Page 139 of Bred
Hailey meets my stare, nonplussed. One of the things that I always admired about Hailey was how she was always unapologetically herself. She didn’t back down from anything or anyone, and she wasn’t afraid to tell you the hard truths, no matter if you wanted to hear them or not.
Like now.
“The chances that he’s gonna go right back to doing illegal shit is high, Brin. If you want to be with him, then fine. You know I support you. But you need to not go into this blind and prepare yourself for what your life will be like if you’re committing to a criminal. If you’re wanting the knight-in-shining-armor, he ain’t it, babe.”
I blink at Hailey, not really sure how to respond to that. I glance from her to my sister, who still wears signs of concern on her pretty face. Her smile is more of a grimace,but she obviously concurs.
Igrab my drink and stare down at the ice cubes floating in my glass, giving myself more time to respond. If anyone else but Hailey would have said that to me, I’d have taken it defensively, but I know she’s just giving it to me straight.
And it’s not like she’s wrong.
Lucas will never be a man likeNick. It’s entirely possible hecouldget in trouble again, maybe even go to jail.
And what if I’m pregnant again, or we already have a baby and then I’m abandoned again, probably for longer since it wouldn’t be his first time in prison?
I love Lucas, but do I still want to be with him, despite how tumultuous our future could be?
I take a sip of my lemonade before placing it slowly on the table. I look up into their waiting faces.
“He might not be a knight-in-shining-armor in other people’s story, but he is in mine,” I say with finality.
Bristol bites down on her lower lip while Hailey squints at me, gauging my expression.
“Well, then, I guess that settles it.” Hailey says finally, sitting back in her chair, she tips her beer bottle in a salute. “To hot sex and the crazy things it does to our vaginas and brains.”
Bristol shakes her head, grabbing her own drink. “I’m not toasting to that.”
Hailey shoots me an amused look that screams “shocker.”
Feeling lighter than I have in forever, I grin and clink my glass with Hailey’s.
I don’t know what my future holds if I gamble on Lucas again, but one thing I do know: my girls will be there for me no matter what.
As Hailey and Bristol start to bicker over something trivial—they’re always bickering about something—my phone vibrates on the table. I pick it up and read the text.
Come to my place tonight.
Smiling, I type back, “See you there.”
CHAPTER FIVE
LUCAS
Brinley:See you there.
“Damn right you will,” I shoot back playfully.
“Don’t start with me, mister.”
“Oh, I’ll start. And I’ll finish too,” I add with a little wink.
I’m still smiling when I walk into the auto shop. The familiar smell of tires and oil fill my nostrils as I make my way deeper into the service station. Hard rock is blasting through the overhead speakers, not quite drowning out the sound of high-power tools.
“Tommy, you here?” I call out.
“Lucas?” The music cuts off the same time the power tool stops.
I round the corner just as Tommy ducks out of the hood he was buried in, wiping his hands on a rag streaked with oil and grease.
