Great! Now Mom was turning on me. She’d barely finished saying she had my back, and she was already taking his side. This was bullshit, but it was bullshit that was drying my tears.
“Am I?” I stood up, shaking off her hold. “He had legal papers, Mom. Legal papers with my name on them. And Cassie’s. What am I supposed to think about that?”
“You’re supposed to be an adult,” Mom tossed back, finding her feet and pulling open the screen door. “Go and talk to him, Kellie. Before you ruin any chance of Cassie ever having the family I know you wish for her.”
The door banged shut, leaving me standing outside, the breeze whipping around me. Staring up at the stars, I cursed Cassidy once again for leaving me. She had been the person in my life who could’ve saved me from this mess. Cassie hadn’t even had a chance to meet her aunt and find out how amazing she was, not just as a singer but as a person.
“I need you to tell me what to do,” I begged, filled with disappointment when she didn’t answer. I wasn’t expecting her to., I knew she was gone but holding on was all I had left.
Wiping the tears from my eyes, I buried the hurt and stuffed my broken heart in a box before going back inside and cleaning up the mess that never seemed to end.
Rubbing my temples, I willed away the stress headache that was building behind my eyes. I was tired, and I’d probably had a few too many drinks last night, but I’d been drinking to forget. I didn’t, but I tried.
My phone chirped from where it was plugged into the console.
Jake:You coming in or you going to sit out there all day?
I whipped my head up so quickly I almost snapped my neck. He was sitting on the other side of the fence, straddling an ATV in a pair of jeans, a light blue button-down shirt, a hat, and a shit-eating grin, and I felt the butterflies in my stomach take flight. Dropping my phone like it zapped me, I sighed heavily. I guess I couldn’t turn and run now that I’d been caught.
White-knuckling the steering wheel, I started the car and pulled back out onto the road before turning through the gate. I was moving slower than a snail. Getting out meant having the conversations I wasn’t sure I was ready to have. Getting out meant facing the fears that had consumed me and stolen my sleep. Getting out meant facing Jake, and I was terrified he was going to hate me.
The ATV bumped across the driveway and pulled up beside me, and when Jake knocked on my window, I let out a surprised squeal.
“Follow me,” he instructed.
Despite the fears consuming me, I followed along obediently. Right now, Jake might have the power to shatter me, but I’d follow him anywhere. Shaking my head as the realization hit me. I might be older. I might have stretch marks on my belly from carrying our daughter. I might have fought and overcome it. I might have lived. But when it came to Jake, I was still that blushing teenager who’d fallen in love with him and never moved on.
He wound along a bumpy dirt road, passed by a couple of the smaller ranch houses before he stopped in front of one and climbed off.
Pulling up behind him, I killed the ignition, and by the time I unbuckled my belt, Jake had already opened my door.
“Where are we?” I asked, looking around.
“My place,” Jake answered.
“I thought you were living in the house…” I started, confused.
Climbing out, I looked up at the tiny house. The white paint was flaking, and the windows needed a wash, but I guess out here there wasn’t much point. The way the dust blew in, the moment you cleaned them, they’d probably be just as dirty. There was a pair of muddy boots by the door and an empty hook. The porch had spiderwebs in the corners and a broom that looked like it needed to be burned leaned against the railing.
“I was.”
“I’m guessing there’s a story there,” I hinted, hoping he’d take the bait and fill me in.
“There is.”
“But you’re not going to tell me?”
“I will. But not right this second.”
Jake reached for my hand, and when I flinched, he looked at me with shock. “I’m sorry, Jake…” I started, only to be cut off when his lips slammed down over mine.
“There’s nothing for you to be sorry about. If anyone should be apologizing… those papers…”
“Later,” I told him, not wanting to ruin the moment. Even though I’d come out here to get answers, now the moment was here, I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to know.
Stealing my breath, Jake kissed me, memories flooded my brain, and arousal flooded my panties. Jake’s kiss was hard, hot, and fierce. His hands cupped my jaw, tilting my head and holding me in place. When his tongue licked along the seam of my lips, I moaned, and he took advantage of the situation, plundering relentlessly.
It wasn’t enough. Pressing myself against him, I needed more. Winding my arms around his waist, I held him against me, the hard muscles of his chest crushing my boobs between us.
