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“What? Why does it matter?”
“Is he going?”
“No.”
“Dani’s trying to set you up with him.”
“What difference does that make to you?” I ask him rather than assuring him it won’t happen.
“Jules.” Truman sighs as he steps closer to me. We’re standing much too close together now. If any of his family saw us like this, we would have some explaining to do. Not sure what to think of this, of Truman’s sudden objection to my seeing anyone else, I step backwards and toss out something to drive him away.
“We took Ryle to the batting cages.”
“We? You? You and Jerad?”
Interesting that he remembers Jerad’s name.
“The four of us,” I correct him. I might be trying to push him away, but I don’t want to hurt him. I don’t want Truman to worry that there’s a special guy in my life who might be a threat to his relationship with Ryle.
“The four of you.”
I nod. “Eric and Jerad were in the cages. Ryle just watched.”
“Nice.” Truman tucks his hands in his pockets. A little sliver of regret needles me when I see the flash of hurt on his face. Now we stand together on the porch with six years of buried hard feelings between us.
“I was going to kiss you just now.” He meets my eyes, and that little sliver of regret is a knife in my throat.
If he had kissed me, I would have kissed him back. As much as it hurts, it’s better that I broke the moment.
“I know.”
14
Truman
She doesn’t make a scene. She doesn’t storm out of here without saying goodbye to anyone. My ex has too much class for that. Instead, she stares at me a moment longer and then turns and goes back into Harper’s house.
Feeling like an idiot for how I handled that—it’s becoming a theme for me and how I communicate with Julie—I linger on the front porch a bit. I don’t even know what I’m so angry about. Yes, I would have been outraged if Julie had let Ryle get in a batting cage. But, did I really believe that she would do that?
No.
Was that anger, that sudden need to confront her more about me just needing to get close enough to her to argue with her?
Harper’s well-timed jab about Julie going to Florida with her friends did exactly what it was supposed to do, whether that’s see red, see green, or ride a wave of regret and despair I’ll never get off. No matter what—if I don’t tell Jules how I feel about her now, she’ll end up in love with someone else.
And what kind of man would I be to waltz in and take that away from her?
I’m in love with her, yes. But she’s cool as a cucumber—unless I’m slinging baseless accusations at her—and she makes me feel like a bumbling idiot. I know I could and should have handled that discussion better. I’m a businessman, a professional, and yet, I let my crush rattle me all the time.
She’s not just a crush, though. The stakes are so much higher than that, including my son’s happiness. I hear the front door open and look over my shoulder when Twain sticks his head out.
“You okay?”
I figure Harper sent him out here to check on me. Not because she’s afraid to confront me again. But because he’s much more mobile at the moment. I answer him with a curt nod. I have no desire to talk to anyone right now about anything, most especially either of my siblings about my ex-girlfriend.
Twain studies me for a second. To make sure he gets the message that I don’t want to talk, I look back at the front yard. Harper’s lawn is immaculate. Just like the rest of her life—usually. Just like Twain and Mabry’s life together now.
I wonder if I’ll be the only Woolff to have a messy, less than perfect life.
