Chapter 9

chapter

nine

JD

I'm barefoot and wandering through my new house, picking up all of the discarded glasses my friends left everywhere last night. It was great for all of us to be in the same town again. That hasn't happened in a while. But now three of us are back, living in Saddle Creek.

We're just waiting for Donovan to retire and come home. I don't know about the retirement part, but he should be coming home more often. Now that his dad is back and is remarrying. I'm thinking Donovan hasn't put two and two together and realized who is about to be his new stepsister.

In any case, I'm just cleaning up the house because I have nothing else to do on a Saturday morning. My big plan for the weekend is the wedding tonight. Thank fuck Jude will be there, otherwise I'd be the last single man standing. Well, that's probably not entirely true, but that is what it feels like.

My phone pings in my pocket and I set the glasses and beer bottles down on the kitchen counter. I pull it out of my pocket to see I have a text from an unknown number.

UNKNOWN CALLER: Is this JD? I hope so.

UNKNOWN CALLER: Anyways, my name is Charlotte and I'm Chelsea's sister. She gave me your number a long time ago when y'all went on that trip to… somewhere… now I don't even remember.

UNKNOWN CALLER: Sorry, baby brain. Anyways, can you let me know if this is you? JD?

My heart is pounding so hard, it feels like it's crawling up my throat. Immediately my imagination is going to all the worst reasons why Chelsea's sister would be contacting me.

ME: Yes, this is JD.

ME: Is Chelsea okay?

UNKNOWN CALLER: No, she's fine. In fact, she's on her way to see you right now.

ME: To see me where?

UNKNOWN CALLER: Your house. Saddle Creek.

UNKNOWN CALLER: Anyways, she would legitimately kill me if she knew I was doing this. But there are things you need to know. Now that things are different between y'all, I'm not sure if she's ever going to tell you.

UNKNOWN CALLER: She's in love with you.

ME: Sure. She's made that abundantly clear. Especially when she broke up with her boyfriend and moved over here with me. Like I asked her to.

UNKNOWN CALLER: You specifically asked her to dump Mike and move WITH you?

ME: Well, not in those exactly words. But I made it clear to all of the employees that we would offset the moving costs if they wanted to work here in Saddle Creek.

UNKNOWN CALLER: Sure, well that's the same thing.

UNKNOWN CALLER: eyeroll emoji

UNKNOWN CALLER: I see you're as effective as a communicator as my sister.

UNKNOWN CALLER: image of dog

Maybe Chelsea's sister is just crazy. She'd mentioned that she was recently pregnant and her guy is actually from my hometown too. We do make the best people here. Homegrown in Saddle Creek, Texas.

But really what is up with the goldendoodle picture? At least I think that's what that is.

ME: Uh… thanks?

UNKNOWN CALLER: That is Mike.

ME: Sorry? Who is Mike?

UNKNOWN CALLER: image of dog

ME: I am not following you.

UNKNOWN CALLER: The dog. That is Mike. The one and only Mike.

UNKNOWN CALLER: She lied. For reasons which maybe she'll explain to you. And she's tried to come clean to you multiple times over the years, but one thing or another got in the way.

UNKNOWN CALLER: There were the pictures of you and your ex-girlfriend that showed up on social media after the wedding you went to.

Fucking Stacy. As soon as she posted those pictures of us, I'd untagged myself. I wanted nothing to do with her, which she knew full well.

ME: I told Chelsea that picture was staged. My ex cornered me for the photo and at the last minute posed herself like that.

ME: We never got back together.

UNKNOWN CALLER: I'm just saying that over the years, there have been reasons. Moments that she took as a sign that y'all didn't belong together.

I'm trying to wrap my head around what Charlotte is attempting to explain to me. And I'm struggling. First, my body is buzzing with adrenaline to go and find Chelsea, spank her for lying to me, then kiss the hell out of her because she can finally be mine.

ME: Was there ever a boyfriend?

UNKNOWN CALLER: Like in her life? Yes, she's had a few.

ME: But not when she first started to work for me?

UNKNOWN CALLER: No. She had heard a story that a woman got fired after sleeping with you.

UNKNOWN CALLER: It freaked her out because she was instantly attracted to you.

UNKNOWN CALLER: Has she told you about Elliot Stabler?

ME: The TV detective. Yeah, I've watched a few episodes.

UNKNOWN CALLER: She's had the hots for him since she hit puberty. You are the epitome of catnip to her.

UNKNOWN CALLER: Man-nip, if you will.

UNKNOWN CALLER: Nope. Max says I cannot use that term. Whatever. You know what I'm saying.

UNKNOWN CALLER: She walks into this new job, sees you, wants you, and then hears that horror story.

ME: She was protecting herself.

UNKNOWN CALLER: Exactly.

ME: But three years.

UNKNOWN CALLER: Yep. She was going to tell you. After that night when she almost kissed you. She planned to tell you that following Monday.

ME: But then I announced I was moving.

UNKNOWN CALLER: Yes, you did. And you didn't tell her privately. You let her find out with everyone else.

ME: I did that on purpose.

UNKNOWN CALLER: I figured as much.

ME: She's coming to my house now? Why?

UNKNOWN CALLER: Because you've been ignoring her attempts at resignation.

UNKNOWN CALLER: She's trying to make a clean cut.

UNKNOWN CALLER: In any case, I wouldn't be a very good big sister if I didn't do everything in my power to give my girl a chance at the kind of happiness I've found.

UNKNOWN CALLER: Do not make me regret telling you.

ME: Understood.

ME: Thank you, Charlotte.

CHARLOTTE: Anytime.