AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Thanks, Captain Obvious.”
“I’m serious, Captain Asshole, you are. You’re just like Cade. The son who took care of Mama. The brother who watched out for me. The guy who protected Cade. The good-looking man who smiles for every camera.”
I wink. “You think I’m good-looking?”
“Shut up.” She back-hands my arm. “Lemme finish.” I get quiet. “You and Cade are just alike except for one thing.”
“What’s that?” I adore my sister.
“You ran,” she says. “You had to leave to find yourself again, and I get that. We all do. Mama and I missed you, but we got to talk to you and visit. Cade didn’t. And then you dropped back into her life like a bomb. Twice. And she always took you back. She never stopped believing in you. None of us did.”
Shit, she’s right.
“Hey, look at me, you stubborn turd,” she sorta jokes. I look up, and we both have teary eyes. “Let Cade go. Let her leave this time and find herself. And let her fuck up like you did a hundred damn times and forgive her and take her back.”
“How’d you get so damn smart?”
“Quit joking.” She smacks me again. “Did you hear me? Believe in Cade like she did in you, and take her back.”
“What if she doesn’t want me back?”
“Did she ever stop fighting for you?”
“Cade Bryant doesn’t stop fighting, period.” I like talking about her like this. And all I can see now is her… with him. “But she’s in love with some perfect man now.”
“You’re just saying that because you went on a date this morning.”
“What?” My spine shoots up. “It wasn’t a date. It was coffee with a friend, and how the hell do you know about it?”
She rolls her eyes. It’s constant around me.
“Because you’re dumbass Redix Dean, and pictures are all over Instagram. Do you not check your hashtag?”
“No.” I reach for my phone and type it in, and oh shit.
Posts and reposts of me and Karen at the coffee shop are everywhere.
How the fuck did that happen?
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Bad Things by Summer Kennedy
Twice, I’ve spent the day with Silas’s parents.
First, it was New Year’s Day, eating black-eyed peas and collards. Silas and I were still on a post-fuck high, and nothing could burst our bubble. It was supposed to be informal as we sat at his parents’ kitchen island, that’s the size of a king’s dining table. Three dozen other “close friends” were there too.
Everyone was kind to me, Silas’s mom in particular.
“I donated to your mother’s campaign for Sheriff every time,” she said. “We need more women in power.”
I see where Silas gets his feminism.
But not his dad. He beamed around me, but you could freeze lava with how he treated Silas.
“I’m sorry he ignores you.” I held Silas in bed that night. Sleeping at his loft feels like a new life, and I love it. “Can I do anything to help?”
“I wanna see my mom, even if my dad’s a dick, so if you’ll keep being my eye-candy of a date, that helps.”
