Page 31 of Can't Get Over You
“It is what it is.” He made it sound like it didn’t matter, that it hadn’t hurt him. But it had. “Ava used to say I was a ‘rough-and-tumble’ kid. I was too loud, too aggressive.” How else could he have survived life in the club? “Parents thought I was a bad influence, and I get that. I remember showing up at Mason Watter’s house for his birthday, and his mom blocked the door. She got right up in my face and said, ‘I only invited you because Mason made me, but I don’t want you here. You’d better notstart anything.’” He couldn’t believe he was telling her this. He’d never told anyone.
“God, Jude.”
“I don’t need pity.”
“Yeah, well, it’s called compassion, and little boy Jude is going to get it, because that was an awful thing for her to do. I’m sorry it happened.”
“It was a long time ago, and it all worked out in the end.”
“True. Maybe you didn’t get to play football, but you had an entire roster of girls to hook up with.”
“Sure, girls who wanted to fuck a bad boy out of their systems.” He glanced at Cody again to find him drawing in the fog that steamed up his window. No way could he hear over the throaty growl of Carlo’s engine. “But it’s one of the reasons I agreed to take him. In a small town, when you get tagged as a bad kid from day one, it defines you for the rest of your life. I don’t want that to happen to him.”
“I’m so surprised to hear this. Is that why you didn’t talk to me during school? You thought I didn’t want to be your friend?”
“No.” He knew she did. He saw the lingering looks, the longing. Of course he did.
“I don’t understand. Then why did you ignore me?”
“Didn’t want you associated with me.”
“Where’s my grandpa?” Cody’s little voice held fear and uncertainty.
Finlay twisted around. “Remember, he has to go to the doctor to get better? That’s why we packed a bag for you, so you could stay with Jude for a few weeks.”
“How long is six weeks?” the boy asked.
How the hell do you answer that?
But Finlay didn’t miss a beat. “You know how you go to school Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday? And then you’re home for the weekend?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s one week. So it’s six of those.” Finlay raised her hand and lowered a finger at a time. “One, two, three, four, five, and six.”
The boy nodded like he understood. “Grandpa takes me fishing on the weekends. We get lots of fishies. They’re slimy.”
“I’ll bet they are. So yeah, that’s how long it’ll take for your grandpa to get better. Six weeks of school goes by fast, right?”
Cody nodded.
“And in the meantime, you’ll get to spend Christmas with Jude. Your dad’s best friend.”
With a troubled look, Cody looked back out the window. “I don’t know.”
“What don’t you know, sweetheart?” Finlay asked.
“He’s the man in the picture?” Cody caught Jude’s eye in the mirror.
The direct eye contact forced Jude to find his voice. “I am. I met your dad when I was six years old, and we stayed friends till I moved away.”
“He was your best friend?” Cody asked.
“Yes, he was.”
“Amy’s my best friend.”
“There you go,” Finlay said. “Same thing.”
