“A little.” She shrugs.
“Did you have a good morning?”
“Yeah,” she answers before looking at the TV again. Taking a seat next to her I chew the inside of my cheek so that I don’t cry. “Did you have a good day?”
Turning to look at her, I smile then pick up her hand. “Yeah, I got a job.”
“Really? Where at?”
“The Rusty Rose.”
“That’s wonderful, Gabriella. I’m so proud of you.” She squeezes my hand and tears fill my eyes.
“Thank you,” I get out through the pain in my throat. Leaning my head against her shoulder so she doesn’t see me cry, I sit with her, holding her hand and wishing I had the power to make her better.
CHAPTER 3
No Room For The Past
Colton
HEARING LOKI BARK, I look behind me just in time to watch Mom walk into the house.
“Good morning, honey,” she greets, giving Loki a quick scratch behind his ears before walking farther into the room.
Glancing from her to the door, I shake my head. “You know, if I get a woman, you’re gonna have to give me back my key, right?” I raise a brow and watch her drop the bags she brought in to the top of the counter, then turn to glare at me.
“Do you have someone you’re interested in?” she asks, and instantly Gia comes to mind. Gia, with beautiful green eyes, cute dimples in both cheeks, full lips I want to taste, long dark hair I can picture spread across my pillow, and curves in all the right places. Gia, who likes to knit and turns adorably embarrassed whenever I get too close to her. Yeah, there is definitely someone I’m interested in.
“That’s not the point,” I say, and she rolls her eyes.
“When you start having a woman over here, I’ll start knocking,” she mumbles, pulling things out of the bags, setting them on the counter, and placing all the empties in a pile.
Taking a bite of the eggs on my plate, I shove a piece of bacon into my mouth then pick up my plate and walk around to the sink, saying, “I can also do my own shopping.”
“I was already at the store.” She shrugs, not looking at me. “I figured I’d just pick you up some stuff and save you the trip.”
“Ma, I love you, but I need to be doing shit on my own,” I tell her softly, watching her shoulders sag.
“Watch your mouth. I swear, you, your brothers, and your dad could make a sailor blush.” Smiling, I wrap my arms around her shoulders and pull her in for a hug.
“You curse more than all of us together,” I say, and it’s not a lie. My mom has a mouth worse than most men I know.
“Whatever.” She tightens her hold on me then looks up. “And so you know, as your mom, it’s ingrained in me to take care of you.”
“I know, and I appreciate you taking care of me, but it’s important that I get back to some sense of normal,” I tell her gently, when I see tears start to fill her eyes. I know her seeing me in the hospital half dead fucked with her, but I didn’t die.
“Fine,” she agrees reluctantly.
Kissing the top of her head, I let her go and turn back to the sink. “Where’s Dad?” I ask, washing my dish out and setting it in the drying rack.
“At the storage building. The truck came in this morning, so he’s been there doing stock since six.”
“He should have called me.”
“He knows you worked late last night,” she explains, and I cross my arms over my chest then lean back against the counter behind me watching her put stuff away. “I also ran into Lisa this morning.” My hackles rise at the mention of that bitch, but I keep my mouth closed. “She was asking how you’re doing,” she says softly, putting a gallon of milk in the fridge.
“I don’t want to hear from that cunt, so next time you see her, you can tell her I said that,” I growl.
Looking at me, her eyes close briefly. “Honey, it was hard on her, on all of us,” she whispers.
“Yeah, was it?” I raise my brows as blood roars through my veins, making it hard to see clearly. “She wasn’t the one laid up in the hospital. She wasn’t the one who had to learn how to walk again. And she sure as fuck wasn’t the one who saw their future slip through their fingers. That bitch doesn’t exist to me, and I’d appreciate it if you don’t bring her up to me again.”
“Colton!”
“No, Ma.” I jerk a hand through my hair, looking away from her and trying to get myself under control so I don’t flip the fuck out. “I know you liked her, but she is a fucking bitch.”
“Okay,” she whispers, looking like she’s going to cry again.
“Come here, Ma.” I hold out my arms toward her.
“Are you still mad?” she asks, and I sigh, tugging her hand and forcing her into my hold.
“I’m not mad at you, but you need to understand I don’t want one fucking thing to do with her.”
“Stop cursing! And fine, I’ll stop bringing her up.”
“I love you, but seriously, I don’t know how Dad puts up with you.”
“Your father counts his lucky stars every night, ‘cause I put up with him.” She pats my back.
“I’m not sure about that.” I grin then dodge her hand when she tries to smack at me.
“You’re a pain,” she mutters.
“You love me,” I remind her then look at the clock. “I need to go get ready. I’ll see you tonight. Let Loki out for me when you leave.”
“Will do, see you tonight.” She shakes her head as I head for my room.
After getting dressed, I head back to the kitchen, grabbing my keys and gym bag before going to the garage. Looking at my bike longingly, I head for my Suburban. This spring has been worse than most. It’s rained almost every day, and with the temperature dropping the way it has been, the roads have been icing over—meaning I can’t ride my bike, even though that’s all I want to do. I’ve been riding since I was eight. Back then it was dirt bikes, and then I moved up to motorcycles. My first ride was a bike. I didn’t get a car like everyone else. I didn’t want to be like anyone else, except maybe my dad.
Getting in behind the wheel, I hit the remote for the garage to send the door up, and start the engine. After backing out, I send the garage door back down and head for the road, with Loki running behind me. He stops at the end of the driveway and turns back toward the house, knowing better than to go any further.
It takes me less than twenty minutes to make it to the gym, and when I pull into the lot, I see Tide has already arrived. Tide has been my best friend since I can remember. His dad and mine are best friends, and since they spent all their time together, we spent all of ours the same way. I don’t know what the hell his parents were thinking naming him Tide, or naming his sister Crimson, even if his dad did play football during college for Alabama State University.
Grabbing my duffle off the passenger seat, I get out and slam the door behind me. I spot Tide at one of the weight benches at the back as soon as I enter the gym. Giving him a chin lift as I pass, I take my bag to the locker room then head back out to meet him.
“Yo.” He puts the barbell up in its resting place when he spots me and sits up. Tide looks like a Viking, with his blond hair and blue eyes. He’s a big guy, bigger than most, and it’s not because he works out every other day. He’s just built that way; it’s in his genes, since both of his parents are big. In high school, they called him Mac because, like his dad before him, he played football and ruled the field. Anytime someone saw him coming, they got out of his way, meaning our high school football team was undefeated the four years he was on the team.
“What’s up, man?” I ask, bumping my fist against his once I’m close.
“Nothing new.”
“How’s my Goddaughter?”
“Perfect.” He gives me the same smile he always does when he’s talking about his three-year-old daughter, Olivia—a smile that says he’s got it all. “Wish I could say the same about her mom, but it is what it is.” He shrugs and lies back to finish lifting. “
We have another court date in three months.”
“What’s this one for?” I ask, stepping up to spot him.
“I want custody to be fifty/fifty. She wants me to have every other weekend so I’ll have to give her more money,” he says through clenched teeth. I feel for him. Since the day Olivia was born, he’s been working on being a good dad and being present in her life. He stayed with Anna, Olivia’s mom, for a while after Olivia was born, trying to make it work with her so he could see his daughter every day, but that didn’t work out. I don’t know what all went down, but I do know that neither of them were happy. I also know that since he moved out, she’s been working on making his life hell.
“It will work out. The judge will see that you want to be in Olivia’s life and give you the time you’re asking for.”
“I hope so.” He sits up, grabbing the towel off the floor at his feet. “I don’t want to miss out on any more time than I already have,” he mumbles, then his eyes go over my shoulder and turn hard. “Fuck,” he clips, and I turn to see who he’s looking at then shake my head when I see it’s Lisa and her two best friends walking in. “I don’t got anything against women, and normally I’d be thrilled to watch bitches strut around in tight clothes that leave little to nothing to the imagination. But seriously, what the fuck are they even doing here?” he questions, studying them.
“Don’t know, don’t give a fuck,” I mutter, taking off my hoodie and heading for the treadmills across the room.
“Christ, they even have on fucking makeup. Who the fuck wears makeup to go work out?” he asks, claiming the machine next to mine.
Ignoring his question and the fact that they’re even here, I start up my machine and begin to run. It’s not the first time I’ve seen Lisa since I’ve been home, but I wish I could say it would be the last. Lisa and I dated in high school then off and on while I was in college for two years and after I joined the Marines. I proposed to her after my first tour overseas, and we had a plan to get married after my second. Needless to say, it didn’t happen. After I was shot and lost use of my legs, she ended things with me. The doctors didn’t think I would be able to walk again, and she couldn’t handle the idea of being with a paraplegic, so she jumped ship.
I proved them all wrong. It took me a while to pull my head out of my ass and stop feeling sorry for myself, but eventually I began listening to what my physical therapist was saying and started working at getting stronger. I was in the hospital for a year and it took me six months to learn to walk again, in that time, I also had to learn what is really important in life—and it sure as fuck isn’t a woman like her.
“How have things been going with the new job?” I ask, needing to change the subject since every time I think about the years I wasted on that bitch, I get pissed all over again.
“Good. Really good. And if things keep going the way they have been, I should win the bid on the next location,” he says. I can’t help but be happy for him, since he’s been doing construction forever and this year is the first year he stepped out on his own, with his own crew.
“That’d be good,” I say on a deep breath.
“How are you liking running the bar?” he asks.
“It’s all right. We hired a new girl a few days ago.”
“Oh yeah?” he asks, and I turn my head to look at him.
“Yeah.”
“Well fuck me.” He grins, reading the look on my face without me even having to say anything.
“We’ll see,” I mutter then turn and press the button to speed up my run.
“I’ll have to stop by and have a beer.”
“She’s shy, man,” I confide quietly, wondering why I love that so much.
“Shy?” he repeats, sounding surprised.
“Yep, shy.”
“Have you ever had shy?”
“Nope, but it’s a new day.” I grin at him then curse when I see Lisa standing in front of my treadmill.
“Hey,” she says softly when our eyes meet.
“You here picking up dudes?” Tide asks, and her eyes go to him and narrow. “Just wondering, since you got a full face of makeup on and you’re not even sweating.”
“Don’t be a dick, Tide.” She crosses her arms over her chest, glaring at him.
“Don’t know how to be anyone but me,” he replies, and her lip curls up in disgust before she looks at me once more.
“Do you have a minute to talk?” she asks.
There was once a time when I would have said yes to anything she asked of me, but that was a long fucking time ago. Now I doubt I’d even spare a glass of water on her if she were on fire.
“Nope, I’m here to work out then I’m heading to the bar.”
“Oh,” she responds, looking down and shuffling her feet. “Can you call me? I’d really like to talk to you. We can meet…”
“I’d really like to have a threesome, but I don’t see that happening in my future,” Tide clips cutting her off, and she looks at him again with hatred glittering in her eyes. “If that’s all, you can move along.” He waves her away, and I fight back the laugher I feel building inside me.
“I still don’t know why you’re friends with him,” she scolds, looking at me.
“It’s called loyalty. Maybe you should look up the definition in the fucking dictionary sometime,” he says, and I laugh at that one as she narrows her eyes on mine.
“Come on, Lisa,” her friend Brittany calls from across the room, and she pulls her eyes from mine and lets out a huff before heading that way.
Shaking my head, I slow down to a walk.
“I fucking hate that bitch,” Tide mutters, and I turn to look at him. “Seriously, I fucking hated her in school, and even more so now. She’s never going to change.”
He’s right about that; she will never change. She’s selfish as fuck, and the only reason she’s trying to talk to me now is because I want nothing to do with her, and her ego can’t handle it.
“Join the fucking party,” I retort, and he grins, reaching over and patting my shoulder so hard I almost topple off the machine. “Easy, man.”
“Come on.” He hops off his treadmill. “Let’s finish our workout and get out of here. I feel like having a beer.”
“Tide,” I sigh, knowing exactly why he wants a beer.
“What?” he asks, and I shake my head.
“You meet her, you better be on your best behavior. And you better not scare her off.”
“Who, me?” He points at himself, trying to appear innocent. “I just want to make sure she’s not another Lisa.”
“She’s not.” I know she’s not. No way would Lisa ever get down on her hands and knees to clean up a mess, even if she made it. Or step in to take care of her family unless she was getting something out of it.
After Gia left the bar, I talked to my mom about how she knew her. She told me a little about her history, about her being friends with Gia’s parents when they were both in town and how they had both passed away, her mother from a car accident and her father from a brain tumor. After she told me that, she explained what Nina had to her—that for the last ten years, Gia thought her grandmother was dead. Even with all of that, she still dropped everything and moved here, leaving her job, friends, and life behind. A selfish woman wouldn’t do that.
“She knits,” I blurt out, and Tide stops with a weight lifted halfway up his chest and looks at me.
“What?”
“Gia, she knits,” I laugh, because it’s seriously ridiculous that I find it as hot as I do. “I asked her what she likes to do during her free time, and she told me she likes to knit.”
“So a shy girl who knits for fun? Now I really need to see her for myself.” He grins, pulling the weight fully up to under his chin.
“Just be cool.”
“Like I said earlier, I can only be me, man,” he mutters.
Knowing that’s the best I’m going to get from him, I don’t say anything more about it. I finish my workout then head to the locker ro
om to shower. After I’m dressed, I get in my Suburban with Tide following behind me in his truck as we head to the bar. When we pull into the lot, I spot my dad and Gia standing outside by the open door of a bright yellow Jeep.
As I pull into a parking spot, Tide parks next to me and we both get out at the same time, heading toward my dad and Gia. Taking her in, I notice once again she’s traded in her slacks and sweater for a pair of tight worn jeans that mold to her ass and a long-sleeved red T-shirt that fits her like a second skin, accentuating the curve of her breasts and waist. Today, her long hair is half down, the top part pulled back away from her pretty face, making her eyes stand out. Eyes that stay glued on me as I approach her and my dad, but then pull away when I get close.
“What’s going on?” I ask, stopping a few feet away, even though I really want to get closer to Gia so I can smell her and see if she smells like vanilla, a scent that seems to cling to her.
“She was pulling into the lot and her door swung open. Said it hasn’t been latching correctly, so I told her I’d have a look so she doesn’t have to spend the money to take it to the dealer,” Dad explains.
“It swung open when you were driving?” I ask, and she looks up at me through her lashes as her cheeks turn a very pretty shade of pink.
“Yeah.”
“Has that happened before?” I demand, not realizing the question is actually growled at her. The thought of her getting swept out of her car is too much for me to handle.
“No,” she states, straightening her shoulders. “And I had on my seat belt, so it’s not like I’m an idiot.”
“Yeah, man, she had on her seat belt,” Tide taunts, and I look at him. “What? I’m just saying.” He holds up his hands.
“When was the last time you took the doors off?” Dad asks, cutting in.
“Doors off?” she repeats, looking puzzled. It’s a look I don’t want to find adorable right now, but I do.
“It’s a Jeep. You can take almost everything off of it,” he says, and she looks at the door before looking back at Dad once more.