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Caden’s face burned, and he shifted. His son and his mouth were overdue for an ass whooping. Trevor darted into his room and closed the door. He heard a sharp thump. Trevor must have locked the door. Smart move, kid.
His dad had taken a seat on the bed, lifting his legs and settling in. His gun rested on the nightstand. Caden walked over and picked it up to check the barrel. Empty.
He stared down at his dad. All his life, he was the strongest man he’d known. No one could have predicted how years later he’d be drawn back to almost childlike. Although he never spoke of it even to Kase, it ate away at him seeing the demise of his old man. Growing old was hard enough, but losing concept of present day was fucked.
He flicked off the light switch and made his way down the stairs. He drew in a deep breath, not knowing what he was walking into. If that scene had happened with one of his quick fucks, they would have freaked the fuck out. No doubt ready to give him an earful of their bullshit.
But Marissa wasn’t most women. Actually, she was like no other he’d ever met. Weird, strange, odd, and unpredictable. He rounded the living room and stopped in the doorway, staring into the kitchen. His empty kitchen. He jerked his head to the door and saw it was closed.
The almost fuck and flee, executed to perfection. He didn’t bother looking for a note. She wouldn’t leave one. He was half tempted to go to her place and finish what she started. He didn’t. He locked up, peeking out the window to the back lot. One small light glowed from the distance. Marissa’s place.
“Fuck.”
Why was he thinking so hard about this? Either go over there and fuck her or go upstairs and go to bed. Caden strolled over to the stairs, sending the living room into the dark, and ambled up the stairs.
Chapter Six
Sun. Warm and bright. Not the most eloquent of poetry, but it summed up what she was thinking. She nestled her butt into the beat-up resin chair on her tiny front porch. It was still early and the sun hadn’t fully risen just yet, but it peeked past the tall pines surrounding the compound. It was Monday. Two days since she’d seen Caden.
For all her travelling, and there had been plenty, she hadn’t stayed anywhere as remote as Turnersville. It was set almost twenty miles from the highway, and Caden’s place probably added on another five. It was a distorted version of Mayberry. Marissa smiled, staring down at her feet. She propped them up on the railing and took another look into the distance. Her time here would end soon. She’d be off to some new place, new people, none of whom would interact with her. It was a path she started two years ago.
Some places were more welcoming than others, but they all had the same relative outcome. When she was approached, if she didn’t respond, she was ignored. Some gave it a hard try. Inevitably they walked away— sometimes quietly, other times with a snarky comment. But they all walked away. Exactly how she had planned it.
Until here.
Her phone buzzed, and she glanced down. She groaned, dropping her head back. Janelle had upped her game and started calling every day. Marissa picked up the phone and stared at the screen, weighing her options. Delaying their conversation would only aggravate Janelle, which wouldn’t bode well for Marissa. Instead of a fifteen-minute check in, the talk would be preceded by another fifteen minutes of Janelle bitching. It was best to just answer.
“Hi.”
“Don’t hi me, where the hell are you?”
“Turnersville.”
Janelle scoffed. “Where the hell is Turnersville?”
Marissa smirked. Janelle was always trying to get an exact location. Mainly a state. But she never gave too much information.
Marissa hesitated. “I have not left the country.”
Janelle snorted, and Marissa could imagine her rolling her eyes. “Ya know, this reclusive mysterious persona ya took on two years ago used to be cute. Now it’s just fucking annoying. Oh, who cares where ya are, at least ya answered the phone.”
“Sorry,” Marissa said.
“No, you’re not.” She sighed. “Anyway, so Ryan’s mom is completely pissed at you.”
“Why?”
Ryan’s mom had never been a fan of hers, ever since she declined his offer of marriage. However, she hadn’t seen the woman in over two years.
“Because after she bought Mason hundreds of dollars’ worth of video games, it turns out his favorite present came from you.”
Marissa smiled. “He liked it?”
“No, he friggin’ loves it. Has not put it down for the past three days. I swear Ryan’s mom has been looming over his shoulder, waiting on him to start playing the games. But Mason just ignores her and keeps at it with your gift.” Janelle paused. “And just so ya know, I curse your name every single time I step on one of those Legos.”
Marissa smiled. She had mailed out the Lego set a few weeks earlier. She may have abandoned her past life, but there were a few things she couldn’t let go of altogether. Mason.
“He was hoping you’d make it here to deliver it yourself, but as usual, you were a no show.”
