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I sigh and let my head hang, forehead against hers. “Oh no. It’s much,muchworse than that.”
I was right. It was worse. Worse in the fact that Jane and my mom hit it off so well that I’ve been left to wander behind them while we walk around the festival and hold their bags. Yup. I’mthatfucking guy.
Maybe my dad’s stay-at-home policy was for a reason. But since he and I don’t see eye to eye all the time, I shove that thought away and focus on Jane and my mom sharing the multitude of cookies she bought.
Jane turns to me and holds up a bite of one, giving me a little amused smirk and I let her feed it to me, smiling right back at her.
My mom, of course, catches everything. “Gosh, you two are just so sweet. Jane, honey.” She pats Jane’s arm. “When Warren told me he was seeing someone, I was through the roof excited. He hasn’t had a real girlfriend in ages and even then, well…” She sniffs. “I wasn’t that big of a fan.”
“Mom, she wasn’t even my girlfriend,” I interrupt, referencing the girl I liked in high school.
High school.As in, eleven years ago.
As we’re walking, Jane keeps up a conversation with my mom, and I don’t hate the fact that the two of them are getting along. As a matter of fact, it makes me happy that Jane fits in so seamlessly, because if I have it my way, they’ll need to get along for the rest of their lives.
“War, hey.” I turn at the call of my name and blink in surprise to find Cade Trevors, a.k.a. CT, standing there trying to get my attention.
CT was my best friend in high school and even after that, but I went to Denver and he stayed here, doing his performance horse business while I studied art. Something that never separated us before.
But then he stopped answering calls right around when his mom got sick and things went downhill from there.
I tell Jane I’ll catch up and step over to where he’s standing. “Hey man, how’s everything?”
He nods his head and shuffles his feet. “Not too bad. Busy though.”
“Yeah.” I glance around. “Nice to see the festival come back to life.”
CT smirks. “Yeah, that was mostly Dad and Quinn.”
“Nice.” We stand in awkward silence until CT breaks it.
“How’s life in the city?”
I smile in the direction of Jane. “Pretty fucking good, actually. I’ve got some irons in the fire.”
“Awesome.” He crosses his arms, his muscle and stature showing how much he’s changed in the last few years. Hell, we both have. “Listen, I was hoping we could maybe start fresh.” The words catch me off guard and he notices. “I was a shit friend there for a while but… I’m working on it.” He keeps his gaze off in the distance, but he has my full attention. “These last few months… life has changed around here. After today, I’m going to have a full-on business again. But hell…” He rubs a hand across his beard in a nervous gesture. “Your friendship was a good one, War.”
I don’t waste any time and say, “Of course, man. You’ve always been my friend.”
He doesn’t say anything, just nods his head and holds out a hand for me to shake. “Thanks, man.”
I grasp his hand and smirk at him, knowing that everything he just admitted makes him feel like a sissy.
“Warren! Come on, we’re going to miss the speech!” my mom yells and Jane stands next to her, my friends all surrounding her while she laughs at my mom’s yelling. “Then we’re heading to our house for dinner. Dad’s turning on the barbecue!”
I sigh as CT laughs. “Same old, Mama Linda.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“The day you stop looking back, is the day you start moving on.”
-Thomas Rhett
Jane
Linda Blake is the most energetic and wonderful woman on the planet. I swear she has a literal heart of gold. It’s no wonder she birthed the man that is Warren, it’s clear that he got his gentlemanly side from watching how his parents interact.
From what I can tell, Henry Blake—Warren’s father—is a gruff kind of man. He gave me a nod and a kind smile but didn’t converse with me, so far anyway. But when Linda walked up to him, his eyes sparkled with love.
