29. Lacey

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

lacey

I stumble into the bathroom the next morning after a restless night of sleep. I'm not ready to hold my eyes open, but I need to get ready for work, and sleep proves to be elusive anyway. With eyelids open just enough not to run into the wall, I yawn and pull my hair up in a knot on my head so I can wash my face.

It's while I'm brushing my teeth that my blurry eyes have finally cleared and focused enough to notice the speckles of purple on my neck.

Shit.

Instinctively my fingers fly to the rueful hickey, my eyes wide. How am I supposed to work beside Maddie all day wearing the love bite left behind by her son? Just the thought of it makes me cringe. First impressions came and went a long time ago, and Jacob and I are both adults, but we're still trying to find our footing in this new dynamic, and I'm not sure where her lines fall. I dig into my makeup bag for some concealer, hoping I have something to cover the hickey with.

Much to my relief, it turns into a busy day at the floral shop. We are helping our sister shop in the city prepare for a wedding tomorrow. Maddie and I are busy getting the arrangements together and ready to take to Bozeman this evening.

"I hear that you and Jacob are getting along lately," Maddie says, breaking the silence.

I glance up from the arrangement I'm working on, wondering where Maddie is trying to take the conversation. Has she noticed the poorly covered hickey?

"Yeah. I really like spending time with him."

"I'm glad he made amends. He doesn't always think things through before he acts. It's ended him up in a scuff or two over the years."

I smile, thinking of some of the stories Jacob has shared with me about his rambunctious childhood. He and his brothers did not take it easy on their parents.

"He's been great," I offer, not sure what to say.

"I was hoping you might come over for dinner with the family Sunday evening. Are you free?" Maddie glances up briefly but continues working on her arrangement, trying to keep the conversation easy.

"Sure. I think I can do that," I say, though I'm not sure at all.

It seems somewhat quick to have earned an invitation to their family dinner. I make a mental note to talk to Jacob about it later and get his take on it. I don't want to make him uncomfortable.

I lean into Jacob that evening, resting my head on his shoulder as we sit side by side on the tailgate of his truck. The creek burbles, and we wait for a fish to be enticed by Jacob's fishing lure. I tell Jacob about Maddie's invitation, but he seems surprisingly unfazed.

"We haven't been seeing each other very long. I don't want to ruin what we have by jumping the gun," I say to explain my trepidation.

"It won't be the whole family. Just me and Mom, who you already know, and you'll meet Dad and Mia. You think meeting family would change the way we feel about each other?" he asks.

"Everything changes when people get serious."

"Are we moving too fast? Is that what last night was about?"

"I'm not sure what you mean," I reply, pretending to be oblivious. One minute I was urging him on and the next I slammed the door in his face.

"Either way, if you want to come you should. Mom really likes you. I'm pretty sure she would have invited you to our family dinner at some point regardless of what is or isn't going on between us."

We fall silent again, letting the chirping birds take over the conversation.

"Jalynn mentioned something happened with your ex before you moved out here," Jacob says after a couple minutes of silence, trying to take a different angle at the conversation.

"She shouldn't have. It's none of her business." I sound snippier than I mean to.

Jacob nods.

"I take it that's not a conversation you want to have with me, either?" he asks.

"Nope. Definitely not," I say flatly. "It's not something I carry on about with anyone."

"Okay." Jacob doesn't even try to hide his disappointment.

"Look"—I suck in a deep breath and release it in a rush—"I'm not proud of my part in that relationship."

"What do you mean?"

"I stayed too long. Things started out pretty normal, but the longer we were together, the worse it got. I allowed it to get as bad as it did."

"It's difficult to clearly see things when you're on the inside. Even I know that. It was the same for me and Ashley."

"Yeah, but it wasn't the same. And you ended it way before I did. You did the right thing. I didn't. And Ashley isn't Ben."

I slide off the tailgate of Jacob's truck and slowly wade barefoot into the creek. I turn toward him again, pushing the memories away, but continue slowly walking backward into the creek with a playful smile on my face.

"You were done fishing, right?"

Jacob chuckles and pulls in his line. Setting the fishing pole in the bed of the truck, he kicks off his boots and socks and follows me into the creek.

Sunday evening, I focus on each step I take in my stilettos on the stone sidewalk to Jacob's childhood home. We walk hand in hand, but the slightly unlevel stones and the nervous butterflies fluttering around in my stomach have me worried about face-planting in Jacob's parents' lawn. I should have worn flats.

Jacob reaches for the doorknob, but the door swings open, and the beautiful blonde I saw with Jacob at the pool hall stands in front of me, greeting us boisterously.

"Hey, brother! Where were you last week? Oh...that's right. You skipped out on dinner again because you found a new lady friend!" She pulls him into a warm hug and then turns to me next, wrapping me in a tight hug, not even waiting for Jacob to introduce us. "I'm this goon's sister, Mia. I'm the older, smarter, and prettier twin. The extra couple minutes of baking didn't do him any good. It's good to finally meet you, Lacey."

"Good to meet you, too," I say almost in more of a question than a statement.

Mia leads us into the house and straight back to the kitchen where Maddie is cooking, and Mr. Jones is taste-testing. Mia leans in to whisper in my ear.

"You didn't quite get that hickey covered up. A little yellow will do wonders. I can show you sometime," Mia says.

"I was all out of yellow," I reply, and without thinking, my fingers instinctively go to my neck. A quiet giggle slips out from Mia.

"You have that many to cover?" she whispers back, an eyebrow cocked. "Alright, little brother, way to go," she says quietly to Jacob.

Maddie looks up from the stove, realizing we've made it into the kitchen. She leaves the stove and rushes over to give both Jacob and I a hug. I'm suddenly acutely aware of how much more hugging happens in this family than in mine. My grandparents were great, but they weren't overly affectionate.

"I'm so glad you were able to join us, Lacey," Maddie says. "This is my husband, Larry."

Maddie motions for Larry to come over. Larry is a tall gentleman with a beard that reaches down almost to the hint of a belly on his slender frame. He gives me a warm smile as he comes over to join the group.

"Hello, Lacey. It's good to meet you. You've been a frequent topic of conversation in this house. It's nice to finally put a face to the name," Larry says.

"No wonder my ears have been burning," I say, hoping I'm hiding the discomfort I feel about being the center of attention. "Do I dare ask?"

"Only good things, sweetheart, I promise," Larry says reassuringly.

I look up at Jacob who, if I'm not mistaken, is trying to hide the flush of embarrassment spreading across his cheeks.

Mia basically attaches herself to my side throughout the whole evening. By the end of dinner, we're essentially best friends. We team up on Jacob and tease him whenever the opportunity presents itself, which, with Mia around, is pretty much constantly. He takes it on the chin like a champ, clearly used to Mia's loving abuse. Maddie and Larry laugh along with us, and Larry joins in the banter with us girls from time to time.

After so many years together, Larry and Maddie still carry a magnetic pull between them. Larry's expression softens each time he looks at his wife. Maddie can't hide the sparkle that lights her face every time Larry takes her hand, even if she tried. I'm in awe of it. As a child I would often daydream about my parents, imagining them having a similar connection. I don't remember enough to know if they did or not. A tiny part of me is jealous of Jacob and Mia getting to grow up in this loving environment that can only be produced by a close-knit family like the one Maddie and Larry have grown.

After dinner, we move to the living room to continue visiting. I sit on the love seat next to Jacob and snuggle into his side. His arm wraps around my shoulders. No sooner than we get settled, I feel the familiar vibration of my cell phone in my pocket. I pull it out to discover a text message. It's from Ben.

Ben: Don't forget about me. I need a phone call from you, Lacey.

I close the message without responding and shove the phone back in my pocket, a slight unsteadiness to my hands now. Jacob peers down at me, concern and confusion on his face, but whatever thoughts are going through his head, he pushes them aside and pulls me in tighter.

On the ride home, I silently debate what to do about Ben. I still wonder how he got my number. And what else does he know? I pull my phone out of my pocket and pull his number up to block it. My finger hovers over the button, though, and I debate whether blocking him is the best move or not. If I block him, I won't have to worry about him texting or calling me anymore, unless he figures out that he's blocked and starts harassing me from a different number. Then I'm back at square one. If I don't block his number, I have to deal with the texts and phone calls, assuming he continues trying to get ahold of me, but I can keep ignoring them. Plus, any information he leaks to me in the messages could be helpful. If he figures out where I am, will he say something and unintentionally give me a heads up that he's on his way here?

"What are you stressing about over there?" Jacob asks.

"It's nothing important," I say.

I think I'd rather know what Ben is potentially up to than to block him completely. I close out everything on my phone and slide it into my pocket. Sudden nausea overtakes my stomach as the memory of the first time he struck me floods into my mind.

I was working my shift at the diner. Employment opportunities in town were limited, but I'd worked at the diner through high school and went back to working there when I moved back to town with Ben.

Sheriff Tate walked in accompanying a very intoxicated Ben. He sat Ben down at a table in the back of the diner, away from all of the other customers, and made his way through the tables to the counter where I was putting in an order.

"Hey, Lacey. He needs a coffee to help sober him up and someone to keep an eye on him. If this happens again, I'm going to have to take him in."

"I understand. I'm so sorry. I'll take care of him. He won't be a bother to anyone else tonight, I promise," I reassured him.

Ben had been drinking a lot lately. It was a definite problem, affecting both of us. The Sheriff stood in place a moment longer looking like he had something more to add but seemed to decide against it. I knew he was worried about me. He'd been close to my parents, and after the accident, he'd given me extra attention to try to help fill the void for me and help out my grandparents.

Sheriff Tate patted me on the shoulder. After he left, I took a mug of coffee over to Ben's table.

"Hey, baby..." Ben's speech was slurred. "I came to see my pretty little lady at work. How you doin'?" He reached for me, trying to pull me into him. I set the coffee on the table and pushed myself away from him. "You gotta light on you?" Ben asked, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.

"You know you can't smoke in here." I grabbed the pack of cigarettes from him and pushed the mug of coffee toward him. "Drink that. Sit here, and be quiet before you cause any more of a scene than you already have."

Tim, a flirty guy we went to high school with and now a frequent flier at the diner, waved me down. I put a smile back on my face and walked over to his table to see what he needed. He already had his order, and as usual, he wanted some conversation to go with it. I laughed at his jokes as I always did. It was part of the job to get higher tips.

Ben got up from his seat and stumbled his way across the diner to where Tim sat doing his best to flirt with me. With no warning at all, Ben punched Tim right out of his chair. I screamed at Ben and tried to help Tim back up, but Ben grabbed hold of me and pulled me out of the diner with him.

I fought against him, trying to get loose from his grip, but he wouldn't let go. Once at my truck, he pressed me against the passenger door and ordered me to get in. When I protested, he opened the door and shoved me into the cab.

Jacob turns to me, concern on his face. We're back in my driveway now, and I'm trembling. There's no way he doesn't notice the trembling.

"You okay?" he asks.

"Yeah," I lie. "All good."

I climb out of the truck, and Jacob follows my lead, walking me up to my door. He shines his phone's flashlight for me to see while I unlock the door. I turn back to him, dangling the keys in my hand, not ready to tell him good night. I don't want to be alone tonight. He wraps me in a hug and kisses the top of my head.

"Don't leave yet," I say, squeezing him tighter.

"You don't have to convince me to hang around, Gypsy."

I smile up at him and pull him into the camper.

"Your family is great."

"We get along most of the time," he replies, more focused on me than he is on our conversation.

"Want something to drink?"

"What do you have?"

"Eh..." I open the door of the mini-fridge and examine the sparse contents. "I have part of a bottle of water we could share. Supplies are getting low here. Someone has been keeping me busy lately."

Jacob examines my barren fridge. It holds a partially drunk bottle of water, a box of baking soda, and an apple. Jacob doesn't say anything, but his expression hardens. He begins opening the few cupboards I have, only to find a nearly empty bag of chips and a can of baked beans.

"Is my mom not paying you enough?" Jacob asks with genuine concern.

"What? No, my pay is fine. I just haven't been to the store." Jacob gives me a questioning look, almost like he doesn't believe me, and begins inspecting the rest of the camper more closely. "Jacob..."

I feel strangely exposed and inadequate. He checks the stove to make sure it's in working order, then the tap to make sure I have running water. He checks out each of the windows and pokes his head inside the bathroom, giving the toilet an unnecessary flush.

"Does your heat work? It's going to start getting cold enough to need it soon."

"I don't know," I say, answering him honestly. "I haven't tried it."

Jacob turns back to me, wrapping me in his arms again. I smile up at him, hopeful that his poking around is done, and rise up on my toes to kiss him. He kisses me back, slowly stepping us backward until his legs are against the platform of the bed. Bending at the knees, he pulls me down with him, letting his body free fall back onto the bed with me on top of him. We land with a camper-shaking thud.

"Ugh..." Jacob grumbles once he gets his breath back. "This is where you sleep?" I giggle. "Your bed just knocked the wind out of me, Gypsy."

I roll off of him, laughing, and allow him to sit up. He immediately pulls back the covers to expose the wooden platform beneath, no mattress in sight.

"You don't have a mattress?" He looks at me incredulously.

"I'm getting one. I just haven't yet. I was waiting until I got a job and, well, to be honest, I just got used to sleeping on it the way it is. I guess I forgot."

"You forgot that you don't have a mattress to sleep on?" Jacob asks in disbelief.

"Yeah?"

"You can't stay here like this."

"Actually, I can, I have been, and I'll continue living here," I insist, stubbornly folding my arms across my chest.

"Why?" Jacob rolls onto his side to face me, clearly unhappy with my living situation.

"Because I'm a grown-ass woman. It's home, and it's mine, and I can do whatever the hell I want to do." Patience is leaking out of me like a sieve.

"Either you call Jalynn and ask to stay with her, or we pack you a bag and you can move into my place." Jacob sits up on the bed, completely serious about making me leave the camper.

"Jacob, this isn't up for debate. I'm not leaving. You, on the other hand, probably should as you seem to have overstayed your welcome."

Jacob glares at me, never dropping eye contact, and if I know him at all, he's debating his next move. Lucky for me, he doesn't have one. Check. Mate. I grin, and he knows that this conversation isn't going anywhere right now.

"Fine. I'll drop it for tonight. But this isn't over. I won't have my girl living like she's destitute."

"I'm not destitute." I roll my eyes at him. "Not every girl needs a big ole castle with a moat and handmaids."

"Just because you don't need them doesn't mean you don't deserve them," Jacob counters. "Come on. Let's go sit on the hammock outside and enjoy some fresh air. I've got to forget about where my girl is sleeping tonight."