He shuffles through his keys before unlocking the door. “This might not work because of all the stuff we have stored in here. It’s all event decorations for the city to use throughout the year.”
“That’s not a probl—”
The mayor pushes open the door.
Why? Why is this stunning room only used for storage? The antique chandeliers are breathtaking. We won’t even talk about what a crime it is that they have all this stuff stacked on top of stunning chevron wood floors. He wasn’t kidding when hesaid it's packed. This is going to take dozens of storage trucks to empty out. “Is there anything else like this in town?”
“The high school gym is about it. Is it too much? I’m sure the brotherhood will step in to help get the stuff moved.”
Like I’d trust a biker gang with these floors.
My phone rings, and my mother’s name pops up on the screen. How did she get this number? When she wants my attention, she sends a message through Rothswyler.
A knot forms in the pit of my stomach. “Excuse me a moment. I need to take this.”
But I don’t want to answer. Whatever it is I’m about to hear is going to be devastating. I take a slow, deep breath and click through. “Hello, Mother.”
“Have you heard yet? Of course you haven’t. You live in that little hick town now. Your father hates that you’re hiding there.”
I’m not hiding, but Mother wouldn’t even hear the words if I said them.
“At least I get to be the one to tell you the best news. You can move back home now. They broke up.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t be dense. Darrel and that little tramp of his broke up. It turns out she was lying about the pregnancy, and he divorced her.”
Lying? She was lying?
“Now you don’t have to keep hiding from the shame. You can come back home and marry Darrel again. I’m sure when he finds out you’re pregnant, he’ll take you back.”
Shame? Take me back?
“I’ll call his mother to start planning the parties. It’s going to need to be something big and splashy to remove all doubt that he divorced you because he found you lacking. Isn’tthis wonderful? I’ll call you back when I have details.” She clicks off.
What just happened?
“Are you okay?”
No. My mother lost her mind. She actually thought I was the reason that low-down, cheating jerk left.
Now isn’t the time or the place. I plaster a smile on my face and turn to him. “Just fine. Where were we?”
Riding Lessons
Havoc
She just looked through me this morning. Like I wasn’t even there. Yet I watched the entire time she smiled at Creed and gave him this perfectly packed breakfast.
My son doesn’t need a second breakfast from a woman that hates me.
He certainly seemed to enjoy what she brought him.
That woman is the only thing I seem to be thinking about…It certainly isn’t the paperwork in front of me. I push it to the side.
Reading boring numbers won’t take me out of my head and my guilt. I need something interesting to grab my attention.
Something dramatic.
