“Nothing happened in Vegas,” I shout, pulling myself free of her so hard I jostle the table. My friends all freeze, clutching their beers and gearing up for the showdown.
My blood thunders in my ears. This is why Katie has been avoiding me. The overly made-up harpy in front of me lied in front of her to drive a wedge. Well, fuck that.
“Vicky, let’s get one thing straight right now.” Much as I try to control my tone, there’s no hiding the venom in it. “You need to leave me the hell alone. I’m not interested in you. At all. I’ve tried to be nice, but you’re not taking the hint, so let me put it as clearly as I can:Go away.”
All the fake sweetness in her face melts into pure spite.
“Why? So you can go around mooning over that fat know-it-all from high school? Gross.”
“You don’t know a goddamn thing about her,” I shout so loud the whole bar goes quiet. “Katie’s actually done something with her life. What about you?” Turning back to the table, I peel somemoney out of my wallet and toss it onto the table. “Sorry guys. Gotta run. This round is on me. If there’s any change leftover, spend it.”
Brushing past Vicky to head for the door, I turn back just long enough to growl in her face.
“Just a word to the wise,” I say, leaning close to her. “Maybe if youeatsome of that makeup, you could be pretty on the inside, too.”
Her jaw hits her chest and a miserable gasp falls out of her chest. Serves her right. A girl like Vicky only gives a damn about looks, so why not give her a taste of her own medicine?
Back in my car, fresh determination swells in my chest.
Mary was right. Katie needs someone who is there for her in more than words. She’s about to have a family, and right now the portrait has one gaping hole in it. Time for me to step up and fill it.
Because I can’t lose her over some stupid bullshit pulled by a loser like Vicky. Actually, that’s a copout. If I let Katie slip through my fingers, I’ll have nobody to blame but myself. Time to put on my big boy pants and admit a truth I’ve been avoiding for a long time now.
I love that woman. And I’ll be damned if I let myself mess up a good thing.
KATIE
I walk from room to room doing the last check of my empty apartment, feeling lost and accomplished at the same time. Packing the place up all by myself—while pregnant, no less—has been a chore, but there was nobody else for me to call on. If it wasn’t for my folks, I wouldn’t even have had the money for the movers to load everything out and bring it down to Florida.
Which was a sobering thing to realize.
After officially being fired it’d be weird to ask anybody from the clinic to come lend a hand. And even if Mary or Jenny were willing to help, just the thought of driving back out to the ranch turns my stomach.
All of which leads me to one conclusion—there’s nothing left for me here. If Wayne was so willing to say one thing to my face, then turn around and get back together with his high school girlfriend, that tells me everything I need to know. Whatever he pretends, he’s still the same party boy he always was.
It’s hard not to feel like a fool for thinking otherwise.
I’ve examined all my options, and at this juncture there are precious few. Without my job at the clinic, there’s no way I’llbe able to get all the practicum hours I need to get my bovine specialization. Not that I should be working with large animals right now, anyway.
Getting squished between livestock is unpleasant under normal circumstances. As an increasingly pregnant woman, it’s a nonstarter.
After a lot of pride swallowing, I reached out to my folks down in Tampa. Mom and dad have always been so supportive, I wonder why it took me so long. She practically danced at the idea of my “coming home” so she could be a hands-on grandma.
Whatever “coming home” means. I grew up here, and have only visited Florida on the holidays since they moved down there. I don’t know that area at all or have any emotional connection to it. I definitely didn’t expect to ever raise a family there.
It’s the only avenue open for me, but no matter how I try to frame it for myself, this thing smells a lot like defeat.
But hey, there are vet jobs everywhere. Maybe not as many large animal opportunities as there are in the west, but I should be able to scare up something. In the absence of a father, having my parents close by to help raise the baby relieves some of the worry.
Pulling out my phone to order a ride to the airport, I’m equal parts glad and miserable to find Wayne hasn’t messaged me. After all the bland calls and texts, a little bit of quiet should make me feel better. Silence has to be better than the literal sweet nothings he bombarded me with. Just more empty words.
Like he knew he was in trouble and trying to ignore it. Well, I don’t have time for those boyish games anymore.
It’s time to move on.
I hail the cab. My car should be here in twelve minutes, so I get my rolling suitcase, give the door frame a little thank-you pat, and walk out of my apartment for the last time. I have topush back tears as the door closes behind me, never to open again. This is awful. Genuinely. This place really felt like home. I always knew I’d leave eventually, but hoped it’d be into a house of my own. Maybe with someone to share it with.
Instead I’m shacking up with my folks until I figure things out. Not ideal at 27. But it’ll do until I can get things back on track.
