Page 66 of Hard To Leave

Chapter 22

Chloe

Sweat drippeddown my back as my hand glided across the deck railing. The hot sun beat down on my skin as I swiped my paintbrush along the wooden post.

It was going to take me forever to stain this deck if I didn’t stop checking my phone every five minutes hoping for an update from Jack.

This was Tanner’s last day to try out for the pitching position he’s been hoping to lock in, and I think I was more nervous than he was.

“What do we have here?”

I tilted my head over my shoulder and saw Carly making her way past the gate to my backyard. She had on a pair of white shorts, a black tank, and wedge sandals. She looked like she just came right from the salon, while I looked like I had just returned from a two-hour sweat on a treadmill.

I placed my hand over my eyes to help block the sunlight as I looked up. “Hey. Look what the cat dragged in.”

Standing up, I placed my paintbrush in the tin and walked over, meeting her halfway across the yard. She took one look at me and let out a laugh. “Don’t quit your day job.”

I didn’t even have to look down to know that I had more deck stain on my clothes than I did on the railings. I picked up a towel and wiped myself off as best as I could.

“I guess it’s a good thing I don’t have to put on an extra coat of stain.” I laughed and then poured myself a glass of cold lemonade. “To what do I owe this unexpected visit? This is twice in the past six months you checked in on me. When you called earlier and asked if I was around, you never mentioned that you were going to be in the area. Are you here for work or pleasure?”

“No work for me today.” She squinted her eyes and pointed to the lemonade. “Would you mind sharing a glass with me? It’s hot as hell out here, and it feels like my skin is going to melt right off of me.”

“Sure. Let me go grab you a glass.” I walked into the kitchen, allowing the air-conditioned room to bring my body temperature back to normal. It was a good thing I packed a couple extra Gatorades for the boys before they left. It was hotter than blazes out today.

I slid the glass across the table and placed my phone in front of me, hoping to hear back from Jack soon. “Here you go.”

Carly pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head. “So…” She pursed her lips together. “There’s something I wanted to run by you.”

My eyes lifted up from my drink and studied her face. “Okay?”

After a few seconds of silence, she finally said, “It’s about Brogan.”

I blinked at her and ran a hand down the back of my neck. “What about Brogan?” This was the first time she had brought his name up since that day on the beach. Our weekly conversations were strained at first, but thankfully, we were finally getting back to normal. My stomach started to tie up in knots, and I was feeling uneasy. Carly never just stopped by without a good reason. It wasn’t lost on me that the last time she did, she dropped a huge bomb on me.

She tapped her fingers along the rim of her glass and lifted her gaze to mine. “He called me yesterday to invite us to his show tomorrow night in Charleston.”

My eyes widened in disbelief. “What?” I asked, resting my hand over my chest as if it would calm my racing heart.

“Breathe, Chloe.”

I flopped in my chair and hung my head. Since when did these two become pen pals and talk all the damn time? I didn’t like the sound of this. Not one bit.

My fingers gripped on my ponytail. I was doing everything in my power not to freak the fuck out. “How the hell did this happen? I don’t understand.”

She sat on the edge of her seat and crossed her legs. She looked all business. “I told you we exchanged numbers in Vegas.” She looked at me hesitantly. “I know things were tense between us last time we talked about this. I wanted to give you some space, but I have to ask if you have given our discussion any more thought?”

My eyes snapped to hers. “Are you kidding me? Of course, I have. It’s just things with Jack are going so well. I know it sounds stupid and selfish, but I don’t want to shake up my life right now.” I was desperately trying to get her to see my reasoning. “I just need some more time.”

“You’re running out of time, Chloe. Brogan is becoming more insistent on talking to you. You can’t hide from him forever. You know how he gets when he sets his mind to something. Make no mistake, it will happen eventually. It’ll be easier if you do it on your terms.”

As much as I knew this day would eventually come, I wasn’t ready for it. I could rationalize my decision in my head all I wanted, but the consequences would be the same.

I was damned if I did and damned if didn’t.

Either way, someone was going to get hurt. I couldn’t risk my son hating me one day if he ever found out.

“I’m scared, Carly.”

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