Page 12 of Never Really Over

The fact that she knows me so well makes me smile. “Nothing. Just a bad morning. My dishwasher is leaking and the building manager said he won’t be able to get to it right away, which I know, I know, isn’t a big deal, but I woke up on the wrong side of the bed, I guess,” that’s putting it one way, “and then everything just seems to be not going well for me.”

“I’m sorry. It sounds like you need some brownies.”

“Oh my gosh, I totally do! I was just about to order some food because I needed to go to the store today but it’s raining so hard that I don’t feel like going yet.”

“It’s raining here, too. But I managed to get to the store before it started. I’m just on my way home now and am so glad you encouraged me to have that attached garage put on last summer so I don’t have to run through the rain carrying my groceries.”

“See? I knew you’d love it. Anything else going on today?”

“Not much, no. You know my typical Saturday is full of excitement.”

That makes me laugh. She begins her Saturday by cleaning the entire house top to bottom, taking care of laundry, getting groceries, and usually ends up going to dinner with friends or just hanging out at home if there’s not yard work to do. Mom was a single mom my entire life aside from dating a few guys briefly. She dated a guy a few years ago who she thought she’d marry but it turned out he already was, so she’s sworn off men entirely.

“No book club tonight?”

“That was last night,” she tells me. “The girls and I met at Pam’s house and sat around the fire.”

“And had snacks.”

She laughs. “Definitely snacks. A few drinks. A lot of talking.”

My mom’s been friends with a group of ladies for over twenty years. They call it a book club, but I think they do more gabbing than talking about books. Either way, the ladies are the best and Mom’s way of keeping sane.

“Sounds about right,” I murmur. “Have fun?”

“We always do.”

“So today you get to relax, right?”

“Sure do. I’m looking forward to it, actually.”

“You deserve it.”

“Not sure about that, but I am looking forward to watching television and being a bum. But I did have something to tell you.”

“Oh, boy. Here it comes,” I tease.

“Oh, shush. I saw someone today. I have a feeling you’d like to hear all about it.”

This can’t be good. I have a feeling that she’s up to something. Despite myself, I still ask, “Who?”

“Guess.”

“Mom,” I huff. “Just tell me.”

“Colt.”

At the simple sound of Colt’s name, my heart gallops. After all these years, I’ve still never gotten over him. I left Hollow Grove angry that he wouldn’t follow me, but knowing he was right. Which made me even more angry.

I loved Colt so deeply but felt like I was completely out of my skin living in Hollow Grove. I was unhappy there, but not unhappy with Colt. I wished things were different. I wish that living in Hollow Grove was enough for me.

But I couldn’t change who I was any more than he could change who he was. He was right, of course, that he would have been miserable living in a place that didn’t have wide open spaces and stars in the sky at night.

I knew he’d be miserable living in Chicago and when I threw Dalton’s name into the mix, I knew what I was doing then, too. Colt and Dalton hated each other, and I didn’t blame Colt one bit for his feelings. Dalton is a jerk, and, unfortunately, when I moved to Chicago, I was reminded of that.

At first, he was my saving grace. He showed me around, introduced me to his friends and co-workers, invited me to gatherings. Dalton and I developed a friendship and through him, I met my ex-fiance, Jasper. But that old saying ‘birds of a feather flock together’ was created for a reason. Dalton was a serial cheater in relationships and while it bothered me and I refused to introduce him to my friends for that very reason, he also encouraged it with his own friends. Or, maybe encouraged is the wrong way to word it. Enabled would be more appropriate.

Dalton introduced Jasper to me knowing that he, too, was a serial cheater. To say I was not as on board with him sharing a bed with other women would be an understatement. Obviously it wasn’t Dalton’s fault that I fell in love with Jasper and accepted his proposal, however, Dalton did tell him that he would hide it from me if he wanted to keep other women around.

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