Page 14 of Their Stormy Reunion

“No shit.” I chuckled. “That time I bought some cufflinks for my dad. I always buy something when I’m in there. It’s worth it just for the stories.”

“Well, I might go in to peruse some antiques, but I’m going to skip the sewing circle.”

I wasn’t surprised. “You could always go volunteer down at the food pantry,” I suggested.

Zarek tilted his head. “That might work. Anything to occupy my time on my off days. The silence at home is killing me.”

I understood. That was the reason I had adopted Harley a few years back. With the acreage I had it made sense to get a dog. She had plenty of space to roam, and she was a great companion. But I didn’t think it was a good idea for Zarek to make a big decision to adopt a pet without Chloe’s input, because I was positive that the two of them would work things out. They were too perfect together not to.

“I’ve got to go. I’m going to the gym,” Zarek said.

“What about the weight room here?” I asked.

“Nah. I’m going to Knoxville. See if I can get some time in the ring.”

I frowned. Now I knew that Zarek was in a bad space if he needed to go to Cappy’s Boxing and MMA Arena. Zarek was good, but some of the guys there were animals.

“Stay safe.”

Zarek gave me a chin tilt. “Always.”

I finished chopping up the potatoes and cubing the meat then threw it all into the two crock pots. I set the temperature, then headed over to the lounge chair where one of my two books was. I was lucky, I could tune out just about anything when I was reading a book, so Rick’s show was easy to block. But my thoughts? Not so much.

What was I doing thinking about Fallon all the damn time? Hadn’t I firebombed that bridge nine years ago? Shit, three months after I chased her out of town, I’d joined the Army. What did I have to lose, right? Turns out, you can lose even more when you’re in the middle of some desert with men you consider your brothers, and everything falls apart. I was glad to return home to Jasper Creek after I’d put in my four years.

So here I am, doing something important, in a town I love. A town that considers the woman I love a pariah, when I’m really the asshole.

But this was my second chance, and I was going to take it. Fallon might not see it that way, but I did, and I was going to pull out all the stops to win her back. Zarek was right. Me confessing that I hadn’t slept with Lindsay wasn’t going to get me back into her good graces. It would piss her off even more. Instead, I would have to learn the woman she was now and get this woman to fall in love with me.

Chapter Four

Dad had been down for three days after the doctor’s visit. Mom had been a mess. Neither of them would let me help with dad. Stubborn old fools. I’d heard him vomiting right after we had arrived home from Pearl’s. It had continued on into the night. I’d made mom her favorite, pea soup and hot buttered toast for dinner, and she’d actually let me massage her hands. It told me just how tough things were going with Dad. Dad continued to stay in his room, and I did the best I could to take care of Mom. She didn’t have much to say, but at least she allowed me to care for her.

It was after they both went to sleep that I would work on the big consulting project that I still needed to finish. I had kept my project managers, Eddie and Vanessa on as full-time employees when I had shut down my Chicago office. They were in charge of the seven contract developers, and it was my job to interface with the picky client.

I knew I was going to have to fly out next week for a face-to-face with Marshall and his Board. There was no way out of it. I’d take Eddie and Vanessa. We were on track to have a working prototype by then, if Marshall didn’t change his mind yet again. But he and I had discussed that, and if he did, I’d have no choice but to put him on the spot in front of his Board of Directors. They wouldn’t be pleased with him, considering how much they were paying my company.

My cellphone pinged with an incoming text. It was eleven at night. A little late for a Wednesday. Hell, a little late for any day of the week. When I turned it over I saw it was from a Tennessee area code that I didn’t recognize. Then I read the text.

Unknown: How’s your dad doing?

Fallon: Who is this?

Unknown: It’s me, Michael. I guess you deleted my number.

Fallon: You think? Dad’s finally recovered from his lunch at Pearl’s.

Michael: Ouch.

I waited for Michael to text something, because I didn’t know what to say to him.

Michael: I’m sorry I horned in the other day. I shouldn’t have done that.

Fallon: Yeah, it wasn’t your best move.

I watched the bubbles popping for a long time, so I knew it was going to be a long text.

Michael: When I heard that you were back in town, I had to see you. I’ve thought about you a lot over the years. I’ve even thought about going to Chicago, but I figured you’d just kick me to the curb, or in the nuts. But now that you’re back, I can’t help myself. I need to see you. I need to talk to you. I need to hold you. Losing you was the worst thing that’s happened in my life.