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“Oh my God, I can’t believe you’re here.” She breathes me in when she hugs me tight. I don’t care if she smells like alcohol and fried food. She’s Mom.
“Are you ready for the best birthday ever?”
“As long as it’s with you, Mom.”
“It looks like you picked a good one over there,” she whispers. “He’s eye candy that has stolen my baby’s heart, hasn’t he?”
I nod, not wanting Reid to overhear that my mother has noticed since I arrived that I have fallen hopelessly in love with him. I knew she would see it when we showed up. Why hide it. I’m tired of hiding. I’m tired of hurting.
CHAPTER39
Reid
Awoman in a waitress uniform and an apron walks down the steps and stops in front of Jess, giving her a tight hug that causes me to smile. You could feel their love and respect for each other, just by watching them together. The bond between mother and daughter.
I look up at the bar sign her mother works at, and I know it is owned by the Levines. The whole town is. A thought formulates in my head, and I smile to myself.
“Momma, I have someone I would like you to meet,” Jess tells her mother.
I step forward, giving her my best smile. “Miss Sharpe. My name is Reid Riordan.”
Her mother pulls away from Jess, and her eyes take me in. “Jesus, Jesse. He’s gorgeous.” She walks up to me and tries to wipe her hands on her apron. “I apologize for my rude manners. I’m not used to Jess bringing someone home.”
I’m the only one she will ever bring home.
“It is a pleasure to finally meet the woman responsible for raising the perfect woman.”
She blushes, and I have never wanted the approval of someone like I do right now because it would mean so much to Jess.
“Aren’t you a charmer,” Miss Sharpe says with a smile. “Please call me Amanda.”
Jess is the exact replica of her mom. She reminds me of an older Jess. She looks like a hard-working lady that took care of her responsibility the best way she could. I look across the street at a diner and then back at the bar.
“If you don’t mind me asking, how long have you been working at the bar?”
“Oh, not too long. My hours were cut , but Jess’s friend Michael from high school was kind enough to give me a job here. Business at the bar slowed down, and they cut my hours at the diner across the street.”
I see Jesse stiffen and recognize her body language when the underlying cause––when the piece of shit--is mentioned.
I open the driver’s side door to my black Mercedes. “You’re driving, babe. You and your mom can sit in the front; I’ll take the back.”
“Oh.” Her eyes soften when she hears me call her, babe. The endearment is new, but it fits when it comes to Jess.
I sit in the back seat and fire a few texts to my father. I have a business proposition for him. One he would take an interest in.
* * *
We reach the dirt road leading to Jesse and her mother’s trailer, recognizing it immediately from my research on Google Maps. I hate to say it but Google accurately depicts what it looks like.
She must feel embarrassed about her living situation, but she shouldn’t. I have seen countless pricks at school that have everything and become the worst human beings on the planet. Jesse and her mother are just victims of people like that. But all of that is going to change.
Jesse stops in front of the shitty trailer and parks in the only parking spot by the pissed-stained door.
I look around and see a crackhead twitching across the street. The burnt grass that hasn’t been mowed mixed with dirt and weeds. The car doors open, and I watch her mother walk up to the door with a small smile.
“I know it looks bad, but I try to keep it tidy inside, especially for Jesse. She always did the cleaning for me while I was working after school. She would take odd jobs to help me out. It was how she bought her car. Did she tell you that?”
Her mother rambles on, trying to make a good impression like any good mother would.
