AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"A toast," he raises his beer, "to the only single Thompson cousins."
"Emmy is also single," I remind him.
"She has a secret boyfriend," Liam scoffs as a blond with a pixie cut walks by and winks at him. He twists his body to make googly eyes at her.Gross.
"Whatever," I say before downing the entire glass of brown liquid.Whiskey. Not my first choice, but it'll numb the pain I'm drowning in.
"I think you're supposed to sip that," Liam raises a dark eyebrow.
"I don't care," I blow out a tired breath. "I've been job hunting all afternoon. Why aren't there any jobs for people like me?"
"What do you meanpeople like you?" He swivels on his barstool to face me, his dark hair plastered to his head with gel.
"Single moms who want to make it home by five every night to see their kid," I raise my brows.
"I have no idea. That's not a problem I've encountered before," he shrugs.
It must besohard being a professional snowboarder. Liam spends his days training and his nights sleeping around.And since we live in a tourist town, conquests are never in short supply.
"But really, Iz, it can't be thathardto find a job," he says flippantly.
"You've never had a full-time job," I snap, "so don't even go there."
"Sorry," he holds up both hands. "You're right. If you need to vent, my ears are open for business."
His eyes, however, keep wandering to that pixie-cut chick who's twerking on the makeshift dancefloor with a crowd of slow-moving patrons.
At this point, Liam's the last person I want to confide in. But he's here, and he's paying for drinks. Free therapy.
"It's just that I moved in with my parents," I glower, "and I'm getting divorced. My job options are limited to the laundry mat or the gas station. It's not that I'm beneath either of those jobs, it's that I can't make a living off them. I won't be able to get my own place or buy a car."
"Steve is paying child support, right? That and a job at the gas station should give you more than enough money to find a place," Liam offers what he thinks is the solution to all my problems.
"No, Steve can't afford child support right now," I rub a hand over my face. "If I asked him to pay it, he wouldn't be able to pay for rent. I can't do that to him right now. I'm the one who wanted the divorce. I'm the one who walked away."
"He was a deadbeat father and husband, Iz," Liam sucks in a harsh breath. "Maybe paying child support would help him get off his ass and get a job."
My heart stings. I don't know what the right thing to do is.
"I want Steve to get his life back on track. Sending me a portion of the little money he makes won't help him. He needs to do it on his own."
"The lesson here," Liam purses his lips, "is to not marry a guy who's incapable of helping take care of his kid."
"That's not fair," I frown. "And it's not entirely Steve's fault. He was dealt a shitty blow. It ruined his life and, in turn, ruined mine. Things were good before he lost his toe."
"Were they?" Liam asks.
I think back, trying to remember. Steve and I always got along well, but we lacked passion. The sight of him didn't make me weak in the knees or my insides go haywire. We could sit quietly on a couch together and watch three seasons of a TV show without saying a single word. It was comfortable. Especially after the risks I took to be with Brady before I left the mountain. We snuck around and almost got caught playing a dangerous game of cat and mouse. I loved Brady but it was torture.
After that relationship ended, Steve was nice and safe. He was comfortable.
"I didn't want to jump his bones like I did..." I trail off. "Anyway, you get the point. We weren't crazy about each other, but we liked each other. We had a good friendship. We communicated well about what we expected out of one another."
"Sounds boring."
I laugh. "I'm sure to someone like you it sounds like hell."
"I just think," Liam hitches a shoulder, "that love should be an adventure. It should be fun and sexy. Sitting on the couch watching TV together is what old people do."
