gave in.
The third and final card was not really alarming, but it gave me a strange feeling, so I caved to the pressure from my family and called the police to make a report.
It would be a follow-up to the trespass order Jeremy had been served with the day he was arrested outside of my shop.
Of course, the scuffle he got into with the police officer was much more pressing than my complaint, especially since he hadn’t physically assaulted me or anyone in my store.
However, when it was coupled with what had transpired on the sidewalk, the department was taking it very seriously as was the detective I spoke to after receiving this note.
You can’t avoid me forever, Lara. I know you love me as much as I love you.
I don’t want to have to tell my children that your bad decisions put you in danger.
I hope it doesn’t come to that, but it most definitely will if you don’t sit down with me and discuss this like a rational adult sooner rather than later.
It wasn’t an all-out threat, but the implication was there .
. . or at least I thought so. Apparently, the detective agreed with me because he was filing the paperwork to have Jeremy brought up on charges for violating the protective order.
I wasn’t sure if that would make the situation worse or better, but then again, I couldn’t figure out why we were in this position in the first place.
That is too much to text, so we’ll talk this afternoon when I bring the girls over.
Thanks for helping me prepare. Raylee has been beside herself with excitement, but I’m more cautious. They’re not going to do anything crazy, are they?
When we were their age, we went to stay the night with friends who told their parents they were staying over at our place, and then we partied all night with friends our parents wouldn’t let us hang out with and got drunk by a bonfire.
The next day, we tried to convince our parents that our hangover was really a stomach bug.
Fuck me. I’m not prepared for this at all.
Don’t worry, Hot Cakes. I’ll be there as backup. You’ll be fine.
I’ve got some great news!
You finally figured out what is wrong with that woman’s car?
No, but I think it’s better than that.
I still look like I went three rounds with the champ, but I can breathe through my nose again.
Congratulations!
You know what that means, right?
More oxygen will get to your brain when you inhale?
That means I can kiss my girl if she can look past the color palette on my face. Purple and blue have turned into weird shades of green.
You’re lucky I’ve always had a thing for the Hulk.
Can’t wait to see you, Cupcake.
Ditto, Snookums.
Shiloh sent me a kissing emoji, and I smiled when I thought about how much fun tonight would be.
We’d spent a lot of time together in the last week .
. . enough for me to realize I could easily fall head over heels for the gruff biker.
As much as I hated the fact that I’d injured him, it was a blessing, in a way.
I knew that our making out that night would have led to me ending up at his house and doing things I wasn’t ready for, which would’ve then led to a mountain of regret and doubting myself.
However, Shiloh’s broken nose had derailed that speeding train, which meant we’d had plenty of time to talk and hang out while he recovered.
I soon found I couldn’t wait to see him every day and looked forward to our banter, which was fun via text but so much better when we were riffing face to face. Nothing seemed to faze Shiloh, which was a welcome surprise in comparison to how stifled I felt with Jeremy.
He never seemed to understand my sense of humor and definitely didn’t appreciate it when I was with my sisters and talked shit.
Something we did without even thinking about it.
Spending time with Shiloh made me feel the opposite of how I’d felt during the last few months of mine and Jeremy’s relationship.
I wondered what it would finally take to get my ex to see we were much better apart than we’d ever been together.
“Why is Jeremy acting like such a dick all of a sudden?” I asked out loud, interrupting my sisters’ conversation.
“You think this is new behavior?” Lana asked. “You can’t be that dense.”
“I mean, I get it. He was a prick a lot of the time, but I’m talking about before we broke up. He was just coasting, but now he’s all in. Why now?”
“Because that’s all he knows how to be?” Lake suggested, taking a stab at answering my question.
In a firmer voice, Lana said, “He was born that way.”
“Okay, get off the hate train for five seconds and help me out here. Why is he so intent on talking to me and getting me back? Shouldn’t he be so pissed that he hopes he doesn’t ever have to speak to me again?”
“Well, that would be a normal reaction, but maybe his ego is so big that he can’t handle the thought of that,” Lake said.
“It could be that he realizes what a good thing he’s lost and is willing to do or say anything to get you back.
” When Lake and I started to argue, Lana put her hand up and said, “Or, to add to your idea, it’s possible he just doesn’t like to lose.
He’ll get you back and then come up with a reason to dump you to save face. ”
“That’s an awful lot of work for someone as lazy and complacent as he is when it comes to relationships. There’s got to be another reason,” Lake insisted.
“Did your low opinion of Jeremy start before or after we broke up?” Lana and Lake both gave me the blank stare I’d used often when asked a question I didn’t want to answer, and I suddenly understood why it irritated my mother so much.
“Okay, then. If you develop negative feelings about the next man I date, will you tell me before we’re together for more than a year? ”
“I like Shiloh!” Lana said excitedly. “Clay does too.”
“Mark likes him, but I’m going to reserve judgment so if something horrible happens, I can say that I had a feeling.”
“That doesn’t count.”
“Yes, it does,” Lana argued.
“You’re outvoted. I don’t think that counts either,” I chimed in before they started bickering. “The fact that Mark likes him definitely says something.”