I moved in closer and tossed my arm over her shoulders, looking at the picture of me in a pair of suspenders. “I was about four here.”
“You were the makings of a firefighter even back then.” Chloe ran her fingertip along the edge of the picture, and I watched her close. I could honestly watch her for hours. The woman was fucking amazing, not just beautiful, but perfect in every way. “Suspenders and a little shirt that has a fireman on it. How sweet.”
I leaned in little closer, and sure enough, on the shirt was a cartoon fireman, holding a hose, pointing it at a building.
“Well, hello dear.” My mom broke the trance, and I pulled away just in time for her to move in and give Chloe a welcoming hug. Ever since the day they met at my place, my mother had not stopped asking me to bring her by. “It’s about time this boy brought you by to see me.”
Hand in hand, my mother dragged Chloe off toward the kitchen, and I followed like a lost puppy. Actually I was now invisible, the two of them talking as if I wasn’t even in the room.
“Get used to it, boy.” I felt my father slap my shoulder and give it a good squeeze. My dad was a tall man, and at one time he was built like a monster. With time and with age he had broken down a bit. Last year we found out he had heart disease after he suffered from his first ever heart attack. The news took a toll on him both physically and emotionally, and now the man before me barely resembled the one he once was. Yet he was still my father, still awry, still ready to toss some shit when necessary, and now was one of those times.
“Now that your momma has met your lady friend, she’ll be on your doorstep, inviting her over for dinner and tea. There won’t be very many alone times in your future now, if you know what I mean. I’d imagine you’ll be seeing a whole lot more of your momma now that she and Chloe are so tight.”
He was loving this, the chance to harass me.
“I’d imagine with Ma gone so much it’ll be less cooking for you. Less tending to your needs, which means you may have learn to wash your own underwear. Or wear dirty ones, who knows?”
Nudging me with his elbow, he hurried past me and offered my mother a kiss to the cheek. “Chloe, this is my husband, Russ.”
“Nice to meet you.” Chloe held out her hand, and my father looked down at it before ignoring it and leaning in to offer her a kiss, too. It was his way of showing he approved. Not to mention when he pulled back, he offered me a shuffle of his brows.
Yeah, he approved. But who wouldn’t? Chloe was the full package; inside and outside, she was beautiful.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chloe
“Damn it.” I stomped my feet like a child, spinning around in a circle before focusing on my tire once more. “Damn it, damn it, damn it.” I threw my hands up in the air as if that alone was going to fix all my problems and what in the hell it was that I did to deserve the long string of bad luck I was having. First, I stubbed my toe in the middle of the night getting out of bed to pee. Then I dropped my coffee mug, my favorite mug actually, and it shattered on my kitchen floor. Worse yet, it was full of hot coffee that splattered all over my bare leg in the process. Now I had a flat tire, a God damned flat tire.
Knowing already that Landon had to report to the station more than an hour ago, I knew I couldn’t call him. It was already twenty till eight, and I knew I was going to be late for work. After I’d allowed Landon to persuade me to call in sick, things already felt weird around the office. It was like everyone was watching me, like they knew or something. It was most likely all in my head, because it was something I’d never done before. Playing hooky for some nookie, I felt like a complete fraud.
Dialing my father’s number, I pressed the phone to my ear and waited for him to answer. When he was a little out of breath, I wondered if he was working and I’d interrupted his morning. “Hey, sweetheart.” Another deep intake of breath, yet there was no background noise.
“I have a flat.” This was one of the times I wished I’d listened when my dad attempted to teach me the basics in car maintenance. Oil changes, brake inspection, and tire changes, back then I would roll my eyes and think that was what he was for, or Triple A. Now I wished I’d learned. “I’m running late for work, but if you’re busy—”
“No.” I heard him shuffling around, and again I wondered what he could have been doing. “I’ll be right over. At your place, right?”
“Yeah.” Again with the shuffling just before I heard a squeal followed by a giggle. One I was familiar with. Then it dawned on me what I’d actually interrupted. “Oh.” My eyes widened in horror as I held the phone out, fighting my gag reflex. “Oh, no, eww Dad.” More laughter and then my mother. “No, I’ll call Rhett or Uncle Reed.”
I gagged again.
“Oh stop it, I’m a man, too.”
“No.” I shook my head and stomped again and again. “Stop right there. You are not a man; you are my father. And that giggling fool at your side is my mother. Please understand when I say that I never want to ever know that the two of you
