"Crazy, like, throwing a fucking ashtray at my head. Calling me a million times in a row. Shit, you forget you tried to stab me?"
"Axe, that was days ago," she said. "Ancient history. Anyway." Her voice trailed off as she rummaged through her purse. "You want to do a line?"
I sighed when I saw what she was offering. "I don't want to do it anymore. It's too much. And you promised you would stop doing that shit. You've got a kid, for fuck's sake."
She laughed. "You're not my father, Cade. Don't be an asshole."
"Why don't you go home? Is Tyler with the babysitter?" I watched as she bent over the table and came up, holding her nostril.
"Why don't you fuck off? He doesn't need a babysitter. He’s asleep."
“What the fuck are you talking about, Sam?” I asked, grabbing her by the arm, my fingers leaving red welts. “You left that fucking kid home alone? What, are you some kind of psycho?”
“He’ll be fine,” she said, rubbing her nose.
“No fucking way,” I said. “Fuck.” I pushed past her on the way out the door, sliding open my cell phone and dialing Mad Dog's Old Lady. She'd take care of this. “Kate? Sorry it’s so late. Yeah, you too. Need you to do me a favor. You remember Sam? I know, I know, I don’t need a lecture. Need you to run over to her house and keep an eye on her kid. She’s all fucked up.”
~
Present Day
I shook off the memory. Sam had been a low point in my life. Fuck, there was a lot of time in the club that had been a low point. The entire last year had been one giant valley. But that night, with Sam at the clubhouse fucking me and doing coke while her kid slept at home alone? At least that was the last straw, the thing that made get the hell away from her toxic ass.
It didn't get me away from the club though, or out of the bottle. I'd sunk into those as far as I could.
Until now. Until June.
June
Snuggling up under the duvet in my bed, I stretched out, luxuriating in the fact that I didn't have to get up, go anywhere, or do anything. Bailey was out exploring the yard, ecstatic that she had more space than she could ever want to roam. From my window, I could see the expanse of space between Stan's house and mine, the grass glistening with morning dew. This house was the refuge I'd been looking for, even if West Bend was bringing up old memories.
Memories of my family.
Memories of Cade and I.
I wondered when Cade had finally given up on this place.
Back when I was in high school, I never thought I'd leave West Bend. I believed I would stay here forever, that I would grow old in this place. Back then, I thought Cade and I were it. We would be forever. It was a naive idea, blissful teenage unawareness of what the future would hold.
I never anticipated what would happen to my family.
Cade and I belonged together back then. I didn't have eyes for anyone else and neither did he. But how could we? We'd been raised together, in the same church, the same school, same summer camp. It was inevitable we would fall in love.
It was small town love and that was it. Nothing more. We were simply a relationship of proximity.
Cade wasn't the same as the boy I knew. And even if I kept seeing glimpses of that boy, I was mistaken. I had to be.
He was an outlaw now, a criminal. Nothing more.
And anyway, there was Jed. Blue-eyed, blonde haired, All-American appropriate Jed. The cop. A law-abiding, productive member of society.
Not a thug in a leather jacket, tattoos so dense on his arms you could barely see his skin underneath the tangle of inked pictures.
Of course, Jed was not the guy who made me shiver when he stood next to me.
He wasn't the guy whose clothes I wanted to tear off. The guy I wanted to lick every inch of.
But this was what I wanted, wasn't it? A return to a quiet, normal life. And what the hell could be more quiet or normal than running a bed and breakfast in West Bend, and dating the town sheriff?
Anyway, it was just coffee. Not even a date.
I needed to get Cade and Jed out of my head.
I slid out of bed, letting the shower water run while I brushed my teeth. I stepped inside and yelped, scrambling out as quickly as I could. Ice cold.
I let it run for a while. Still cold.
Damn water heater. It was supposed to be fixed when I moved in.
As I threw on clothes, I ran through the options. Having someone come out on a Saturday to take a look at it wasn't going to work.
I could go ask Stan for help.
Or Cade.
No, Cade was the last person I needed to come over here.
When I walked over to Stan's house, MacKenzie was already playing outside, running her little metal cars around in the dirt driveway while April watched her from the porch. “Hi, June!” she said brightly, looking up at me briefly before busying herself with her toys.
“Hey, MacKenzie,” I said.
April stood on the front porch and waved me toward her. “June,” she said. “How are you?”
“Cold. My water heater is on the fritz, I think. I almost took an ice shower,” I said.