I roll my eyes. He knows I抳e stayed away from alcohol for years. I don抰 have a drinking problem, but I did rely too much on it after Forrest died. It became a drug that could numb my feelings and put me to sleep.
Now, I choose to stay away because it抯 not worth feeling like shit to drink it.
揑抦 always sober.?
揅an抰 blame me for checking.?
揥hy are you calling??
揃ecause I can.?
揑抦 on my way to work, so if it抯 something important get a move on with it.?
He chuckles. 揌ave some patience, Thayer. I can抰 call and check on my big bro??
揝orry, I抦 running late this morning and it has me on edge.?
What really has me on edge is how I can抰 get Salem off my mind.
揝omehow I don抰 believe that抯 what抯 on your mind.?
I groan, pinching the bridge of my nose when I roll to a stop at a red light. 揝alem抯 back.?
It抯 all I have to say. After she was the one to call Laith all those years ago and he came to the rescue, I had to fill him in on what was going on with her.
The fucker laughs and laughs and laughs. 揙h, you抮e fucked.?
揥hy??I bite out through clenched teeth.
揇on抰 play stupid, bro. You抳e been hung up on her all these years. She抯 still married??
揘o,?I sigh.
揘o? Well, that抯 good then. Why do you sound pissed??
I抦 quiet for a moment. 揥hat if I fuck up again??
揈asy, don抰 fuck it up.?
揑 don抰 want to, but I have a feeling we have a lot of baggage to wade through.?
This time he抯 the one who抯 quiet. Then he asks, 揑s she worth it??
揝he抯 worth everything.?
揟hen I say, don抰 let this chance pass you by. You deserve to be happy梞ore than anyone I know.?
My brother抯 support surprises me, but I guess it shouldn抰。 He抯 always had my back.
揟hanks. I gotta go.?
揝ure. Talk to you soon.?
He ends the call and I spend the rest of my drive wondering if it抯 possible to right my wrongs and finally get the girl.
CHAPTER 11
SALEM
揑 miss you,?I tell the sweet face on my phone screen as I lock up my mom抯 shop behind me. It抯 been permanently closed for a few months now, once my mom got too weak and tired to work, but there are still things to move and clear out before we figure out what to do with it. Selling the store makes the most sense桮eorgia抯 a nurse, she抯 not going to open a store, and I抦 ?well, I don抰 know what I抦 doing. Stupidly, though, I hate the idea of getting rid of it. It was the first thing our mom ever really did for herself.
揗iss you, too, Mommy.?She smiles into the phone. 揇addy says we can have pizza for dinner!?
揗mm, that sounds yummy.?I unlock my car and set a box of my old candles in the back. I doubt they even have much smell to them at this point, but I didn抰 want to leave them there. Silly, I know. I stopped making candles when I left town and felt this ache when I saw the box.
I抦 not ready to go home yet, so I walk across the street. Georgia picked Mom up and took her to her house for dinner. I was invited, but bowed out to come to the store instead. Since I don抰 have to hurry back to the house yet, I think a walk around our quaint downtown area will be nice.
揥hat are you going to have for dinner??
揑 don抰 know yet.?
揑 wish you could have pizza with us.?
揑 know, baby.?
揥hen can I come visit Grandma??
I press my lips together. 揑 don抰 know.?Maybe I can finagle a way to bring my mom to her. I can抰 have her coming here, risk Thayer seeing her, before I say something.
Though, with her blonde hair, it抯 hard to tell that Caleb isn抰 her father. At least from a distance. But I know. I see bits of Thayer in her every day. From the shape of her lips, to the curve of her cheeks, down to the look on her face she gets when she抯 thinking about something.
But especially in her eyes.
The same warm, intelligent brown as his.
揇addy says the pizza is here!?She jumps up, running with the phone in her hand. 揑 love you, Mommy!?
揕ove you, too.?She ends the call, my screen returning to normal.
I walk down the street, taking in shops old and new. One beckons to me and I open the door, inhaling the scent of lavender and eucalyptus.
揌ang on, I抣l be right there!?A cheery voice calls.
I pick up a homemade bar of soap, giving it a sniff.
The sound of swooshing fabric has me looking up just as a tall woman, probably in her late thirties or early forties, rounds the corner of the table. Her hair is a wild mass of dark curls, and she抯 wearing fitted bell bottom jeans with a plain white t-shirt. Bracelets adorn her wrists, jangling as she moves.
揌i.?She looks me over. 揑 haven抰 seen you here before.?
Gotta love small towns梚f people don抰 recognize you, they抮e quick to call you out on it.
揑 lived here as a teenager. I抦 back taking care of my mom. She owns A Checkered Past Antiques.?
揙h.?Her smile falters a bit. 揂llison is such a lovely woman. It抯 such a shame about the cancer.?
揧eah.?I lower my head, picking up a glass jar of bath salts with lavender in it. 揧our shop is lovely.?
揙h, thank you!?Her energy returns, lighting up with excitement. 揑t抯 been a dream come true owning my own shop.?
揥hat would you recommend I get??I motion to the table in front which seems to be a variety of all sorts of bath products.
揑f you enjoy bubble baths, definitely this and this.?She grabs two items and holds them out to me, one is the salts but this one says it抯 orange scented. The other is a bar of some sort. 揟his one is shampoo.?She points to the weirdly shaped soap. 揑t looks strange, I know, but it does wonders for your hair.?
Looking at how beautiful and full her hair is, I have to believe her.
揂ll right. I抣l take both then.?
揋reat!?She smiles and takes them over to the register. 揊eel free to look around some more if you want. I didn抰 mean to ambush you.?
揑t抯 okay.?I pick up a jar of lotion in the same orange scent. 揑抣l take this too.?I place it by the register and she rings me up. I slide my card onto the counter while she wraps everything in brown paper, placing it in a bag. She swipes my card and puts the receipt in the bag.
揑 hope you抣l be back. I抦 Jen by the way.?
揑t抯 nice to meet you.?I take the bag from her. 揑抦 Salem.?
揥ow, that抯 a different name. Unique. I like it.?
揟hanks. I抦 sure I抣l be back in.?
Letting myself out, I walk around a little longer before going into the local Italian eatery. The town is so small that there抯 no such thing as waiting for a table.
The hostess sits me at a table in the corner. It抯 small, only room for two, with a small candle lit on the table.
She sets the menu on the table and I offer a mumbled, 揟hanks.?
Going out to eat by myself was something I started making myself do during the divorce. I抎 always had my mom, or sister, Lauren, Caleb, and even Thayer to do things with and I knew it was important for me to get comfortable doing certain things on my own. So, I抎 take myself out to eat, or go to the movies, anything that I抎 always felt self-conscious about doing alone.
And I抳e come to enjoy it梩hese pockets of time that are only for me.
I place my order and the waitress returns a few minutes later with a glass of wine and bread with dipping oil. My stomach rumbles at the smell of the bread. Tearing off a chunk, I dunk it in the oil and take a bite.
揑s this seat taken??
I cough, choking on the bread.
Thayer looks down at me with drawn brows, clearly worried he might have to give me the Heimlich.