Page 25 of Here With Me

“Well, I could, but this unrequited crush you have isnotnormal. We gotta find you a real man who’ll appreciate everythin’ about you.”

I love my brother, but he’s too ignorant to see what’s right in front of him. It’d be one thing if he didn’t see her that way, and it was a case of one-sided feelings, but Tripp’s played with her emotions since high school. He gives her a little attention, gets her excited that he’s interested, but then gets skittish like a horse who stepped on a snake. I’d smack him if I knew he wouldn’t send Momma after me.

“Hmm. Think Fisher has a brother?” She waggles her brows.

I roll my eyes at her sneaky way to bring up his name again. “He might. Jase has an uncle, but I’m not sure from which side of the family. I’ll be sure to ask him when I’m dyin’ of humiliation after he finds out what I did.”

“Whoyou did.” She snickers.

“Shush your mouth. Now go make us coffee.”

She wraps an arm around me and pulls me in for a hug. “For what it’s worth, I’m proud of you for goin’ after someone you liked. I know gettin’ over Jase was tough and bein’ vulnerable with another man couldn’t have been easy.”

I give her a tight smile and shrug.

“I hadn’t expected you to get over him by ridin’ his dad, but who am I to judge?”

“Oh my God, I hate you.” I shove her backward so I can close the bathroom door. She knows damn well I’ve been over Jase, but it’s not easy dating in a small town where we all know each other’s business. The pool of single men is like a kiddie pool of emotionally unavailable boys.

“Love you too!” she shouts on the other side.

Once I’m under the hot stream, I contemplate my next move. Fisher will realize I bailed on him as soon as he rolls over to an empty bed, which I hadn’t intended to do when I first got up. I planned to leave him a note or text to explain why I had to leave and offer to talk later. I was so freaked out by his last name, I couldn’t even think of an excuse before hightailing it out of there.

Today’s the last day of the rodeo, so we could still run into each other, but if he calls, I’m not sure I’ll have the courage to tell him the truth.

The reason I can never see him again.

ChapterSix

Fisher

“Well, look at the two most handsome men in Sugarland Creek gracing my presence this mornin’,” Vicky gushes as soon as she hands us menus.

Jase takes one before sliding the other toward me. “You say that to everyone.”

“But I only mean it about half the time.” She winks, then pours coffee into our mugs. “Y’all ready to order?”

“Yes, please.” I close my menu, then motion for Jase to go first.

Once he’s done, I tell her mine, and then she’s gone.

“So anythin’ new happenin’?” I ask after a moment of silence.

I rest my arms on the table, leaning forward to engage in a conversation, but Jase occupies himself on his phone. Moving back to Sugarland Creek to reconnect with my son is something I should’ve done years ago. When I told him I was interested in buying a house, he was excited to be my real estate agent, and I was eager to spend time with him.

“Not really,” he mutters, focusing on the screen.

“When’s your next open house?”

“Sunday. Why?” His head pops up. “You lookin’ to buy another place?”

I give him a tight-lipped smile, sitting back in the booth. “Nah. One is plenty for me.”

His fingers go back to typing something, and I blow out a frustrated breath. Jase doesn’t owe me anything, but it’d be nice to get his attention for a few minutes when we’re having breakfast together. Milly’s Diner is a staple in town, and one we used to frequent as a family when he and Lyla were kids. Memories flood in as I look around at the old leather tan booths and inhale the familiar smells of coffee and grits. The wall behind the cashier covered in kids’ artwork from the children’s menus brings me back to when they’d color as we waited for our food. Lyla would purposely steal the best colors and leave Jase with brown and black.

“How’s your mom doin’? And Braxton?” She remarried when Jase was fifteen, and as far as I’m aware, they have a decent relationship. Braxton raised Jase like his own, which is something I’ll always be grateful for, but the thought of them being close leaves me with even more regret.

One shoulder lifts as his attention stays glued to his texting conversation. “Fine. They’re takin’ a trip to Hawaii soon.”