Wanting More (Mitchell Family #5)(51)
Author: Jennifer Foor

No, I plan on hangin’ up and textin’ your ass until you either write me back, or call me. When I get home you’re goin’ to come see me, Amy. If you don’t I’ll drag you away from him myself.

I hung up on her because I said what I wanted to say and I knew what I needed to know. She still wanted me and after being without her, it was enough to make me want to fight for her.

While my crazy ass family celebrated our time together, I became obsessed with talkin’ to Amy. I texted her for the next couple of hours, up until my damn sister had to open her mouth.

"Who do you keep talkin’ to?" Colt asked.

I put the phone back in my pocket. “It’s just a friend." My sister was giving me a dirty look like when we were teenagers.

"What’s the big secret?" Now she had Colt up in my shit.

Ty leaned forward. "Trust me when I say that you really don’t want to know."

"Is it somethin’ I should be concerned over?” Apparently I was going to have to explain some things.

I just shook my head. "It ain’t nothin’ like that. I just have this friend that I enjoy spending time with. We’re just friends, nothin’ more."

"Because she’s married." Miranda replied with her eyebrow cocked.

I was ready to put my boot in her damn ass. "Just friends. Leave it alone, Randa!" I grabbed my drink and walked out of the house to get away from my nosey family.

Colt came out to the porch and stood next to me. “Want to talk about it?"

"Why, so you can get all pissed at me too? Look there ain’t nothin’ goin’ on that anyone has to worry about. Even if I did want it to, she would never be okay with it. She’s just in a real bad situation and doesn’t have anyone else she can trust."

"So, is this someone you met at meetings?" What the hell would she think I was going to meetings and hooking up with chicks for? Did everyone think I was that awful?

"No, since I know you aren’t going to get off my back, I will tell you. It’s Miranda’s boss Amy. I’m not goin’ to divulge her personal drama, but let’s just say she is in a very bad way and I am the only one that knows the truth."

"And how did you get to be that lucky guy?"

I needed to tell someone the truth, even if I didn’t tell him everything, I just wanted to get it off my chest. "I guess it started when I first moved there. She came over after having a fight with her husband. I happened to be really sick and she sat up with me until I pissed her off. We weren’t exactly friends, but a while later, after a night out, I found her in a parking lot all upset. I took her somewhere to be safe and she told me enough for me to be concerned. After that she started confidin’ in me. I don’t think it was because I was ever her first choice, it was just that I already knew."

"I never pegged you as the kind of guy that was just friends with a woman."

I shook my head and laughed. "Neither did I, but even if I wanted somethin’ else, it would never happen." Not right now at least.

"So, this is the woman that helped with that Heather girl problem?"

"Yeah, and that is a whole different story that we need a bottle of whiskey to talk about."

After the conversation with my cousin and the way my family was all in my shit, I knew it was only a matter of time before I broke down and told them all that I was involved with Amy. She wasn’t ready for us to be a couple, but I was and I was going to find a way to make it happen.

Chapter 32

Amy

My Thanksgiving wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. After being able to talk to Conner after so long, I was more than giddy. Even though he wasn’t in the best of moods, it was still good to hear his voice and that he still loved me.

When Rick came home, his daughter was with him. She had pierced her nose and her lip and had a tattoo on her neck. Her boyfriend who followed in behind them was in some band and had tattoos from his fingers and up his arms. He had those big things in his ears that stretched the lobe and wore his pants down below his ass.

Rick had the same expression as I did when they finally walked into the living room. We both began to laugh and tried to not let them hear us.

Rick reached his arms around me and kissed the top of my head. "It’s really nice to hear you happy. You think that after dinner we could maybe take our relationship to the next level?"

Oh god…this was not happening to me. I eased my way over to the counter and started mixing up some stuffing. "How about we just see how today goes and if we’re even awake enough. Plus you have to entertain the two rock stars in the other room and who knows when they’re going to leave."

He came up behind me again and reached his arms around me. Even now the memory of him being drunk and trying to touch me still made me cringe. I was trying to get along with this man, but nothing had changed as far as the way he made me feel. I hated him and just wanted to be free.

Conner had assumed that I was sleeping with Rick. I’d done everything to prevent that, including making up a fake female infection to make him want to stay away. Still, it didn’t keep him from trying.

Our meal was quiet, just like every year. I could always tell that being a family was something that Rick just wasn’t good at.

I knew that once Shelby moved in with a boy and still wasn’t eighteen, that her father was done being a parent. I mean, what kind of father lets their daughter do something like that?

The guy, whose name was Devon, turned out to be a pretty smart kid. He was really into art and brought a portfolio from the car to show me some of his pieces. Shelby seemed completely obsessed with the kid, but he was also as equally into her. We hadn’t always seen eye to eye, but I was happy for her.

As the night progressed and we had dessert, Rick fell asleep in the recliner. We didn’t keep alcohol in the house, so we went into the kitchen and played a board game to pass the time. Devon was still involved in the game on television and had been talking to his parents that lived in another state.

I took a look beyond my step-daughter’s piercings and saw how beautiful she had become. “I’m glad to see you so happy.”

She smiled. “Yeah, Devon’s great. He’s nothing like my father.”

I raised my eyebrow, curious to what she was implying. “What do you mean?”

She shrugged. “Well, first of all, he would never hit me, or my kid.”

I was shocked. I reached over for her hand, but she pulled it away. “Don’t Amy. I know you didn’t know and it was never as bad as it was with you. I think the older I got the easier it became and that’s why I left.”