Page 48 of Broken

“What kind of redneck double life have you been living?” He asks as he stops in the middle of the parking lot.

“Just wait until you see McKenna out there. She loves watching the bikes, it’s her favorite. They jump through the air and her face lights up like the Fourth of July.

“Wow. My gothic wife out in sand dunes, I’ve gotta see that. Do you go out dressed like this?” He lifts a brow at my shoes.

“Oh, my sweet innocent husband… You’ll just have to wait and see.” The word husband slipped out of my mouth, he called me his wife and it seemed to just flow from me. Fucking hell.

“You called me your husband.”

“Let’s go eat.” I lead him to the door, and we’re welcomed in. After a few minutes, he’s talked to the hostess and we’re waiting for the table to be ready since we’re a little early.

We’re taken to our table after another twenty minutes and he’s really got us reservations on the patio, the Thursday night before Memorial Weekend, how did he do this? Magic? Money? His smooth as butter voice?

We take our seats which are in the back corner right next to the edge. I stare out at the lake and take a deep breath in, the algae smell is ripe, and it’s primed and ready for summer to take over. I can’t wait. Weekends on the dunes with the girls. Showing West why I stayed here, why my life is here now.

“My name is Gage, what can I get you to drink?”

“Cucumber mojito please.” I say, smiling up at him.

“I’ll take a whiskey on the rocks please.” Westley says.

“Sure, be right back.” He says, walking away.

I look at the menu, I’ve been here once, when I opened my shop. Bailey and I wanted to celebrate, so she talked her dad into watching McKenna and took me to dinner. That damn cucumber mojito is my favorite drink. So good.

“The prices are so high, are you sure?” I whisper leaning over to ask him.

“Yes Kitty, order whatever your heart desires.” His dark eyes are trained on me, and I see it. The love he has, it was there the entire summer we were together. The way he looked at me made me feel like I could do anything.

Our drinks are here, and I still don’t know what I want. “Have we decided or do we need some more time?” Gage asks.

“I need more time.” I say, “Sorry, I haven't looked at the menu yet.”

“That’s perfectly fine, I’ll be back.” He leaves us to our business and I study the menu.

“I’m going to get the New York Peppercorn. It sounds amazing.” Westley, sits his menu down and looks at me.

“I’m having trouble deciding between two.” I reply, looking at the crab stuffed chicken and the bacon wrapped stuffed chicken.”

“Why don’t you get both, and then take the rest home?”

“I can’t buy two meals.” I state.

“Your two meals is just barely more than the one meal I chose.” He takes my menu and sits it with his at the edge of the table, then picks up his whiskey and takes a sip.

The cucumber mojito is beckoning me to drink it down, so I grab the glass and take a drink, feeling the refreshing bliss that hits my tongue.

Small talk takes over as we sit here waiting for our food, he asks how life has been, how I moved through life with McKenna. He asks what she was like, and listens carefully as I tell him about her.

“She’s perfect. Kind, smart, beautiful. One time, Bailey and I took her to the park and there was a kid being picked on, and she stomped over and told the little boy to leave the other little boy alone. She took the hand of the little boy who was being picked on and they went and played for hours.” I smile, remembering the day perfectly. “She asked if the boy could come to our house, I told her I didn’t know, and to find his mom so we could ask her.”

“Did the mother let him come over?” West asks, lacing his fingers on the table.

“There was no mother, his mother had passed away and they used to come to the park together, so he ran away to the park.”

“That’s a terrible story Kat.”

“No, because we found his home, and his father had been worried for him. So when I took him home, I told him that he could call for anything, McKenna and Syd have been besties since. It’s been a year since they met, she was three and he was four. They’re nearly inseparable.”