Page 42 of Back to You
“What?” I barked. “What the hell? That’s your place too.”
“Not anymore,” she muttered. “She threatened to call the cops on me, twisted my words around. You know how she is. God. She’s such a bitch. How the hell did I ever love her? I’m so hopeless.” Her laugh was caustic. “That redhead she’s been screwing turned her against me. She hates me.”
“Do you need me? I can come home,” I told her.
“Home? Oh, shit. No! I totally forgot you were out of town. Oh, Hollister, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have called. I ruined your weekend get away. Goddamnit.”
“Abby, no. I’m glad you called. You’re sure you don’t need me?”
“I’m sure.” She sniffled into the phone. “I’ll be okay. I’ll… I’ll go stay in a hotel or something until you guys get back.”
“No, you damn well won’t,” I said, sounding a little too much like Grandma Gin than I’d intended. Crap. I took a deep breath and tried to gather my thoughts. “Listen. Go to Gran’s. You know where she keeps the spare key? In that stupid garden gnome planter?”
“The one with the huge nose? By the fake cat crap?”
“That’s the one. Let yourself in and stay there. The cats will be happy to have company, plus I’d feel better knowing someone’s watching the place in case of a break-in. If you need to go anywhere, Bessy’s keys are hanging on the hook by the door. Feel free to drive her anywhere. You know you’re my best friend, so what’s mine is yours. Got it?”
I could hear her smile through the phone line. “I love you, boy. I do.”
“I love you too, Abs. I’ll be home on Sunday. We’ll figure this out.”
“Thanks. Try and have a good time,” she told me. “Sorry if I interrupted anything.” I glanced over at Dane, whose expression was tight with concern. I knew he’d understand.
“Text me if you need anything. Talk to you soon.” I hung up.
“Everything okay? She sounded really upset,” Dane murmured.
“Her ex is an abusive bitch,” I said before getting back into the water. “Can’t really do anything about it right now, though. It just makes me so mad, because I know exactly how it feels.” I settled between his legs and his hands found my shoulders once more. I let my head fall back, gazing up at my wonderful boyfriend. “Can I tell you a secret?”
“Of course.”
“I wish we could get away for a couple of months, just you and me. Get the hell out of here and leave for awhile, you know? Maybe by the time we got home, I wouldn’t feel so goddamn helpless.” I sighed.
His lips caressed the side of my neck. I closed my eyes and focused on the feel of his mouth peppering kisses down my shoulder, the gentle press of his fingertips rubbing kinks out of my back, the warm huff of his breath against my wet skin.
“You remember that last Fourth of July weekend at the lake?” he mused. “When we decided that someday, we’d go on a roadtrip and do all the things your mom never got to do?”
I smiled despite the twinge of pain in my chest. “Yeah. Of course I remember. Why?”
“We agreed we’d go someday, right? Why not now?”
I rocked my head back against his shoulder. “I don’t know Dane. I can’t leave Abby, and what about the cats? What about our jobs?”
“Leave the thinking to me,” he said. “We’ll figure it out. Just think about it, that’s all I ask.”
“Okay,” I whispered back, but I didn’t need to think about it. I loved the idea of going cross-country with Dane, but we couldn’t just ditch all our responsibilities, even if it was to go on the roadtrip of a lifetime. I sloshed around in the water and bumped my forehead against his, until I could taste his exhalations on my lips. “Can we go cuddle in bed?”
A smile lit up his face, as radiant as any star in the sky. “I can’t think of a better idea than that.”
