AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’m going to wipe that smile off. “Jackson’s father is Landon.”
“Landon who?”
“Which other Landon do you know?”
“Get the fuck outta here.” She sits back in the chair, stupefied.
“No, I live here. You get the fuck out of here.” I turn, placing the plate in the sink. I turn back, and faster than lightning, she’s standing in front of me. Stealthiest move I’ve ever seen.
“How are you? Are you okay?” Her face contorts in concern. “If I would have known, I wouldn’t have opened my big, fat mouth. Oh, my God, Lacey, I’m so sorry. I’m such an idiot!”
“No, no, no, stop. You didn’t know. I didn’t know. Who would know?”
“How are you, for real?” She puts her hand on my arm. “Talk to me.”
“I’m dealing. It was touch and go when I first saw him, but I got it together in a hurry. Managed to wait until I got home before I had a cleansing cry.” She puts her hand over mine, squeezing in reassurance. I pull my hand out, covering hers with mine. “Shay, I’m fine. Really, I am.” I’m better than I thought I would be. “You don’t need to worry about me. I’m not going to break.”
“I know.”
No, she doesn’t.
I tell her about the meeting, and what he said to Jacob.
“That’s all he said?”
“What else was he going to say? I was standing there, prepared for a disgusted look or remark, but it didn’t come.”
“Well, I’ll give him that. Nothing else. He was wrong.”
“Shay.”
“He was wrong for what he did to you. He left you without a moment’s hesitation. Not even a thought.”
“Shay—”
“He went off, left you, and had a kid with the first girl he met up with. How foul is that?” “You don’t know he did that.” I move away from her, picking up the dishrag on the side of the counter.
“He has a kid, Lacey, who by a sick twist of fate is now the best and only friend your child has. Are you going to let this friendship continue?”
“What am I supposed to do, Shay? Rip him out of school from his best and only friend, like you said? I already nixed that when Mom brought it up.”
“Mom and I are on the same page. But no, that wouldn’t work. It would devastate Jacob.”
“Yes. We’ll have to deal with it.”
“You mean you’ll have to deal with it. It won’t affect us the same way.”
True, it won’t.
“Are you sure you can do this? Things were serious back then. It took years to get over him.”
“I know. He’s married to Jackson’s mom.” She tries to pull me closer for a hug, but I refuse, holding up my hands. “It’s fine. He moved on with his life long ago—the day he walked out, leaving us behind. He seems happy; it’s good.”
“Sure.”
“Our lives didn’t turn out too bad. We’re also happy,” I remind her, toying with the rag.
“Yeah, we are.”
“Jacob is the love of my life, of our lives. The best part of my life. No regrets where he’s concerned. There’s no mistake in that choice, and I get confirmation of that every day.”
She smiles faintly, and I wonder what she’s really thinking.
