Brady Remington Landed Me in Jail

He shrugged again. "I mean…yeah. Obviously, you do. Your mom's in town. You can talk to her; maybe learn some things from her. I don't know. Yeah. I think about my mom."

"What do you think about? Do you like her? Do you want to like her?"

Brady studied me before he replied, "She's a part of me. She gave birth to me. I…" He hesitated.

Why was he hesitating? Why was he choosing his words so carefully?

"I know my mother's name, but I don't know her. I've talked to her only a few times and most of those was when she asked for Viola on the phone. She's never come around except once for Christmas." I felt something wet on my cheeks. Why was I always crying? "Do you ever feel like you're watching life and you're not actually in it?"

Brady laughed. "Only when some guy rushes me. I check out for a second and then I'm right in. I'm all in."

"No, I mean, I don't know what I mean."

He slowed the car and replied, "That just tells me that you can't feel what you're feeling because it's painful. Like it's almost too painful for you to handle right now, but it'll click off when you can handle it. I know it. And," he took a deep breath. "We're here."

I saw Kid's old house. It looked like the same mansion from when we were kids, but smaller. The two pillars in front of the door weren't as large, but still grand. They looked like massive guards, there to intimidate trespassers.

"You ready?" Brady asked.

No.

I nodded.

He got out first and then the front door opened to emit a business man. He was dressed in a three-piece suit with a briefcase. When he looked at us, I knew his blue eyes reeled in most women, but they weren't close to how beautiful Brady's were. No one's were.

"That's a lawyer," Brady said.

"How do you know?"

"I recognize him. Deputy Dog told me who Frank Stephens' lawyer was when I got arrested the first time. It's some big hotshot from the city. That's him."

"Why is my mother meeting with a lawyer?" Or maybe she had nothing to do with it?

I had a weird sensation Brady knew something more, but he wasn't sharing. "I don't think your mother is. I think Frank Stephens just met with his lawyer. We're at his house, remember?"

"Oh…right…" A flashback came to me when Kid, Brady, and I were little kids. We must've been in seventh grade and all three of us raced inside those doors. The last one inside was the loser. We were laughing, so carefree back then.

"You ready?" Brady asked softly.

"No." I started walking forward anyway.

While Brady rang the doorbell I felt my heartbeat through my toes. The silent wait was long and tense. I was going to explode in one second and completely calm the next instant. Then I was back to being numb until the door opened. I braced myself, but some stranger in another dark blue suit stood there.

"Is Leann Janke here?" Brady asked as he held my hand and rubbed his thumb over mine.

"Ms. Janke?" The guy gestured inside. "Please come in while I fetch her."

My heartbeat exploded. Sweat poured down my back. This was it. This was going to be it. He showed us to a waiting room that had two beige couches, a desk, and a fireplace in the center. Everything about it was formal, cold. Even the drapes seemed to tell us not to get comfortable; we were only there for a short while.

"You okay?"

I shook my head. "Before…" I wet my lips. "Before she comes in here, you need to know something."

Brady looked at me strangely, almost amused as he held both of my hands in between us. "Yes?"

"I…" He was so beautiful.

He spoke, "Look, Rayna. I did some thinking this afternoon and I want you to know…"

This was my moment. I was supposed to be able to stare at how beautiful and wondrous he was. How he could never be mine…

"I know you said before that you didn't want me, but I think it's a load of crap. I mean, obviously you do. You had sex with me. You don't do that unless there are feelings and I know you have them. I don't think you should freak about your mom knowing. It's not like she has a say about who you're with."

My mouth fell open. "What?"

"You're all nervous. Usually I can handle it, but I hate that it's because of me."

"What in the world are you talking about?"

He gestured between us. "You and me. It's why your mom's here, right? Viola got all pressed. I don't get her freak out, but she must've called your mom and told her. Why else would she be here?"

"My mother is not here about us. She has no say whatsoever in my life. She doesn't know about us and if she did, she wouldn't be here. She'd be at my house with my family, not at Frank Stephens' house."

"I didn't think about that." Brady slid his hands into his front pockets, leaned against the wall, and transitioned back into the confident bad boy. At least, he looked like it. Whatever had been troubling him was gone.

"Stop it. I don't need my badass best friend. I need my actual best friend. Stop the charade."

Brady straightened abruptly. A second later, he asked, "Your best friend?"

"You gave me a ride here to see my mom. I need my best friend beside me right now."

Brady hesitated.