Текст книги "Sometimes It Lasts"
Автор книги: Abbi Glines
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Текущая страница: 4 (всего у книги 11 страниц)
I pushed through the crowd looking for Ace. I had had my damn phone when we left the apartment. I’d stuck it in my pocket. Where the hell was it now? I needed to go check Ace’s car. I also needed to get he hell out of here. This is not what I had agreed to come to. They said a small get together. Not a party with a bunch of strippers walking around topless. Fuck. If Eva knew I was here she’d be furious.
Another topless female pressed her tits against my arm and ran her hand over my chest. “Are those nipple rings? Holy fuck, yes they are!”
I grabbed her hand and threw it off me as I moved away from her. I’d call a cab to come get me if I could find my phone. Tits were everywhere. This was a disaster.
“York! My man, York! Come here and meet Jasmine. She’s wanting an introduction and I promise you dude you want what she’s got.” I glanced over at Jim Cooper. I worked out with him everyday.
“No thanks. You know where Ace is?” I asked as more tits touched my arms. Once upon a time I’d have loved this place. Right now I felt like I was going to go apeshit if I didn’t get out of here.
“No, thanks? Have you seen this rack? It’s perfect melon-sized titties. Melons, dude! And she is all about a titty fuck. Come try these out. Just let me watch.”
Shit. I was that screwed up once. I gave up and kept walking. I had to find Ace and my phone. Two topless girls stepped in front of me with wicked smiles that meant I was in deep shit. The red head put her hands on her hips and shook her tits at me while holding a lime wedge in her mouth.
“Salts already on her nipples. Lick it off then here’s your shot,” the brunette said with a saucy grin holding up the shot of tequila. The girl had nice tits. I wasn’t blind but they weren’t Eva’s. Those were the only nipples I was interested in licking.
“I’m taken. Not interested,” I said stepping to the side to keep from touching them. They both moved to block me.
“Nothing sexier than a man who’s taken. Now I really want you to lick them. Come on,” she said holding up her tits until her nipples were pointing straight up. “Just take a lick,” she pleaded, leaning toward me.
That wasn’t hot. It was pathetic. I shook my head. “Go put some clothes on,” I replied and reached out to move them aside. Unfortunately, the red head moved quickly and turned her chest to connect with my hand. Instead of a shoulder I could push away, I got a handful of tit. I jerked my hand back like it was on fire. “Motherfucker. What part of I’m not fucking interested don’t you understand. Take your tits somewhere else.”
I turned to walk the other way when my eyes met Ace’s. He was sitting to the right of me on a sofa with two girls curled up on each side of him. He grinned at me like he had a secret I didn’t know about.
I headed for him and ignored the offers thrown my way.
“I got two of them. They’re interested in going back to our place and showing us a good time. Ace reached up and pinched the nipple on a blonde with short curly hair. “This one’s been eyeing you all night long. You make her nipples hard. She told me so,” he said before taking a bite of her boob that was closest to his mouth.
“I can’t find my phone and I need to go. I’m supposed to call Eva in ten minutes. I thought we’d be back at the apartment by then.”
“Eva?” he asked looking around the room “Dude, have you seen these girls? Pick one. Call her Eva all damn night.”
“That’s not funny. I need to leave. Now. I think my phone’s in your car. It had to fall out in there. Just give me your keys I’ll bring them back.”
Ace rolled his eyes and reached into his pocket and pulled out my phone. “You dropped it earlier. I saw it. Here,” he threw it at me. “If you gotta leave then go but you’re seriously crazy for passing this up. If you hear us later know that you’re welcome to join in if you change your mind.”
I wasn’t going to change my mind. I was leaving and I was locking my damn door. These girls didn’t understand the word no. I managed to get outside without another female offering her body. Coming here was a bad idea. This life wasn’t like it was at home. I knew girls liked baseball players. I’d used that to my advantage for years but this place… It was bigger. Things were more intense.
I pressed the button on my phone but my screen didn’t light up. What the hell? It was dead? I’d just fucking charged it before we left. I looked back at the party and knew I couldn’t go back in there. It would take me an hour to get a phone I could use to call a taxi. We were at someone’s house. I wasn’t sure whose. I was miles from a store. Shit!
“You need a ride?” I turned to see a female that I recognized from inside. She’d been as topless as the rest of them but she hadn’t hit on me. She’d been straddling and grinding in Dink’s lap. I’d seen that much and he’d been sucking her tits. I wasn’t about to get in the car with her.
“Listen, sugar, I’m done for the night. Not interested in coming onto a guy who isn’t interested. I enjoyed myself and now I’m going home. If you want a ride I’ll give you one. Or you can sit here all night.”
I needed a ride. I could fight off a female if I had to. Leaving with her was better than sitting her and having to get in the car with possibly two wild topless females when Ace was ready to leave.
“Yeah. I need a ride,” I said walking over to her car.
She nodded and opened her door. I opened the passenger side and climbed in. I needed to talk to Eva. Now. I wanted to hear her voice.
“You must be one of the good guys. The ones that actually fall in love,” the girl said as we pulled out onto the road.
“You could say I was damn lucky,” I replied keeping my eyes on the road. I wasn’t going to look at her. Even though she was dressed her top was showing everything but her nipples.
“Yep. One of the few,” she replied. She reached forward and turned on the music. Hinder filled the car and we listened to music. The only time we spoke was when I told her when we needed to turn.
Ten minutes later she was pulling into the parking lot of our apartment. “You can let me out here,” I said as she drove over to a parking spot and parked her car.
“I could but just so happens, I live in the same building. You must be Ace’s new roommate,” she said.
“Yeah,” I replied.
“I’m Hayden Step. Your next-door neighbor.”
“Thanks for the ride,” I said, opening my door and getting out. I was thankful for the ride, but I wasn’t making friends.
Chapter Eight
EVA
Daddy didn’t eat breakfast again this morning. I had even tried fixing something light: oatmeal and peaches. He said he wasn’t hungry just yet and kissed me on the cheek before heading out the door. I was trying to remember that Jeremy had said his pain meds probably messed with his appetite. I just wished he’d eat.
I sat down at the table alone with a cup of coffee. The early morning sun out the window didn’t cheer me up the way it used to. Today I had too much weighing on my heart. Daddy not eating and Cage not calling.
The kitchen door swung open and Jeremy walked inside. His easy smile was comforting. I didn’t feel like smiling but it was nice to see someone else smile.
“Good Morning, sunshine,” he drawled, and walked over to fix himself a cup of coffee. “You aren’t looking real chipper this morning. Do I need to go kick someone’s ass? ’Cause you know I will.”
If I wasn’t so worried about everything in my life that would have gotten me to smile. “No. I’m okay. Just having a moment to feel sorry for myself. Pathetic I know.”
Jeremy spun his chair around and straddled it before sitting down across from me. “Don’t let me hear you call yourself pathetic again. I’d hate to kick your ass.”
That time I almost smiled. “Thank you,” I said. I didn’t have all the words to say more.
Jeremy however didn’t need them. He understood. “You’re welcome. That’s why I’m here,” he replied.
We drank our coffee without saying much for a few minutes. Finally he sat his coffee down on the table and looked at me. “He didn’t call?”
I shook my head. I had expected him to call or text when he got home late. It was just odd. It also hurt. I wanted him to have fun and make friends. I didn’t want to hinder his life their but I was used to being first. Last night something else had been first. I was afraid this was the beginning of many nights like that.
“He’ll call and he’ll have a reason for last night’s text. The dude worships the ground you walk on. Don’t stress over it. You got enough to worry about.”
I set my coffee down and reached over and took Jeremy’s hand and squeezed it. He squeezed mine back then stood up. “I need to go help your daddy. He’ll be doing shit by himself he ain’t supposed to if I leave him alone too long.”
I nodded because he was right. Daddy wasn’t giving in easily to cancer. He was determined to live life like he didn’t have it. Each day I watched him go on about his life and ignore the treatments that could give him a few more months I wondered if this wasn’t a better way to spend the rest of his days. Seeing him enjoy the life he’d always lived instead of seeing him sick from the chemo treatments. If the chemo could cure him then I would force him to take them… but they couldn’t. So maybe… maybe this was better.
My phone rang startling me from my thoughts. I jumped up and ran to get it off the counter. It was Cage.
“Hello,” I said, unsure of what else to say. It was six in the morning.
“Baby, I am so fucking sorry. I couldn’t find my damn phone last night. I lost it. Then I got it back and the motherfucking battery was gone. I couldn’t find it anywhere. Ace found it in his car and brought it in here and left it by my bed in the middle of the night. I almost called you then but I was worried that you’d be sleeping and I didn’t want to disturb you so I’ve been waiting until I knew you’d be awake to call you.”
He didn’t mention the text. “It’s okay. I was confused after the text you sent, but I went on to bed early. Did you have fun last night?”
There was a pause on the line. My stomach knotted up. Why wasn’t he responding to that? Was he going to tell me something I didn’t want to hear? Oh God. Was I ready for this? “What text? I didn’t text you. My phone was gone then it was dead.”
He didn’t text me? Yes he did. “Um, yeah you did. Hold on a sec. I’ll send you a screen capture.” I pulled the phone back and found the text from last night and quickly took a screen shot of it before texting the photo to Cage. “There it’s sent.”
Another pause. I knew he was looking at his text. Maybe he’d been drinking and didn’t remember. It could have been a drunk text. That would make more sense. “Motherfucker’s gonna get his ass beat,” Cage roared into the phone.
Uh-oh. “Cage’s what’s wrong?” I asked, trying to think of a way to calm him down over the phone.
“I didn’t send this shit text, Eva. I’d never send you a fucking shit text like this. It had to be Ace. He had my damn phone.”
“Cage, wait. It’s okay. I was confused when I got it, but knowing you didn’t send it makes sense. It’s okay. Please don’t go hurt your roommate. He was probably just trying to get you away from the ball and chain for a little while,” I joked hoping to make him smile.
“Don’t! Don’t fucking call yourself that, Eva. Ever. I’m not in a good place at the moment and I don’t need you calling yourself that. I can’t take it.”
“I was kidding. I wanted to make you laugh. This isn’t a big deal. I swear it isn’t.”
“It wasn’t funny. You are my world. Don’t ever accept something like that from me because that shit will never be me. You get a text like that again and you know it isn’t me. Also know your probably going to have to come bail my ass outta jail because I’m about to hurt a motherfucker.”
Oh, crap. What could I do to calm him down? “Cage, please. If you get into trouble you might not get to come home Saturday and I really want you to come home. I miss you. Please don’t hurt anyone.”
“Baby, ain’t nothing keeping me from getting in my car and coming to you Friday afternoon. You got that? Nothing.”
“If you get in a fight with a teammate that could be a problem. What if you have to move out of your apartment?” I tried to think of reasons why he needed to keep a calm head. Anything to make him chill out. I wasn’t a fan of this Ace either if he’d been the one who sent the text I wasn’t sure it was meant for a good reason. I was the girlfriend keeping Cage from partying with the guys.
“Think I’m gonna move out now anyway. I don’t like people touching what’s mine. I sure as hell don’t like them sending my woman text. That shit don’t fly. I hate to think about you going to sleep last night thinking I’d sent you that damn text message.”
The pain in his voice hurt my chest. Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned the text. I didn’t want him upset. I just didn’t imagine that he hadn’t sent it. “It’s okay. I wasn’t hurt. I was glad you were with friends. Having a good time. Take a deep breath. I love you and everything is fine. Okay?”
Cage let out a frustrated growl. “God I miss you. I want to see you. I need to hold you right now.”
“Just a few more days. We can make it,” I assured him.
“You doin’ okay? How’s your dad?”
I looked out the window as Jeremy helped Daddy load some feed onto the truck. “He’s okay. He doesn’t eat like he used to and he rests a lot more but other than that he is like he always was. Sometimes that scares me. I want to make him come inside out of the heat and rest. But then other times it makes me happy. He’s doing what he loves. He still can do what he loves.”
“I’m glad you’re with him. As much as I miss you I’m glad you’re there. You need this.”
“Me too.”
“I love you and miss you like crazy.”
Smiling, I pictured his sexy smirk. “I love you more.”
CAGE
I jerked open Ace’s bedroom door and ignored the naked females in bed with him. I walked over and slammed my fist against the wall over his bed. “You got five fucking seconds to get your ass up,” I roared. My blood was boiling. I wanted to hurt someone. The idea of Eva going to sleep last night thinking I had sent that text infuriated me. I’d tried to calm down talking to her on the phone but I wasn’t calming down now.
Ace sat up his eyes wide. One of the girls fell off the bed and squealed. “What the fuck, man?” he grumbled sleepily. I’d had to listen to his ass in here with these two for hours last night before he found it in his heart to bring me my battery.
“I talked to Eva this morning. You know what the fuck. Now stand up. I’m giving you two seconds to get out of that bed before I beat the shit out of you. No one fucking messes with my woman. No one.”
Ace looked a little concerned now. He moved the other girl over and she made a scared squawking sound. I waited until he was out of the bed before I shoved him against the wall with my arm against his neck. He started to fight back and I pressed hard enough that I knew his oxygen intake was limited. “Don’t fuck with Eva. Ever. You have no idea. No idea what she means to me. I did this cheap shit once too. It was my life. Then I met Eva. Everything’s changed. She doesn’t deserve anything but my complete devotion. And if this is gonna work with us then you need to understand that. Respect it.”
Ace’s eyes had gone from sleepy to wide. He hadn’t expected this reaction. Well, now he knew. My relationship with Eva wasn’t to be screwed with. He nodded and tried to push me away but I stayed firm. “Only warning you’ll ever get.” I said before dropping my arm and stepping back.
Ace rubbed his neck and glared at me like I was crazy. I was crazy and it was best he figured that out now. The next time he’d wake up in a hospital and I’d be in jail.
“I shouldn’t have sent the text, but I wanted you to have fun last night. You worry about her all the damn time. This life aint’ easy. It gets to be too much sometimes. You need an outlet for relief. I was just trying to help you out. We all come to college with hometown sweethearts. They never last. This life isn’t something they can handle and eventually we need more. You’ll see.”
He had no clue. “No. You’ll see. She’s the reason I wake up in the mornings. She’ll also be here once her…” I couldn’t say it. I wasn’t ready to think about the pain losing her daddy was going to cause her. “She’ll be here soon and when she is you’ll understand.”
Ace shook his head. “Whatever dude. I’ve seen her pictures. You got them all in your room and in on your phone. She’s hot. I mean I’ll admit she is a serious looker but she’s a country hometown girl. You ain’t tasted this life yet and when you do you’re gonna want it. This is where we’re headed. The big leagues. Women, women, and more women.”
There was only one woman I wanted. Only one I’d ever want. I shook my head and walked out of the room. Ace wasn’t going to understand. I was pissed at him but I had gotten my point across. He wouldn’t be fucking with my life anymore. I was sure of it. I had been Ace once. I knew his deal. He just hadn’t met someone like me yet. Someone with an Eva.
*
I didn’t wait for Ace before heading to the weight room to work out. I wasn’t ready to look at him yet. Plus I didn’t want to hang around in case he decided to have another round with those girls before they left.
Problem with this was I hadn’t made myself any damn coffee before I left. After a night of no sleep I needed caffeine. I opened the door to my car when I heard someone whistle behind me. Turning around I saw Hayden walking in my direction. Shit.
“Hey, you, where you headed so early?”
Again. I wasn’t here to make friends with females. Especially ones that dressed like her. “Workout,” I snapped and got in my car.
“You’re a rude sonuvabitch. You know that?” she yelled back at me.
“I’m a taken sonuvabitch,” I replied.
“I wasn’t trying to have your babies, Cage the shit York. I was just trying to be neighborly. Damn.”
I slammed my door and left. I didn’t give a flying fuck what she was trying to do. I wasn’t getting anywhere near that. Not even small talk.
Chapter Nine
EVA
I took the large thermos of lemonade outside to Jeremy. I’d already taken Daddy one. I knew Jeremy had to be thirsty for more than water too. He was hammering in a new post where the fence had gotten weak. I let out a loud whistle as I approached and he glanced up.
“Thank God. I was wondering what I had to do to get some of that. I coveted Wilson’s while he downed his.”
Grinning I handed it to him. He took a long swig then wiped his mouth with the back of his arm. “Damn girl you can make some lemonade.”
I sat down on the ten-gallon bucket of feed that was sitting beside him. “Thanks.”
Jeremy leaned against the fence and took another drink of his lemonade. “So, you talk to Cage yet?”
I nodded. “Yeah. That text wasn’t from him. His roommate sent it. Cage didn’t know about it until this morning. He wasn’t happy.”
Jeremy’s eyes went wide. “Oh, damn,” he let out a laugh. “I’d really hate to be that dude right now. “
I was worried about that. I’d had to force myself not to call and make sure Cage hadn’t beat his new roommate to a pulp. “I know. I think I calmed him down though. I tried real hard.”
Jeremy frowned and set the thermos down. “His life is gonna be different now that he’s at a big college. You know that right? I mean this roommate of his won’t be the first person to try and mess y’all up.”
I was beginning to get it. I wasn’t sure what to do with it. I couldn’t go to him now. I had to be here with my daddy. “I trust Cage. That’s all that matters.”
“Good. You need to trust him. His a lucky bastard and he knows it,” Jeremy winked and stood up from his relaxed position on the post. “I gotta get back to work before your daddy catches me. I’ll talk to you later”
“Okay. I’m headed to Sea Breeze. Low called and asked me to come have lunch with her and Amanda. I need a little break from here. A moment not to worry about Daddy. Keep an eye on him okay?”
Jeremy saluted me. “Got it. Go have fun. I’ll hold down the fort.”
I loved that boy.
*
Two hours later I was walking into the Camilla Cafe in Sea Breeze. Low was already seated and waved me over to a table by the window. Amanda was there too along with a really gorgeous blonde that I knew was Jax Stone’s fiancée. Jax proposal had gone viral on the Internet two months ago. Sadie White was a celebrity in this small town. She’d snagged the world’s sexiest rock star and she’d done it living in Sea Breeze. She was also Amanda’s best friend. I had only been around her during Low and Marcus’s wedding. I wasn’t sure how a lunch with her would go. Did people stop and ask to get their picture taken with her? Or did they leave her alone?
“Hey, you! I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever. I’m so used to you and Cage being right down the road,” Low said standing up as I approached the table. She hugged me, which was normal for Low. She and Cage were as close as siblings and she treated me as if I were her family now too.
“I know. It’s not been an easy two weeks,” I said trying to smile. The last time I’d seen her life had been perfect. So much had changed.
Low’s smile faded and a concerned frown wrinkled her forehead. “How are you holding up? I spoke with Cage yesterday. He’s worried about you. About not being here for you. I had to convince him, again, that this was for the best. He can’t do anything here. He just wants to be here.”
I nodded and took a seat across from Low and beside Amanda. “Just keep telling him that and I will too,” I told Low then looked over at Amanda and Sadie. “Hey y’all.”
Amanda reached over and squeezed my hand. “Hey. I’ve been thinking about you. I’m glad you came today. I don’t want to bother you but if you need anything. I mean anything at all just call me okay,” she said. Amanda reminded you of the perfect blond Barbie doll. She was also incredibly sweet. How a playboy like Preston Drake had snagged her I wasn’t sure. She was so wholesome and good.
“Thank you,” I replied. I wanted to change the subject. Talking about Daddy wasn’t going to give me a break from my inner thoughts and it would only make everyone at the table solemn. I smiled over at Sadie. She even had a concerned look on her face. “Tell me about being engaged to a rock star. I need a distraction from my life.”
Sadie blushed and a smile touched her lips. God it was unfair that one female could be that gorgeous. No wonder she’d caught Jax Stone’s attention. She was stunning. According to Amanda, Marcus had once had a thing for Sadie too. They had both worked at Jax Stone’s summer house. Sadie caught the attention of the rock star and then she hooked him. He hadn’t been prepared for someone who wasn’t interested in his star persona and who didn’t listen to his music. He also hadn’t been prepared for her to be so sweet.
When their relationship hit the news Jax had left her here trying to give her a life free of his celebrity. But then she’d been hurt and he’d come back. From what Amanda said the rest was history. He hadn’t let her far from his side since.
“Well… it’s different. Before the engagement things were crazy. But now that the video was released and has gone wild online things are different for me. Used to it was only in big cities but people know me everywhere now. It’s weird… but I wouldn’t trade it. I can’t imagine my life without Jax so it’s okay. I’m adjusting.”
“You may be adjusting but Jax is still stressing. His texted and called her five times this morning to check on her. Isn’t he supposed to be doing a photo shoot for Rolling Stones this morning?”
Sadie chuckled. “Yes but when we aren’t together he checks on me often. He can’t help himself.”
I was glad Cage didn’t think he had to do that. I would be worried about his life being miserable if he did. But then he wasn’t a famous rock star and he didn’t have to worry about the paparazzi chasing me down or passionate fans.
“I keep telling him to leave her with me when he goes on tour in the fall but he refuses. He won’t go on tour without her. But then she isn’t arguing my side either. He took her out of Sea Breeze and I am dealing with the fact she isn’t coming back. She’s becoming a Cali girl now,” Amanda said with a sad smile on her face. I knew she missed her friend but she understood what it was like to be in love.
“Jason keeps saying he is moving into the summer house. He never does but he keeps threatening it. I can’t imagine him being happy in Sea Breeze. He’s lived in LA with his parents and Jax since he was ten,” Sadie said.
“I can’t imagine Jason living here,” Amanda trailed off. She knew Jason better than the rest of us. She had dated Jax Stone’s younger brother back when Preston crushed her world. Jason had been a good friend to her during that time. He had also sent Preston into a jealous tailspin.
“Okay Low, what’s the theme of the nursery? You have to know by now,” Amanda said directing the attention off Sadie. I could see the relieved look on Sadie’s face and I realized that Amanda had done it on purpose.
“Well, I’m thinking of going with a diesel print. Maybe pale blue and brown. That way it can go for a boy or girl.” Low said looking at each of us waiting on feedback.
“ I love diesel print but will it still be in style in six months?” Amanda asked.
“I think it’s a pattern that will be around for awhile,” Sadie replied.
“If you don’t do a diesel print you could do a coastal theme. If you find out it’s a boy you can put more of a nautical spin on it,” I suggested.
Low nodded slowly looking at me. “I like that. I could still use the diesel print too but do the sea blue and white instead.”
“Ooooh, I like that idea. I wasn’t a fan of the brown I think the blue with brown is going out of style fast. That and the grey and yellow have been used too much.” Amanda said.
The waitress stopped at our table and asked for our drink orders. When her eyes landed on Sadie they went wide. I could see she wasn’t sure how to handle the fact that she was waiting on Jax Stone’s fiancée. Sadie also looked very uncomfortable. Like she was trying to prepare herself for a fan moment.
“Yep, she is who you think she is, but she just wants to eat lunch and visit with friends. Okay?” Amanda said sweetly. The waitress seemed to get a hold of herself and she nodded quickly mumbled an apology and hurried off.
“You’re becoming a pro at handling this,” Sadie said smiling at Amanda.
“What I’m here for, girl,” she replied.
*
We spent the next two hours talking about baby names, places that Sadie and Jax could get married, Cage’s three text messages he sent me while I sat there, and Preston’s sudden appearance. He was looking for Amanda and just wanted a kiss, which only made my chest ache for Cage. Then we had all hugged and planned to do it again in two weeks when Sadie was back in town for her mother’s birthday
CAGE
Ace and I weren’t really on a talking basis. Not after the other morning when I’d almost beat his ass. I was considering finding a new place to stay. I shouldn’t have tried this roommate thing. I’d let my new coach push me to do it. I was seeing now it was a bad idea.
I glanced down at my phone. Tonight was a team gathering called by the coach for all the remaining players that hadn’t gone back home for the summer. We were going to watch game footage of the teams we needed to prepare for this next year. The summer season was “optional” but I knew that if I wanted to keep this scholarship it wasn’t optional for me. I would be required to work the kid’s camp that started in a week too. We would have three weeks of the camps then the summer season would take effect. The idea of not getting to go see Eva on weekends was scaring me.
I had texted her earlier and she’d been with Low, Amanda and Sadie. That had made me breathe easier. I knew I could count on Low to take care of Eva. I would call her later and thank her. I also wanted to see what Eva had acted like. Where she was emotionally.
I really would be out late tonight. I dialed her number and waited to hear her voice.
“Hey.” Her voice sounded happy.
“Hey, baby, have fun today?”
She sounded out of breath. “Yeah. I enjoyed girl talk. Have you had a good day?”
“Missing you. I’m glad you had a good time with the girls though.”
She stopped what she was doing and took a deep breath. “Gah! I need to be in better shape,” she huffed. “I miss you too. Only two more days,” she said.
“What are you doing?” I asked as she continued breathing hard.
“Hauling feed bags. Daddy needed to go lay down. His head was hurting and he was really pale. I’m helping Jeremy so they don’t get behind and Daddy doesn’t think he has to work extra hard tomorrow.”
Hauling feed? What the fuck? “Eva. That feed weighs fifty pounds a bag. You don’t need to be hauling fucking feed! Where’s Jeremy? Put him on the phone.” I had to get home to her. I couldn’t leave her there without me. This crazy shit would happen.
“Jeremy is dealing with two cows that got out of the fence down in the south end of the pasture. He doesn’t know I’m doing this. He doesn’t even know daddy had to go lay down. So chill out. I got this. I’ve hauled feed bags before. It’s gonna rain soon and I don’t need hundreds of dollars of feed getting soaked.”
Fuck. Fuck. Damn. I hated this.
“It has to be ninety-five degrees today, Eva. You don’t need to be out in the heat doing that shit. Please go inside and wait on Jeremy.”
She laughed softly into the phone and my insides melted. Just hearing her laugh made me feel better. Even if I wanted her to stop moving bags that weighed too much in the damn heat. “I’m fine, Cage. I do not break that easily. Besides, I only have one bag left to get to the safety of the barn.”
I was calling Jeremy tonight. He and I needed to go over what was safe for Eva to do and what wasn’t. Better yet I’d get him alone this weekend and make it real clear. “Leave the last bag for him.”
“Did you call me just to fuss at me about working or did you have something else to talk about?” the teasing in her voice eased my temper. I missed her so damn much.
“I actually did call you early for a reason. I have a team thing tonight that the Coach called. It’s at his house. We’re discussing the summer season and going over game footage of teams we need to beat. I could be late. I wanted to hear your voice and let you know where I was and that I love you and I’m not blowing you off for a damn party.”
