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I shake my head, scrub my hand over my jaw. “Maybe we’re just growing apart.”
Or I need to make more of an effort. Do something nice for her. Break us out of this rut.
“Whatever you do,” Larkin says, “honor yourself. If you love her, fight for her. If your feelings have changed, don’t string her along. Women aren’t dumb. My bet is she knows something’s up.”
I nod. Jolene is far from dumb. She’s smart and sassy and sweet and hot. Everything I should want. But I look at Larkin—this girl I barely know—and I feel strangely connected to her. I’m not sure why telling her my secrets has been so easy. Why the mix of green and blue in her eyes seems to suck me in.
Larkin holds out her phone. “If the offer still stands, I’d actually like your number. I’ll feel safer if I have someone to call.”
“Good,” I say gruffly. I enter my digits into her phone and send myself a text. But I can do better than being a standby bouncer. “Is Derek home on Saturday nights?”
She curls her lip. “Doubtful. He’s for sure wasted at that biker bar outside of town.”
“How do you feel about a little breaking and entering?”
Her eyes spark. “What do you have in mind?”
“You need your passport and clothes, so we take back what’s yours. If I’m with you, and he happens to come home, he won’t be able to lay a finger on you.” And I might get the chance to sink my fist into the asshole’s face.
“Really?”
I turn my truck back on. “Consider me the Clyde to your Bonnie.”
“Is that some crack because I’m the progeny of Otto Briggs?”
“You should be proud of the relation. Takes a strong woman to rise above her degenerate parent. Tell me where we’re going.”
I feel her attention on my profile as she explains that her ex lives in the house by the junkyard. After a beat, she says, “You, Jake Bower, weren’t this kind and thoughtful during high school.”
Busted. “I was an obnoxious jock.”
“And brain-cell challenged. I remember something about you jumping off Amari Harper’s roof into his pool, like you were an invincible superhero.”
I smile at that wild memory. I honestly thought I had nine lives. “As idiotic as that was, it wasn’t my fault. According to my mom, you can’t grow balls and brains at the same time. That’s why men take longer to mature.”
She laughs, so hard tears leak from her eyes. “I like your mom.”
“She’s the best.” Which has me angry all over again with my father.
I can’t go to Mom about his possible affair until I have proof. And then what? I tell her and watch her fall apart? I don’t tell her and live with the knowledge of his deceit? My stomach pitches and my palms turn damp. Maybe my instincts are off base. Maybe he really has been helping clients out of town. That office lie could have been a misunderstanding.
By the time I park outside a run-down bungalow near the junkyard, I’m freshly frustrated.
The lights in the house are off. There are no vehicles in the driveway. “Doesn’t look like he’s home.”
“Based on his typical nights, he won’t be home for another hour or so, and the neighbors on the other streets are super nice. I’ve always felt safe when walking to my mom’s from here, but I wouldn’t have had the guts to come on my own. So, thanks for doing this.”
“Glad I could be here,” I say, but I can’t shake thoughts of my parents.
Larkin doesn’t move to get out. She places her hand on my thigh. “You’re worried about your mom.”
“Am I that easy to read?”
“To me, you are. Which is kinda odd, considering we only officially met tonight.”
Except I can somehow sense Larkin’s troubles too. “If I’m right, this will crush her.”
She leans closer and squeezes my leg. “Only a strong woman could raise you five boys and live to tell the tale. And she has you to lean on. Whatever happens, you’ll all get through it.”
