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Her entire body deflated at the thought. “If I have to, I’ll leave Warren for the sake of Sawyer.” Tears welled up in her eyes.
I took her hand, though I barely knew her. “I’ll see what I can do.”
She patted my hand. “This may sound weird, but I feel like we’re supposed to know each other.”
You know what was weirder? I felt the same way. Not sure how I was going to explain that to Sawyer.Chapter Nine“You’re doing what?” Jenna yelled into the phone.
“I’m not happy about it, but there’s no way Sawyer’s old truck is making it over Freedom Pass.” And Sawyer and I had already been planning on driving up together.
“Tell him if he can’t drive Shelby, she can’t come. Doesn’t she have a car?”
“I assume she does, but even Colorado natives have a tough time going over that Pass. I can’t have her blood on my hands.” None of us had wanted to attempt it last night in the dark after we got off work, which was why we were leaving this morning.
“I don’t mind getting bloody. I’ll take the blame without an ounce of guilt.”
“Aww. Now I know who to call when I need to bury a body.”
She laughed. “I’ll be the first one there with a shovel. It wouldn’t take long to dig a hole for miss little thing.”
“You know, sometimes you scare me, and to think you’re going to be a mommy soon.”
“No one better ever mess with my boy.”
I had no doubt Jenna would be a scary mama bear. “For the safety of those around you, I hope that’s true. And by the way, try and be nice to Shelby this weekend.”
“Ugh,” she spat. “I make no promises. I don’t understand why you’re being so nice to her. She’s putting the moves on your man.”
“He’s not my man.”
“Oh, really? Who were you out with last night?”
“Friends go bowling together. Besides, we weren’t alone. His dad and his dad’s girlfriend crashed the party.”
“Oh, yeah. You’re going to need to fill me in on that.”
“I will. I need to go or I’m going to be late picking up Sawyer and his friend. I’ll see you in a few hours.”
I could hear Jenna sigh in disgust before she hung up. I wasn’t thrilled about the arrangement either, especially given that Sawyer and I parted last night in disagreement. I guessed you could call it our second fight. Two fights in one night. When he dropped me off, he barely muttered a goodbye.
He didn’t think we should accept Bridget’s dinner invitation and I think he felt betrayed that I didn’t loathe her. It’s not like I didn’t try for a few seconds. I had fully intended on hating the woman who’d stolen Warren away from Josephine, but she seemed really nice and it was apparent she loved Warren. And I wasn’t so sure she had stolen Warren away. I had a feeling the divorce had been inevitable. The question was, why? Like, why was Josephine never at home? Why was Warren relieved to finally be divorced? I mean, what kind of woman was my father married to?
I felt like there were two sides to the story, and Sawyer needed to learn the other half. Maybe if Sawyer could see the whole picture, it might help him forgive his dad. Again, I wasn’t condoning infidelity. It was obvious Bridget and Warren weren’t making excuses and that they felt remorse over it. Sawyer needed to see that too.
I looked up into the clear blue Colorado sky. It was the perfect July morning. Not a cloud could be seen. The birds were digging it too, by how loud they were chirping. It was going to be hot in the valley today, but where we were going, it would be warm in the day and cold at night. I threw the last of my gear into the trailer I’d hitched to my Jeep. I was excited to try out my new tent—it came with a porch.
Aspen was going to be my roommate for the night once she joined us after work. The bank was open for half the day. My stomach wriggled thinking about who Shelby was probably going to stay with. I had a feeling that Band-Aid was going to come flying off this weekend and my fungal heart infection would clear right up when it broke in two. If they were getting that cozy, going to dinner at his dad’s with me would be a moot point. He’d want to take his girlfriend, or not go at all and hang out with Shelby instead. I should be happy for the distance it would create between us, but even though I knew it was probably the best thing for me, it filled me with profound sadness and loss.
I checked that I had everything. I even looked down my T-shirt to make sure I had a bra on. The girls were secure. My shorts were zipped. I had on both hiking boots. I reached up and felt my sunglasses on the top of my head. My cell phone was in my pocket. Not that there was service where we were going. The primitive camp site was at the base of Freedom Pass near the river. It was pristine and untouched. It was Mom’s favorite camping site because it was so remote. She loved taking us there growing up because she felt like she had us all to herself. Dad couldn’t do any business and we weren’t calling our friends or watching TV. It was a place free of distractions, until now. I was going to try not to be distracted by Shelby and Sawyer, but I wasn’t sure that would be possible.
