Chapter Twenty-Three
Leo
“You really should have let me drive,” Tori tsked.
I looked at her from the corner of my eye, careful not to twist my body after the blow my ribs had taken.
“Aw, you worried about me?” I teased.
She reached across the console and flicked the brim of my Stetson. “No, I’m worried about you permanently injuring yourself and the world thinking I’m a shitty doctor who couldn’t heal you.”
“Ah, so it’s pride that’s making you care?”
“You betcha, partner.”
I chuckled, shaking my head. My stomach contracted as we drove past the Welcome to Wyoming road sign. Anxiety clawed at my chest and raised my heart rate at the thought of what lay ahead for me in Reverence.
It was Mom’s birthday this weekend and I had come back to surprise her. After my injury during the Wildcard Qualifier round for Stampede, Frank had reluctantly suggested I take a couple of days to go home, see Mom and recuperate before the next round.
Over the last month, I’d managed to get my head in the game, shifting my focus to rodeo and ignoring my breaking heart and unrequited love I’d left back home.
I’d been given the shot of a lifetime and I had been wasting it, moping around and not able to put myself first. So, that night I went out with Tori, I made a choice.
Move on.
When Tori kissed me outside the bar, there hadn’t been a spark. We didn’t progress further physically. I think we were both going through something, but neither of us talked about it despite becoming good friends.
Some people come into your life right when you need them with the sole purpose of just getting you through each day.
That’s what I think had drawn us together.
We were both a little broken and trying to patch ourselves back up to keep going.
We recognized that brokenness in each other and formed a strong bond.
When Tori said she wanted to visit a friend in Colorado, I may have convinced her to come on a road trip, hoping she would distract me from what faced me; Maddy.
We had barely spoken the last couple of months.
Which was all my fault. I’d tried to go cold turkey with no contact in the hope it would heal my fragile heart.
When she messaged me, I kept coming up with reasons why I couldn’t talk to her or would just miss her.
I declined her FaceTime. I couldn’t see her while being so head over heels for her.
It would be written all over my face and ruin any kind of friendship we had.
I needed some distance. I’d achieved it physically, I just needed it emotionally.
Had it worked? Who fucking knew.
I just knew that I missed her like the moon missed the sun, chasing after it each day in the vain hope of catching up to it.
I still spoke to her, just in minimal bursts.
No more long text chats, no more FaceTime.
And I’d even had to mute her on social media.
If I had to watch one more Instagram story of a date she had with some random dick, I was going to explode.
What I didn’t understand was why? She had started this mad dating rush when I was still in town, but it looked like she’d upped her game. She didn’t want to settle down and get married so why was she working so hard to find someone?
She’s got needs…my brain supplied helpfully. My pulse pounded at the thought of Maddy needing relief. At being the one to give it to her.
I cleared my throat. “Thanks so much for coming again,” I said, distracting my horny thoughts.
Tori started playing with the radio controls. “No sweat, I’m excited to see where you grew up. Especially with it being cowboy country. Love a small town and it’ll be a nice pit stop before Colorado.”
The way she said that had me suspicious. “What’s waiting in Colorado?”
“What’s waiting at home?” she shot back.
I pursed my lips, not wanting to divulge. “Touche.”
She chuckled and gestured between us. “This works well because we don’t talk about our shit.”
“Indeed.”
“But if you did want to talk about it, I’m here.”
“I appreciate that.”
“So,” she began brightly. “Do I get to meet your mama?”
I laughed. “If you want to. Although, she’s going to think you’re my girlfriend.”
Tori snorted. “You wish.”
I pshed. “I coulda had you if I wanted you.”
“Sure, buddy.” She patted my thigh condescendingly.
We bickered most of the drive and pulled over to take a break and stretch our legs, my ribs aching as she made me do my stretches. Then we were hopping back in the truck and driving again. We drove into Reverence as the sun was beginning to set, casting everything in its golden orange glow.
“Oh my God, look at the little shutters on everything! And the old timey buildings! I’m expecting someone to start a western shoot-out any minute!” Tori squealed, wriggling in her seat with excitement.
“So stereotypical,” I chided, pulling up outside the bakery. “Home sweet home.”
“You live in a bakery? Yum.”
“Above it.” I switched off the engine and ducked out, standing on the sidewalk and taking a deep breath of fresh Reverence air. The pastures, the wildlife, the flowers and the scent of coffee and dough all filled my nostrils and I felt at home.
“It’s so cute here! So quaint!” Tori enthused and I shook my head at her ridiculousness.
“Come on,” I said, grabbing our bags from the back of the truck and heading up the metal staircase at the side of the bakery.
I paused, hunting for my keys and unlocked the door, expecting my mail to be all over the doormat but it wasn’t. What hit me the second I entered though was the smell.
Maddy.
She’d been here. Recently. I’d know that scent anywhere, light, soft and feminine enough to make my mouth fucking water for a taste.
It gave me pause, memories rushing me. Her face filling my mind, smiling up at me, laughing, teasing, challenging me.
That ache hit my chest again. Fuck, I’d missed her.
“Problem?” Tori asked.
I glanced over my shoulder at her. “Nope, come on in.”
“This is cute,” she said, eyes roaming around the space.
My little kitchen dinette that led to the living room.
My mail was stacked on the small dining table, in size order which was a very Maddy thing to do.
I could see some fluffy socks on the floor next to the couch.
They had cartoon bison on them, definitely Maddy’s.
“Kitchen, dining and living room all within two feet of each other,” I joked.
“Bathroom is just through here.” I gestured towards the bedroom and when I entered, the smell of Maddy got stronger and I fought a groan.
The bedsheets were jumbled like she’d jumped out this morning in a hurry.
The thought of her in my bed, missing me, had heat flooding me.
I turned abruptly and pushed open the door to the ensuite.
“I really like it. It’s super homey,” Tori enthused.
“It is.” My eyes found their way back to the bed again. I couldn’t sleep there tonight, not with her scent surrounding me. I’d take a million steps back in my plan to get over her.
“You take the bed tonight. The least you need is a good night’s sleep before facing whatever trauma you have to face tomorrow. You look like you need it too.”
Tori laughed loudly and playfully chucked me on the shoulder. “Asshole!”
“Am I wrong?”
“You don’t look so hot either, you know. So pathetic with your poor bandaged ribs. It’s such an ick.”
I mock gasped and then laughed. “Now who’s the asshole?”
“Still you!”
Shaking my head, I went back out to the living room. My eyes zeroed in on those socks again. Just sitting there like that was where they belonged. They’d made themselves at home.
I wondered how many times Maddy had been here.
Did she come here to be close to me? Or to get away from a house of four other women?
She’d slept here. Showered here. Used my towels.
Wrapped them around her naked body. Did she sleep naked?
Did she touch herself in my bed? Did she fuck some other guy in my bed?
Great, now I was hard and angry.
I needed to get out of here, immediately.
“I’m gonna head out to my mom’s. You can stay here if you’re tired?”
Tori’s head popped out of the bedroom doorway. “No, I’ll come. I want to meet her. Just want to change.”
“I’ll wait downstairs.” I didn’t give her a chance to respond, just ducked out of the apartment, not taking a deep breath until I was outside.
Tori met up with me and we decided to walk to Mom’s, it wasn’t far and we’d been cooped up in the truck for hours. It also gave me a chance to show Tori the town and she ate it up, loving the close-knit community atmosphere.
“Does she know you’re coming?” Tori asked when we arrived at Mom’s thirty minutes later.
“No, I thought it would be nice to surprise her,” I replied, ducking between the two cars on the drive. When had she gotten a second car? I smiled as my hand closed over the doorknob, eager to see her. I flung the door wide.
“I’m home!” I called as I walked in. There was a loud scuffling and some whispering. “Mom?” No answer.
“Maybe she’s out?” Tori whispered next to me.
“The car is there?” I said as I rounded the corner into the living room. “She should be—OH MY GOD!”
“Leo!” Mom cried, quickly covering herself with a throw blanket.
I spun, squeezing my eyes shut, willing my brain to erase the image of my naked Mom and naked Derek. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry.”
“You should have called!” she huffed, and I heard scurrying.
“I wanted to surprise you,” I sulked.
“Well, it worked,” Derek grumbled.
“This is awesome,” Tori hissed, a shit-eating grin on her face.
“You can stop averting your eyes, we’re decent,” Mom said. I took a breath and turned back towards them slowly but the image of them on the couch was burned into my retinas.
“You’d think you’d at least go to the bedroom, not a communal area,” I complained.
Mom popped a hand on her blanketed hip. “That’s rich coming from you! How many times did I catch you—”
“Okay,” I interrupted. “Let’s not do this.”
“No, let’s do this, I wanna know!” Tori added gleefully.
“Who’s this?” Mom asked, peering over my shoulder.