Chapter 4
“Colt, this is Henry. He lives upstairs. He was helping me fix the pipe under the sink,” I state calmly.
Colt was never the jealous type, but I also never gave him a reason to be jealous. Plus, we lived in a small town, and people knew I was his. Like the ring that used to sit on my left-hand finger was some sort of brand.
Colt’s shoulders seem to relax once he realizes I’m not in the middle of a date or whatever else that might’ve crossed his mind. He puts on the welcoming smile that used to warm my heart and sticks out his free hand. “Hi, Henry. I’m Colt.”
Henry snaps out of whatever hole he had sequestered himself in and meets Colt’s gesture with a firm handshake.
As I observe the two men perform the simple interaction, I take a step back and gawk at how different they truly are. Henry is handsome but soft around the edges, while Colt is cute but hard and weathered.
“Mama,” Milo whines, snapping me out of my thoughts. I don’t waste any time pulling him into me and resting him on my hip.
Once Milo’s head is cradled into the nape of my neck, I look up to find Henry staring. It’s hard to decipher what’s going on behind his doe-eyed gaze, but it feels like a balance beam of panic and calm.
A ringing noise interrupts the awkward moment, and Henry slides his phone out of his pocket. The corners of his mouth sag a little when he looks at the caller’s I.D. His smile bounces right back into place when he looks back up and his eyes connect with mine.
Henry clears his throat. “Well, I’m going to get going. I should probably take this call. It was nice meeting you, Colt, and you too…” He pauses. “I’m sorry. I didn’t catch your name, sir,” he says, motioning to Milo, who is currently hiding his face from our company.
I give Mi a little nudge and whisper, “Say bye, Milo.”
He pulls his head back and his bright green eyes that perfectly match mine sparkle. He turns toward Henry, and I can see the edge of Henry’s mouth tilt up. “Bye.”
Milo quickly retreats back to his hiding spot in my arms, and I pull him closer. “Sorry. He’s being a little shy today.”
“I think you’ve apologized enough in the last twenty-four hours,” he says with a quick wink. “Let me know if the duct tape holds up. My dad said he’ll be over to properly fix it sometime this week.”
Something clicks in my head before he walks out the door, and I yell after him. “Henry, don’t forget your pants.”
He stops right before his hand can connect with the doorknob and whispers something under his breath.
When he turns, his eyes flicker from my ex-husband back to me.
His face has a subtle red undertone that resembles a blush.
“Right. Can I get them some other time? I really need to return this call.”
I nod, happy with the promise of getting to see him again. My new friend.
Henry gives one last wave to Colt and makes his way back home. When the door finally clicks shut, I set Milo down on his playmat.
“How was he this weekend?” I ask Colt, trying to breeze over the burning questions running through his head.
Colt responds with a cocky smirk while shoving his hands in his jean pockets. “Not as good as your weekend, apparently.”
I roll my eyes and give him a five-second glare intense enough to level cities. He quickly steps back into his lane. “Fine, whatever. It was good. Milo was a perfect angel.”
I smile at him, thankful we can avoid any more pants-related talk. I know I can quell any lingering questions by giving him the we’re just friends line, but I don’t owe him an explanation. I also don’t feel like giving one either.
All the awkwardness seems to leave the room when laughter fills the space we’re standing in.
We both know Milo is approaching his terrible twos, but he decided to start that phase earlier than anticipated.
Now that he’s walking, all bets are off.
I was either chasing him or discovering a new spot that needed babyproofed.
“Did he sleep through the night both nights?”
“Yeah, for the most part. He did get up around five a.m. this morning, which is why he might be grumpy,” Colt practically yawns. “How was your girl’s night?”
Milo starts playing with some of the wooden blocks I set out on his playmat, so I decide to sit down on the sofa. I motion for Colt to do the same and he obliges. His tall frame practically swallows the entire couch. He looks out of place in my tiny apartment.
“It was good,” I begin. “We didn’t stay out too late, and I was in bed at a reasonable time.”
“I’m on the edge of my seat,” he jokes.
I couldn’t tell him the full story of what happened last night, so the watered-down version would have to work for now. “Take it easy. It’s hard going from spending every second of the day with Milo to not having him on the weekends.”
It was true. As a new mother, I retreated into myself a lot.
Wren was still living in Cleveland at the time, and it was easy to make my entire life revolve around Milo.
I didn’t have many close friends or family to rely on.
Colt was there, but for some reason, I felt the need to push him away, too.
I loved Mi, but it was hard to even remember who I was before him.
Colt’s face sobers at my response. “I know this isn’t an ideal situation, but I’m glad we’re figuring it out.”
I flash him a genuine smile. “Me too.”
In his typical Colt fashion, he immediately changes the subject to talk about something lighter. “Why didn’t you call me about the sink? I could’ve fixed it.”
I sigh and lean deeper into the back of the couch. “I know, but I wanted to get it figured out myself. I am capable of that, Colt.”
“I know,” he says, holding his hands up in defense. “It’s just… It probably would’ve been better than having a stranger in here.”
“Henry is not a stranger. He’s my neighbor, and he’s Mr. Cooke’s son.” And my friend, I wanted to say but kept it to myself for some reason.
Colt takes a moment to examine my reaction. He didn’t get jealous, but he was overprotective. It was endearing when we first started dating, but that wore off quickly.
He was also good at recognizing when I was irritated. That was typically when he changed the subject or ran away from the conversation altogether. Another reason on the long list of why our marriage didn’t work out. Fighting would’ve been better than nothing.
As if on cue, Colt says, “Well, I have to get going. You’re starting at the library tomorrow, right?”
“Yup,” I answer before pushing myself off the couch. “I’ll drop Mi off around three o’clock if that still works?”
“Yeah, that sounds good. Are you excited?”
My face sinks at the thought of the new part-time job Wren had helped me get. Last winter, she helped the local library revamp its website and told me about the job opening. It was a short shift in the evening, but it worked out so I could drop Mi off at Colt’s before I went to work.
I wasn’t the biggest fan of the library growing up.
Anyone who had their nose buried in a book intimidated the hell out of me.
I was never a big reader, and the thought of being surrounded by books all night didn’t elicit emotions of excitement.
It was just a job to help me pay for school and help on top of what Colt was giving us for child support.
“It’s a job,” I respond plainly. “The manager said I can do schoolwork when it’s slow, so that’ll be nice.”
“That’s great,” Colt answers, standing up. He walks over to Milo’s playmate and pulls him in for a big bear hug. “Bye, buddy.”
Seconds later, Colt passes through the front door, and I hear the engine of his Duramax fire up in the driveway.
Once the puttering of his obnoxious vehicle is out of hearing distance, I let out a puff of frustrated hot air and crouch down to Milo’s small frame. “I think we both earned a nap today.”
The old desk chair creaks when I ease into my position at the front desk of the library. I have officially been on the job for a week, and it’s been a riveting experience, to say the least.
Not much happened in the evenings at our small town’s library.
There was evening programming and kids who would shuffle in and out of the building at night.
I usually missed the daytime rush after I clocked in at three-thirty, but there were a few that would find some desolate corner to set up shop in until their parents dragged them away.
Other than the summer daytime rush, the library was a ghost town after six p.m. The last two hours of my shift typically dragged on, but it was time that I had to sit down and focus on schoolwork.
A few months after Colt and I had split, I decided I was finally going to finish school. I started taking classes at the local community college after high school, and then I transitioned to a bachelor’s program online.
I had plans to go to a four-year college before Colt proposed. I was still going to go, but I was scared to leave Honey Grove. Marrying Colt felt like I was building a true home for myself, and I wasn’t giving that up.
Honey Grove had welcomed me during a tumultuous time in my life, and it felt like a cozy sweater I didn’t want to give up. I was comfortable, and I felt at home for the first time in my life.
So, when things started to become uncomfortable during the shambles of my failed marriage, I decided it was time to jumpstart my dreams again.
I was going to build a life for me and Milo.
I wasn’t sure what all that entailed, but it sure as hell didn’t mean relying on Colt’s child support for the rest of my life.
I needed a career, and finishing college seemed like a good place to start.
I take one last look around the empty lobby and decide it’s a good time to open my laptop. The worn-in device has been with me since my senior year of high school.