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Marissa shook her head. “I told you I wasn’t coming.”
“Yeah, well, I’m the asshole who was holding out hope. You better come see me when I give birth, though. You can’t get out of it, so don’t even hand me your ‘I’ll try’ bullshit.”
“You find out the sex yet?”
“No,” Janelle snapped. Her response was too quick, and Marissa had an idea why. She was eight months pregnant, and considering Janelle had the patience of a two-year-old, Marissa doubted she wouldn’t find out. Janelle knew. And Marissa knew.
Marissa drew in a breath. “I’ll try to come up.”
“No, not try, you will. It’s been over two years. It’s been long enough.”
“It’s not your decision to make, Janelle. It’s mine.”
“I really kinda hate you sometimes.”
“You could stop calling me.”
Janelle laughed. “Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you? Well, sorry, bitch, I ain’t going anywhere.”
Marissa chuckled and listened for the next ten minutes. Janelle filled her in on what was happening in town, even though Marissa never asked.
“I’ll call ya next week. Answer the goddamn phone.”
“Bye.” She hung up the phone and tucked it in her pocket.
A small brigade of beat-up pickup trucks pulled through the entrance gates. She assumed they were Caden’s employees when they parked alongside the large garage. She watched as they filtered out of their trucks with greetings. One man grabbed a small cooler from the bed of the truck, and when he turned, he locked eyes with her. He was about her age, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. His lips moved, but she was too far away to make out what he was saying. However, it became clear she was the topic. The other three men turned toward her. Two of them smiled, and she lifted her hand in a wave.
They all waved back except for the oldest man in the back who simply nodded. She took a sip of her coffee, veering her gaze to the house on her right. She hadn’t seen Caden yesterday. Or the day before. He was probably avoiding her. Her heart sank into her stomach.
“Dad’s gonna be pissed, he sees them gawking at ya.”
Marissa whipped her head toward the parking lot. Trevor was making his way toward her with a grin, showing off a faint dimple on his left cheek. He stopped at her small deck, resting his arms on the railing. He hooked his thumb over his shoulder.
“Finally got a hot chick on the premises, and these fuckers are drooling.”
Marissa smirked and raised her brow. “Language, Trev.”
He blinked, obviously caught off guard by her reprimand. Then he burst out laughing, bending over. His laugh was loud and echoing, which made her smile. There was something so genuine about youthful humor. It was contagious.
“Hey.” The sharp call had both Trevor and her looking toward the house. Caden stalked up the path. He looked angry. “Get your ass outta here. You’re gonna be late.”
“I’m going,” Trevor said.
Marissa kept her focus on Caden until he stopped at her steps. “Two fucking lates this week, Trev.” He narrowed his gaze at his son.
She tightened her lips to keep from smiling. It was ironic how Caden reprimanded his son for language he used himself. She drew in a breath. Mentioning the hypocritical behavior wouldn’t do her any favors with Caden. For some reason, she wanted to stay on his good side.
“I know, I know. But I was trying to be a gentleman and shit.”
Caden’s face reddened on his last word, and Marissa covered her mouth with her hand. Her sudden movement caught his attention, and his glare turned on her.
“Hi, Caden.”
His face softened slightly. “Hey.” He turned quickly to Trevor. “What are you talking about?”
He lifted his chin to the left. “The guys like our new guest,” he teased.
Caden didn’t seem to find any humor in the statement. He looked over Trevor’s shoulder, but the men had since gone into the garage. He jerked his head at Marissa.
