37
Reid
Her mother. One look at her face and I know she’s who she’s talking about. “If that’s what you want, then I support you.”
She draws in a shaky breath. “You’re not going to ask me if I’m sure? Try to talk me out of it? What if it ends up like you and your dad?”
“No. I hope it ends up better for you, but no matter the outcome, what matters is that it’s you and me. It’s always gonna be you and me.”
Tears glisten at the corners of her eyes, making the light blue of them shine like crystals. “You and me,” she repeats.
I reach for the throw blanket over her head to cover her, but she sits up before I can. “I’m gonna get dressed actually. I need more than just a blanket when I make this call.”
My brows shoot up. “Oh, you want to call her, like now?”
Aspen pauses. “Yeah, do you think I should wait?”
“No. No, if you want to do it now, then let’s do it.” I wasready to soak in the blissful state her sweet pussy put me into, but if she’s ready to make this step now, then we’ll do it.
God, I’m gonna need another vacation after all thismendingbullshit. It’s too much in such a short span. Maybe I’ll go to the gym tonight once Aspen’s asleep.
We collect our clothes and sit back down on the couch. She huddles close to me, fiddling with her phone. “What if she’s angry that I hung up on her?”
“Well, she can get over it.”She’s the one who abandoned you.
“What if she’s at work?”
“Then she can step away for a minute.”
“What if?—”
“Aspen.” My use of her full name, not her nickname, snaps her out of it. “Take a breath.”
She inhales shakily, nostrils flaring. But when she glances up at me, she smiles gratefully.
“We can run down what if’s until we both melt into this couch. But you’re never going to know until you call her. If that’s still what you want.”
She chews on the inside of her cheek for a moment, her gaze trailing out the window. After a moment, she turns her phone on and pulls up the call log. There’s tons of missed calls from the same number. Christ, I doubt this woman even has a job for her to interrupt with how often she’s tried calling Penny.
It makes me wonder how much this has been bothering her and how much she’s hidden it from me for the sake of not adding her worry to my plate with the retreat.
The idea of that pisses me off but makes me love her even more.
She hits the number and flips it to speaker.
Her hand tremors so I engulf it with mine and tuck itonto my lap as the line continues to ring. Macaroni trots over and hops up onto the coffee table. He sits, wrapping his tail around his paws.
I didn’t see him when I got here. Must’ve been too focused on Aspen. I try to pet him, but he swipes at me.
“Little fucker,” I mutter, and Aspen jostles my shoulder with her own.
The line continues to ring. The longer it does, the higher Aspen’s shoulders get to her ears. Her knee bounces against mine, and I keep myself steady for her.
“Your call has been automated to a voice messaging system…”
Aspen turns to me with wide eyes. “What do I?—”
“Please leave your message. Beep.”
