Page 5 of Home in the Country
Everything had changed so quickly after that, and it feels like I am still catching my breath after the fallout.
The rain picks up gradually, the sound echoing off the roof of the car. Clanks and tings of metal on metal mix with the swoosh of the wipers. I’d laugh at the makeshift symphony if I wasn’t so on edge.
A short time later, another knock sounds against the window. This time, there’s no hesitation when I roll it down.
“You’re all set. Bring it to the shop tomorrow and see if Hank can fix it for you. I put all your stuff back, so I’ll drop the tire off too.”
“Thank you, Otto, truly. Can I—”
“Have a good night, Fallon.”
He’s wet and tense as he stalks away. I watch his backside in the sideview mirror and practically weep at the perfection. It doesn’t look like I’ll get to reacquaint myself with it anytime soon.
The sound of a slamming truck door and flashing headlights pull me from my daydream.
My hands shake as I use my signal and pull back onto the road and head toward my parents’ house. Otto stays behind me for most of the way, but when I turn off the main road, he continues straight and I assume goes to drop off my tire.
I need to put him from my mind before I start to spiral. The girl Otto knew back in school, and more importantly that day in the field, was happy and carefree and surprisingly not afraid of what she wanted.
I’d hoped to have my life together a little more before I tried to reconnect with him, or at least apologize. All these years, he’s never been far from my mind, and that kind of weight and longing isn’t easy to shake. I’ve missed him.
But nothing screamsplease date melike an unemployed, recently divorced single mom with all the balls in the air and no roots to speak of.
Sighing, I pull into the driveway as “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran begins to play on the radio—and that’s a hard pass. I slap the volume until it’s silent inside the car except for the hum of the engine, and I take one last deep breath as the front door opens.
My mother waves, and a warm smile lights up her face. My father joins her and wraps an arm around her shoulders. She fits perfectly in his embrace, and it’s impossible to keep the tears at bay.
I’m finally back in my hometown, so I don’t try as relief washes over me. Firing a text off to my ex-husband and returning one from my friend Bianca, I turn off the car and grab my purse before unbuckling Briggs from his seat.
His little arms wrap around my neck, and I hold him tighter as I climb the steps to the next chapter of our lives.
2
OTTO
My heart pounds the entire way home. What in the fuck is happening? And why did I react to Fallon like that?
It’s beenyearssince I last saw her. She unknowingly took my heart with her when she left abruptly for school. I’d been here, and she vanished in the middle of the night without a word.
Fuming, I slam my truck in park and then stomp into the house. My clothes slop against the top of the washing machine as I strip down to nothing. The rain has been unrelenting—just like my thoughts of Fallon.
Icannotfall into her trap again. It’s bullshit she’s back and with a kid no less. Cute little shit but that’s not important. My brain rattles through previous conversations with Cheyenne.
Getting divorced.
Moving home.
There definitely had been no ring because I sure as shit checked for one.
Not that I had any right looking.
Fuck.
Jumping in the shower, I try to warm my bone-deep chill and ease my mind. I’d been twice as pissed getting back out into the rain to drop her tire at The Rusty Fender,but I also wasn’t going to put it off.
I manage to warm to merely clammy before my nervous energy gets to be too much. Turning off the water, I climb out and wrap a towel around my waist before grabbing my phone and calling Sorren.
“’Lo?”
