Hence, the reason I was so stressed about work.
I sighed and walked back into the kitchen, picking up my phone and dialing my best friend Layla’s number.
“What’s up?” came her usual greeting.
“Oh, you know, just living the dream. Thinking about my broke ass and how the hell I’ll fix it,” I said.
Layla laughed on the other end of the line. “Well, you could always start hooking outside the bar. With that body of yours, you’d probably make a decent living. Maybe I could even be your pimp,” she said.
I giggled and leaned my head against the refrigerator. “And this is why I call you when I’m feeling shitty. You can always make me laugh,” I said appreciatively.
“That’s what I’m here for, babe. Hey, how about you come have breakfast with me? I don’t have to be at the coffee shop for a couple of hours yet. My treat,” she offered.
“That actually sounds like a great idea,” I said. “Dad will be sleeping for a while yet, and getting out of this house will do me some good.”
“Great, I’ll see you at the diner,” Layla said.
I went back to Dad’s room one more time to make sure he was comfortable. I could tell by the slackness of his jaw that he was sleeping deeply and I would have at least an hour or two before he would wake. I checked my watch and noted the time I would need to be back. I jotted a quick note for him and made sure his phone was next to the bed before I grabbed my keys and headed for my car.
As I stepped outside, I glanced around me, always on alert.
Ever since that day, nearly four years ago, I always looked over my shoulder when I was out alone. Shaking my head and rolling my shoulders back, I took a deep breath and hopped off the porch, sliding into the front seat of my car and heading the short distance into town.
As I pulled into the lot of our favorite diner –the one with the best damn milkshakes I’d ever had – I saw Layla leaning against her car with her face in her phone as she waited for me.
“Damn, it’s colder than a witch’s titty out here,” she complained, pulling her coat tighter around her.
“No shit,” I agreed, stepping forward to wrap her in a hug.
Layla and I had been friends since preschool, and had been through everything together - breakups, makeups, etc. And she’d been there for me in the most incredible way four years back, when I needed her the most.
We linked arms and headed into the diner, waving at the waitress, Jamie, as we took our usual booth in the back. Jamie came over and took our orders quickly and we settled in for some good, old-fashioned girl talk.
“So, how are things with your dad?” Layla asked, concern furrowing her pretty brow.
I shrugged and sighed. “Well, his doctor thinks he’s stable now, so that’s good. As long as he takes his heart meds like he’s supposed to, he should be okay. The heart attack really did him in. He’s still so weak.”
Layla shook her head. “Well, I’m glad he’s at least stable.”
“Me too,” I said. “But he’s so damn stubborn, he’s driving me nuts. He keeps telling me to go live my life, but he’s still not able to take care of himself. If I wasn’t there to give him his pills every day, he’d forget half the time. I can’t just leave him, and he won’t move with me, even if he does gain some strength. He says Bozeman is where he was born, and Bozeman is where he’ll die.”
Layla laughed. “Sounds like someone else I know. You know you are just as bull-headed as he is.”
I stuck my tongue out at her as Jamie brought us our food.
“I really do need to find some sort of a job though,” I said. “Are they hiring at the coffee shop?”
Layla shook her head. “No, not right now. Things have been a little slow. I’m trying to convince them to amp up the menu a bit to maybe help bring more business our way, but you know how resistant people around here can be to change.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t I know it.”
I looked out the window and noted that it was starting to snow pretty hard. I checked my watch and groaned. “I should probably start heading back. Looks like the roads are starting to get covered, and you know they aren’t quick at all about salting out our way,” I said.
Living just outside of town, up the mountain a bit, was certainly peaceful, but in winter it could really be a pain in the ass to get back and forth. I finished my breakfast and thanked Layla for treating, promising to return the favor if and when I ever found a damn job.
I stepped out of the diner and checked my surroundings out of habit one more time, before climbing into my car and heading home to Dad. As I drove, the snow started falling even harder; the big fat flakes were hitting my windshield faster than my wipers could clear them. I leaned forward and squinted as I slowed down. The last thing I needed was to end up in a ditch.
Just as I approached the bottom of the mountain, the wind picked up and shook my puny car violently. I gripped my steering wheel so tightly that my hands started to ache and my knuckles turned white. It wasn’t that I hadn’t driven in this type of weather; it was inevitable living halfway up a damn mountain in Montana. But knowing that my dad needed me to get home soon and safely, made me extra cautious.
I blew out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding and turned up the heat in my car, blasting it as high as I could handle. I pressed the gas a little harder as I started my ascent, and prayed like hell I’d be home before the weather got much worse.
Shit, I really could do without this right now.
CHAPTER 3
EVAN
“Hey Liam, what would you like for lunch?” I asked.
“Penuh-butter jelly!”
“I don’t even know why I asked,” I said, grinning.
“Me, too.”
I chuckled at his response while I made the kids’ lunch. Peanut butter and jelly was Liam’s default nowadays and I was thankful that Hadley wasn’t such a picky eater. I carved up apple slices to go with Liam’s lunch before I set it on the table, and he scrambled up into his chair as I poured him some juice. For Hadley, I had pureed bananas and pureed green beans with carrots.
Eat your heart out, Martha.
I chuckled at my corny joke and walked over to the fridge to pull out a bottle I’d made for Hadley earlier. I sat it in front of her, laughing as she practically attacked the spoon I lifted to her face. I would never understand why she thought this goo was so delicious, but I was glad that she was a good eater. Liam’s face was covered with jelly as he chugged back his juice, and I went to grab a washcloth to clean him up.
“Read a story?” Liam asked.
“After you two are done with lunch,” I said.
“Story now,” Liam said, pouting.
“After you’re done eating, okay?” I asked.
I turned around and saw Liam’s lip jutted out. His eyes were welling with tears and his cheeks were turning red. All I needed was a few minutes of peace. Hadley had gotten up at four in the morning and wouldn’t go back to sleep. Liam was still begging for water the moment his feet hit the floor and, despite the fact that I wouldn’t give it to him last night, he still peed through his pull-up. I braced myself for the tantrum as a shriek flew from Liam’s lips, so I made my way to the table and sat down next to him.
“Liam, calm down,” I said soothingly.
“Story! Now! Story! Now!”
“And I told you after you finished eating.”
“No!”
“Do you want to go to your room?” I asked.
“Yes!”
“If you go to your room, you won’t eat again until dinner.”.
“Okay!”
I watched him stomp off to his room while Hadley giggled from her high chair. I sighed as I looked down at his half-eaten plate of food and my stomach began to growl. Liam sulked off to his room and shut his door behind him, and I could hear him throwing things around. For a three-year-old, he could really kick up a fit when he wanted.
I finished off his apple slices and sandwich before I put the plate in the sink. Looking over at Hadley, who was happily sucking down her bottle, I couldn’t help but wonder what my future was going to hold.