“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about us calling this a long-distance relationship when we should just call it an end.” The words made my stomach feel sour.
“It doesn’t have to be the end.”
“It does, Harley,” I take in a shuddering breath, “because pretending it’s not is just too hard. We’ve never been further apart then we are now, and I’m not just referring to the miles between us. We talk a few hours here and there, but that closeness we once shared is gone. I find out about your life through your Facebook more than I do you. We’ve been trying to hold on to this, and I thought once you got back to Georgia things would be okay again, but now you’re not even coming. There’s no point in lying to ourselves about this any longer.”
I shook the memory from my thoughts and turned up the radio to drown it all out. It was always the same, me regretting the decision I made, then getting pissed because there was nothing I could do to change it. She was gone, living her life, and I was here. I should be living mine too.
It was my last year at Georgia State. Holding out for a girl who wasn’t coming back was wasting the life I’d never get a chance to relive.
We’d agreed that the friendship we once had was worth holding on to because we had too many memories between us to pretend they didn’t exist. Those emails and texts that we’d exchanged even though we were no longer together had also begun to fade. We had come to a point where they only seem to be exchanged during a special occasion instead. I wished those would stop too, because when they came it was like a kick to my already wounded heart. They were only a reminder of what we once had.
I pulled into the driveway of my home and placed my truck in park, smiling when I saw Grace sitting on the front porch reading from the Kindle I’d bought for her seventeenth birthday. I swear she did everything she could with that device in her hand. She annoyed the hell out of me at times, but I loved her like crazy, though I’d never admit it because she’d use that shit to her advantage.
She was smart too, book smart but naïve, which always had me on guard. Little shits her age flocked to her; a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl with her head stuck in the clouds was a target for all those horny little fuckers.
I know, because it was only a short time ago I was one of those horny high school boys.
When I climbed out of my truck and began walking in her direction, she looked up from her book. “Dutchess ate another pair of your underwear.”
I stumbled up the stairs, narrowing my eyes at her when I noticed her weak attempt at hiding her smile behind her Kindle. “I told you to keep your damn dog out of my room.”
“And I did,” she declared, sitting up straighter. “She found them in the laundry basket that was sitting outside your door.” She cocked her head and gave me that sassy look she often gave when she thought she had one-upped me. My earlier admittance that she was a good kid was long forgotten, because at this point I wanted to toss her ass in the dirty lake behind our house.
I couldn’t wait until my place was ready. We were converting the huge loft above the barn into an apartment, and times like this reminded me why I’d pushed for the renovations to begin in the first place.
“You’re buying me a package of boxers.”
“Like hell I am.” She pushed up off the chair she was sitting in and placed one hand on her hip. “I don’t care if you’re forced to wear underwear with holes or not.”
“Grace…” I looked toward the door just as Reed, the only father I’ve ever known, stepped outside, giving her a warning look. “Mouth.”
“But Daddy…” I fought the urge to roll my eyes. She was going with the innocent girl look she always used when she was scolded. “I can’t help if Dutchess likes his boxers.”
Dad attempted to hide his own smile, but I saw it clearly. He looked between me and Grace, almost appearing as if he was lost.
“Looks like I’ll be alternating between the three pair I have left.”
“Or you could go without,” Grace announced, moving past both of us toward the front door. “Doug and Skip were talking about that very thing during gym class and apparently—”
“Why the hell are two guys talking to you about not wearing underwear?” I challenged her before our dad could, but I didn’t miss the same questioning look in his eyes. I also didn’t miss the panic in hers when she began to fidget, moving the weight of her body from one foot to the other. “I’m waiting,” I pushed a little more for the answer.
“Me too,” Reed finally added as he crossed his arms over his chest. He and I stood close to the same height; his build was a little larger than my own, but I was gaining on him. My biological father wasn’t a small guy and his genes had been passed on to me—there was no denying that.
“Is that Mom yelling?”
Before either of us could answer she hurried inside, and we both realized a second too late what she’d done.
“You thinking what I’m thinking?” I looked at Reed and saw the gleam in his eyes almost instantly.
“Yep.” I took a step toward the house. “We’re taking her bedroom door off the hinges until she decides to clear
