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“Are you staying in Tennessee?” I ask because he never wanted to move here but with the case he’s working he didn’t have a choice.
“For now.” He mutters.
“She’s on her way back,” Miles says
I lift my chin then watch her come up to Tucker and wrap her arm around his waist.
“It took forever to get my drink,” she says, then asks while looking at the couch. “Who’s the chubby girl?”
“Don’t start your shit, Naomie,” Miles bites out.
She holds up her hand. “It’s just a question. I’ve never seen her before,” she says softly like she actually feels bad, but I know that’s a fucking lie.
“Oh my god, you came!” Willow shouts and when I twist around, I find her running across the room toward a woman who looks similar to her but not exactly identical.
“Who’s that?” Dayton asks, watching the two of them embrace while a man stands back shaking his head at the two women.
“Willow’s sister Harmony and her husband,” I tell them as she gives Harlen a hug before letting him go, then hooking her arm through her sister’s who she drags our way.
“My sister came.” She beams at me looking so fucking beautiful in her happiness.
“I see that, Mouse,” I tell her, holding out my hand.
“Clay.”
“Mouse?” Harmony raises a brow at her sister as she takes my hand.
“Long story,” Willow mumbles.
“I can’t wait to hear about that.” Harmony looks at me and motions with her thumb to the guy next to her. “This is my husband, Harlen.”
“What up, man?” I reach to shake his hand then introduce him to my brothers as Willow takes her sister to the couch to introduce her to Grace and Ivy who hasn’t moved from her spot.
“Do you wanna drink?” I ask Harlen.
He glances at his wife then lets out a breath. “I got a feeling I’m gonna need one.”
“That bad?” I raise a brow.
“When any of the Mayson girls get together you never know what’s gonna go down.” He looks back at his wife who is now sipping from Willow’s drink. “The only reprieve I had is when Harmony was pregnant with Ava.” He focuses back on me.
“Advice?” I lift my chin.
“You get in that deep my man, knock her up then keep doing it.”
My stomach muscles clench as an image of Willow pregnant with my baby flashes through my mind. A serious relationship isn’t something I ever considered before her, and idea of a family of my own was never even on my radar. In such a short fucking time, everything I thought would bring me solace has changed. And now one tiny woman has complete control over my future and my sanity.
Jesus, I knew I was fucked but that’s now more apparent then ever. Because I want that with her, all of it, and I know until I have it, I won’t be completely satisfied.
Chapter 17
Willow
WITH BOXES OF half-eaten Chinese food containers on the counter I sit on a stool at the bar in my kitchen with Leah on the one next to mine, and Skye lying on the floor at our feet. For the last four or more hours we’ve been scrolling through the dating app website hoping that we’ll eventually come across Matthew.
Unlike me, Leah clearly remembers what he looked like and this afternoon as soon as she got off the plane from Florida, I took her to the police station where she was able to give Johnny a full description of him. And when Johnny finished talking with Leah and showed me the sketch, I knew it was Matthew. Where my memory of him had been blurry and unfocused, Leah’s brought him to life. And seeing him again made me even more determined to find the guy who had been dating Carly and who has not made another appearance since her disappearance.
“What time is Clay getting in?” Leah asks.
I drag my eyes off my computer and look at the clock on the microwave seeing it’s a little after seven. “Eight. He said he’d call when his plane landed.” I raise my arms up over my head as I yawn.
Even with yesterday and today off, I’m exhausted. Sunday after Clay woke me up to kiss me goodbye and do other things to make sure I wouldn’t soon forget about him—not that I could if I tried—I couldn’t go back to sleep. So instead of lying in bed, tossing and turning, I got up and showered, then packed Skye in my car and went to my parent’s house. We spent the day with my mom and dad coming up with a plan for the week ahead, which I more than appreciated. Then today I called out of work and spent the morning on the phone getting Carly’s body released and set for cremation and things in place so that Saturday we can have a simple memorial for her. And by the time I was done with all the items on my to do list, it was time to pick up Leah, then she and I spent the afternoon at the police station.
