Page 96 of Take Two

“Briefly, but I dismissed the thought because I have too much to lose,” I remind her.

She closes her eyes and remains silent. “It hurts me that you went through this alone.” She shifts her body, and I do the same until we are looking directly at each other. “Promise me you won’t hide things from me anymore.”

“I promise, and you’re right. I really needed you, and it’s my own fault you weren’t there for me. Do you forgive me? I thought I was doing the right thing by not dropping this on your lap without answers, but I was always going to tell you.”

“I do.” I pull her into a hug. “I love you so much. I wouldn’t have left you, but I’m relieved that there isn’t another woman out there who is the mother of your child.” She pulls away and looks at me, but then she bites her lip and breaks eye contact. Sensing she has something else to say, I take her chin and force her eyes back on me. “I want to be the mother of your children,” she confesses.

I pick her up and place her on my lap. My arms go around her, and she puts hers around me. “Thank God because that’s what I want too.”

When I start to undo the towel, she puts her hand on mine, stopping me. “I don’t mean now,” she giggles. “There are some things we need to talk about first. I don’t want to—”

“I know. I need to figure things out with the restaurant before I move to New York, but that’s what I want to do. I don’t want to sell it, but I want to be with you every day, and I think New York will be good for me.”

She hugs me and kisses the side of my neck.

Chapter 53

Violet

He winks at me when I look over my shoulder at him. All the tension from last night and this morning is gone now, and in its place is the easy-going man I fell in love with. I pick up my glass, walk over to him, and offer him a sip. He takes it and cringes indisgust.

We’re at Charlie’s childhood home. The one he lived in until Colt was able to buy his mother that mansion on the lake. This house is a one-story ranch. It’s small and modest despite the recent updates. According to Charlie, most of the furniture is the same, including the beige recliner that belonged to his father. No one is allowed to sit on it.

“I’ve never had to dredge before in my life,” I whisper to Vickie who is standing beside me at the kitchen counter. We’re both being instructed by Mary Leigh on how to prepare pork chops the way Charlie prefers them. There’s flour everywhere, and I wiggle my nose so as not to sneeze. Vickie takes a chop and runs it through the flour she has in front of her, and I do the same.

The house is loud. The television is on, and the boys are running around and chasing each other. It’s raining, so they can’t play outside. Colt calls them, and he changes the channel from ESPN to a kids’ movie. They sit on the couch, and the house finally quiets down.

I turn back to my food, and Charlie comes and stands next to me.

“Are you supervising me?” I ask with a sly grin. “This is going to be the best meal you’ve ever eaten.” I gesture for him to bend down, and I whisper close to his ear, “Even better than your mama’s.” His eyes widen and he puts a hand to his chest.

“Such blasphemy,” he whispers.

“Get back to work, girls,” Mary Leigh says from the other side of the kitchen. “Vickie, pick up the pace.”

Colt snickers from behind her. She puts the back of her hand to her forehead and sighs.

“I am so not the type of woman who cooks for a man,” she says.

“Looks like you are,” I say back to her.

“She really is,” Colt says. “And sometimes she’ll iron my shirts too.” He tries to kiss her cheek, but she moves away.

“That’s because, despite all the traveling you do, you still can’t pack your clothes in a suitcase right. He’ll just dump his clothes in there without folding them like the barbarian that he is,” she says, clearly outraged by her husband’s behavior. “And then, he’ll just put them on looking like a wrinkled mess. Not on my watch.”

“So, now she packs my suitcase too,” Colt grins.

“I never should have taken you back,” she says.

“Oh, dear. Don’t get him started,” Mary Leigh sighs.

“Never should have taken me back? Where did I go? We never broke up,” he responds.

“Why do you keep saying that when everyone else says she dumped you?” I ask Colt. “And I believe that she did.”

“Thank you, Violet. I tossed him like yesterday’s newspaper.”

“Dumped me? Ladies, please,” Colt says. “She never dumped me. And who says this?” When I tell him Charlie and his mother, he refutes that by saying, “Charlie and my Queen Vee are friends. He always sides with her, and Mama is old. You can’t trust her.”

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