Hustle Him (Bank Shot Romance #2)(30)
Author: Jennifer Foor

Are you serious right now? You’re living with someone that you got pregnant while we were still together. How could anything that I’ve done before compare to that? How could you really think that I would ever give you another chance?

Keep an eye out for the mail, Vessa. You’ll be getting papers soon.

I tossed the phone on my bed and curled up in a ball crying. What had I done to deserve everything that was happening to me? Asha came walking in the room in her Sunday school clothes. I heard Logan talking to my aunt about something.

“Mommy, why are you crying?”

I sat up and hugged her so tight. “I’m just having a bad day. It just got better seeing your pretty face, though.”

“Logan said that Daddy told him we were going to move home soon. Is that why you’re sad?” It broke my heart hearing her say it.

“Asha, do you like it here?”

She smiled. “I like my room and my new friends. Aunt Sue always does fun stuff with us and we can play outside without getting yelled at. I don’t want to move back with Daddy. His new girlfriend is mean and she doesn’t like me.”

“As much as I know your daddy loves you, he has a lot going on right now. A new baby can change things and it can be overwhelming. I’m glad you like it here. I’d never want you to be unhappy.” I had to really bite my tongue to say something positive about Gavin. After that phone call I was ready to drive there and commit murder.

“I wish Grandma could be here, too. She always knew how to make things better.”

“She sure did, baby. She sure did.”

I tried to spend the rest of the Sunday enjoying being with family. The bar was closed and this was our day to unwind. After getting the kids settled down, I finally sat down on the couch with my aunt and told her everything that had happened between me and Ramsey. She didn’t seemed shocked about any of it, not even the part where he was so indecisive after we’d slept together.

My self esteem was already becoming non-existent, but after Ramsey pretty much rejected me after sex, well, I felt worthless. Maybe my inexperience made him never want to be with me again.

The more I tried to focus on other things, the more I thought about Ramsey and our intimate moments together. His touch was like nothing I had ever experienced before, which of course, made me want to do it again.

Two weeks went by and he never came in to have dinner or shoot pool. I think my aunt felt sorry for me. After years of saying that she wasn’t going to let it happen, she started up an in-house pool league so that I could get out and meet people that had the same interests as me.

We had five teams of two people to start out and played what was called scotch doubles. Your turns are alternated as balls are made. It was a bit harder as far as winning, because you had to rely on your teammate to be able to position the ball after they made a shot.

We left the signup papers on the bulletin board for two weeks and my aunt recruited a couple older players that she knew personally. We arranged for the neighbor to watch the kids, so that she could be a member as well. I was having fun and the people were nicer than the ones I had shot with before. My aunt was happy, because it brought more business in. The only thing I was missing was the partner that I wanted to shoot with.

I’d thought about going to see him, but realized that if he wanted to see me, he knew where to find me. Many nights I would cry myself to sleep at what a mess I had made with him. I should have never got involved. It was just, once I did, I couldn’t turn away.

Gavin was true to his word. One month after our argument, I was served with papers. I was fine with the divorce part, but him taking the kids was never going to be alright with me. Luckily, my aunt knew someone at church that studied law. He wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but he was a nice man who was very devoted to his family.

The battle for custody had begun, and with nothing else to worry about, I focused all of my energy into my kids.

Gavin was trying to prove that I was an unfit parent and that I was out partying instead of being a good parent. The funny part was that was exactly what he was doing, even while we were still together.

So I countersued him.

By that point, Ramsey was just a memory. If someone was watching my every move all they would see was me being a good mom. On the weekends that the kids would visit Gavin, my aunt would drive with me and deal with him so I didn’t have to.

It wasn’t the kind of situation that I wanted my kids involved in, but none of it was my fault. They were adjusting better than I had expected.

By law we had to be separated for a year before we could file for the full divorce. Since we were fighting for the kids, it wasn’t going to be as fast as I wanted to.

In the meantime, the kids signed up for sports and scouts. They started having play dates and even Logan loved living in our new town. He especially loved when my aunt brought home a puppy. She was just a mutt, but was the cutest little black and white puppy I’d ever seen. Asha was excited, but Logan had been begging for a dog for years. We named her Priscilla, but we called her Prissy for short. She had longer fur and loved to be brushed and pampered.

Aside from being heartbroken, my life was getting back to the way it was. We had schedules and the children were always my first priority. The day shift gave me more time with them and it also helped me from worrying if Ramsey was going to walk back into my life.

Logan asked about him often, but thankfully, my aunt told him that he moved out of town. I took him fishing a couple times. Of course, he constantly compared me to the sheriff and I couldn’t deal with it, so I stopped offering it as something to do on a lazy day.

One morning, after I’d put both kids on the bus, I went into work as usual. The day shift was much different than the evening. A lot of the town frequented for lunch and my aunt had an older man who came in and worked the kitchen for three hours a day. He minded his own business and helped out a bunch.

That particular day, he was carrying in an order of food supplies in the back. I was busy making sure the register was set for the day and packing the deposit for when I got off and dropped it at the bank. To say I wasn’t paying attention would have been an understatement.

When someone tapped on my shoulder, from my side of the bar, I screamed out loud, before turning to see who it was.

Ramsey just stood there looking at me. I was sure it was him, except he looked different. His face was clean shaven and he wasn’t wearing a hat. “I didn’t mean to startle you, Vessa.”

“What are you doing here?” I didn’t say it in a rude way. I really wanted to know why he was standing in front of me.