Chapter 12
Istand there, mouth open, as Walker storms out of the building with another woman. My head spins, causing me to grip the chair beside me.
“What the fuck was that?” Alden stands beside me, his mouth agape.
“I have no clue.”
“Do you know what happened?” he asks.
“I don’t know, Alden,” I say through gritted teeth, falling into the chair holding me up.
“Why is Walker leaving with the flavor of the month?” Alden looks confused.
“I have no fucking clue, dude.” I throw my hands in the air.
“All right. Let’s start with what you do know.” He glares at me.
“He’s a fucking douche. I know that.”
“Progress. Good.” He blinks rapidly at me.
“What the hell? He’s an asshole, and I just…” I smash my lips together in disgust.
“You just what?” His eyes are wide.
“Not that! Damn. Can you try not being a guy for five minutes?”
“Fine. What happened?” He takes the seat beside me.
“I told you, I’m not entirely sure.”
“What did you say? What did he say?” he interrogates.
I bury my face in my hands, answering in a muffled tone. “I don’t fucking know. I mean, I can’t remember everything.”
“All right, chill.”
“Everything was going good and then… then…” Oh, I can’t bring myself to say it. Why were we kissing? “He doesn’t even like me.”
“It didn’t look that way when he blew through here.” Alden gestures at the path Walker took.
“I can’t help the way it looked or didn’t look. Okay?” I huff.
He holds his hands up in surrender. “Damn.”
“I can’t believe this. I feel like I threw myself at him.”
“How’s that?” Alden’s brows knit.
“We kissed. He regretted it. And then, he ran off with the bimbo.”
“You kissed? Walker?” His mouth falls open.
I gape at him. Terror courses through my body. “Why would I do that? Oh, God. I have to see him Monday.”
“Was it good at least?” He chuckles.
“So. Damn. Good.” I hang my head in defeat.
“I see.” He gawks. “So… what now?”
“I have no clue. Do you have a rock?” I look up at him.
“Umm, no.” His brow furrows.
“I was gonna crawl under it.”
“At least it’s not the walk of shame.” He shrugs.
“Why in the hell would he leave with her? I was right there. He was with me and then… poof! Gone.”
“I’m not sure but by the way he ran from you like a bat outta hell, I would guess a broken heart.” His mouth goes slack with his conjecture.
“I’m not sure.” I sigh heavily. “It doesn’t matter. He left with Candy, must be what he wants.”
“She wasn’t anything to call home about, babe.” Alden gives my hand a squeeze.
“This. This is why I keep you around. Thank you.”
“Let’s blow this joint, hot stuff.” He waggles his brows.
“There you go, lie to me and buy me ice cream.”
“Moose Tracks or Death by Chocolate?” He winks with a grin.
“Both,” I say, thinking of ridding my mouth of the taste of Walker.
“Deal. Let’s roll.” He reaches for my hand. I take it happily.
I lay my head on his shoulder as we walk toward the exit. “Thanks for always being here, Mars Bar.”
“No problem, Reesie Cup.” He bends, placing a kiss on my head.
We sit on the couch, downing ice cream while I wallow in my misery. “Girl, you’re gonna regret this in the morning,” Alden says, setting his pint down on the table.
“I know, but it feels so good right now.” I take another spoonful in my mouth.
“Give him some time, see how things go Monday before you off yourself in ice cream.” He laughs.
“Ha, ha. I’m not that desperate.”
“Didn’t say you were, but I also know you and you’re thinking all hope is lost.”
He’s right. I do doubt Walker will come around to the possibility of us.
My phone vibrates on the table. Alden reaches for it. When his eyes grow wide, I get a heavy feeling in the pit of my belly. “Who is it?”
He extends his arm, holding it out to me. “Your father.”
I swallow hard, taking it in my hand. “I don’t think I can.”
“You can. Honestly, you need to. Not for him but for you. You deserve to hear it all from him,” Alden tells me.
I squeeze my eyes shut and hit answer. “Hello?” I squeak.
“Reese?” A deep baritone comes clearly through the receiver.
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“It’s your dad, Jeffrey. I hope I’m not catching you at a bad time.”
I chew on my nail. “I’m not busy. How can I help you?”
“Oh, all right. I was hoping we could catch up,” he mutters.
“I’m not sure I have that much time. It’s been what? Twenty years?” I snap, knowing it’s unwarranted.
His breath comes over the line, heavy and labored. “I suppose you’re right. Maybe we can change that. Grab some coffee or something one day soon?”
“I’ll check my schedule. I stay pretty busy these days.”
“I’m sure you do. Not that it’s worth anything, but I’m proud of you and what you’ve done with your life,” he murmurs across the miles through the phone, and tears form from my disbelief.
“Yeah, Mom did the best she could. Worked many jobs and raised me good.”
“I know she did. Danielle is a fine woman, a great mother.”
I bite the side of my jaw to keep from screaming at him. “What can I do for you?”
“I didn’t just call for you to help me. I want to get to know you,” he explains.
“I’m sure you do, good added bonus that I can help you,” I huff.
“No, it’s not. I hate the fact I have to ask.” He pauses. “But I have nowhere else I can go.”
“What about Angie? How does she feel about you getting my help?”
His voice grows raspy, his breathing ragged as he speaks about his wife. “We lost her a few years ago.”
I gasp. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“No need to apologize, honey. Had I stayed in touch, you would’ve known.” He struggles with each word.
“That’s a two-way street, you know?”
“I’m the parent and I should’ve set a better example. I haven’t been the person you needed me to be.”
My heart flutters at his words. “How can I help?”
“I was thinking we could meet, discuss the legalities of the situation.” His voice lifts with hopefulness.
“Call me next week, during the day so I can check my appointments. We’ll work something out.”
“Thank you, Reese. I’m grateful for your time.”
I continue to chew my fingers. “Don’t thank me. I didn’t promise I could help. I’ll take a look and see what I can do.”
“I understand. It’s all I’m asking for you to do. Thank you,” he says.
“No problem. Goodbye.”
“Bye, honey.”
I end the call, and tears fall from my eyes.
“Come here, babe.” Alden wraps me in his arms.
The floodgates open. “Why am I so nice? Why can’t I be more like my mother?”
He chuckles. “She’s a cold-hearted woman, Reese.”
“I can be cold.” I sniffle. “I can try to be mean.”
“Baby girl, you ain’t got a mean bone in your body.” He rubs my arm, trying to comfort me.
“I wanna be mean. I do.”
“I know. We’ll be ugly later. Right now we have ice cream to finish.” He leans forward and grabs a tissue.
“I love you, Mars Bar.”
“You better.”
I blow my nose and reach for my creamy goodness. “I suppose this is as cold as I’ll get.”
“She’s a cold-hearted snake,” he sings off-key.
“Umm, that’s… he’s a cold-hearted snake.”
“So you say.” He rolls his eyes, and we both laugh.
I slip through the front door of the crisis center, trying to avoid Walker at all costs. I know we need to have a chat about The Historical Society’s proposal, but I refuse to speak to him. I can’t deal with his dick moves and asshole ways.
I keep my head down, hurrying to the first room I can find. I shove the door open with such force, I knock Walker back about three feet. He stumbles to regain his balance.
“Fuck!” he yells and with good reason.
“Wait! You’re bleeding!” I bolt to his side, throwing my bags on the floor. “Here, sit,” I say, dragging my scarf from my neck. I lay it over his eye, applying pressure.
“Fuck.” He winces from the pain.
“You said that already.”
“My just dues, I suppose,” he mumbles.
Maisyn charges through the door. “What in the hell?”
“I need the first aid kit and towels, please.”
“I’m on it.” She scrambles for my request.
“You can’t think I did this on purpose.”
He shuts his eyes tight. Blood runs from the gash above his eye. “It wouldn’t shock me.”
I gape at him. “Seriously? Are you always such an arrogant bastard?”
The door swings wide, and Maisyn ducks her head in. “I’ll leave this here,” she says, sliding the towels and kit onto the table.
“Thank you,” Walker and I bark in unison.
I roll my eyes, peeling the scarf away to check out the damage to his hard head.
“I think you need stitches.” I grimace, reaching for a towel to apply more pressure.
“I’ll have Ava check it out later.” He licks his lips
I watch with bated breath. His mouth is perfect.
“Hold this. I’ll get something to clean it up so we can get a better look.” His hand brushes mine and goose bumps race up my arm. “Ridiculous,” I murmur, not thinking he would hear me.
“What is?” he asks, peeking out of one eye.
“I was trying to avoid you, so I came in like a bull in a china shop.” I grit my teeth at my admission.
“There’s no reason to avoid me, Reese,” he grinds out.
I step between his open legs to get a closer look at his eye. “So you say. Hang on, I’m gonna lift this up.”
“Still, you didn’t have to run me down.” His crooked smile tells me he’s joking, but I’m not laughing.
I purse my lips. “You should be grateful.”
“Grateful? For?” He raises a brow.
“That I didn’t run you down with my Jeep.” I squirt antiseptic onto his wound.
He flinches but doesn’t move. “Nice. Thank you for that.”
“Not running you over with my car or the wound care?” I dab at his cut, inches from the same mouth that gave me so much pleasure.
“Whatever.” His body goes rigid. “Can you please clean this up so we can get to work?”
“Sure.” I blow on the area, drying it before placing a butterfly band-aid on it. “There you go.” Before I can step away, Walker’s hand finds my hip, and everything south of my naval tightly coils.
He tilts toward me with a heavy sigh. “It has nothing to do with you. Please, I need you to understand.”
I fight the urge to wrap him in my arms as a heaviness fills my body. “I don’t. And I’m positive there’s nothing you can say that’ll make me.” I step away from his touch, immediately feeling cold.
Walker stands, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I-I’m sorry. I should’ve never allowed it to happen, but I want you to know I don’t regret it.”
“What?” I tremble, anger rushing through me. “You don’t mind we kissed, but you hate we did?”
“No, I didn’t say that.” He pulls his hands free, crossing his arms. “Why do you insist on twisting every word I utter?”
“Walker…” I drop my head in defeat, knowing he’ll never admit what we both know. How we feel. “Whatever you want.” I whirl around and stride out the door.