“Well, maybe I don’t like being used.”
“I never used you, Penny.”
“Then what would you call that night?”
His mouth falls open.
Boy, he has some audacity.
I pull away from him, and we walk the rest of the way back to the hotel in silence.
Once we’re inside the hotel room, before he can get a word out, I head into the bathroom to guzzle mouthwash again.
Stupid…dumb…horny…what’s wrong with me?
Too many things to count.
As I consider taking another shower, a knock sounds on the door.
“Penny, I know you’re mad, and you have every right to be, but I want you to know that I’m going to take care of you. It’s going to be alright.”
Tears roll down my cheeks because deep down, this is what I’ve always wanted. From the first moment I saw Greyson, I wanted to be his, in his arms, protected.
And he did protect me. When the entire world forgot about me, he took me in and gave me a home.
But what I have now is hollow, because it’s not me he wants.
“Penny?” he calls again.
“Go away!” I snap through sniffles and tears.
“I’ll leave you be and sleep in my truck, but don’t you think for a minute I’m going anywhere. I’m here for you and the baby.”
Sure,I think to myself,only because you have to be.
2
GREYSON
The entire night,I’m kept up by thoughts of Penny pregnant with my child.
I wish I understood what she was going through. Why she was so angry.
I think back to our interactions, remembering the comment inside Dottie’s about the heifers.
I guess this is what I get for acting like a playboy my entire damn life.
How do I let her know I’m a changed man? I haven’t been with another woman in months because she’s the only one I want. I just need to let her know that.
My phone pings with a message from Penny, and my heart all but stops.
Penny:I’m coming down. Don’t you dare talk about you-know-what!
Greyson:message received
I wait for her,staring out the window, giddy to see my baby momma.
Maybe I shouldn’t call her that.
