Page 56 of Jackass

Standing from my seat, I addressed the room.

“Listen up. When I claimed Sammy in church, I had forgotten about her still being married. Let me make this clear. That is a technicality that we will rectify soon. As much as it pains me to say this, because I think he would have objected anyway, Blade was right to remind me of that.”

I looked down at Sammy. Her head hung over her food. I knew this shit made her feel guilty, but I needed to cut them off before they said more.

“Sammy will be my wife. It makes no difference to me if you accept her as an old lady or not, but as my wife and the mother of my child, you will show her some fucking respect,” I commanded, my glare directed at Blade.

Sitting back down, I pulled Sammy close and kissed her.

The room was quiet.

Awkward.

“So, what do you have planned today?” Rachel asked, breaking the silence. That was the signal that allowed everyone else to continue talking amongst themselves.

I waited for Sammy to respond. When she stayed silent, I answered,

“We need to talk with Nav, then hit the store and swing by Sammy’s old place to get her things.”

“You two moving in together? Will you be staying here or getting a place in town?” Cash asked.

Sammy spoke then, and I wasn’t happy with what she said.

“Um, I’m not sure we will live together, but I want Charlie to spend some time with Jack. So, while we’re here, we need some clothes and things.”

I leaned over to her. “We already decided this, Sammy.”

“We’ll talk about it later, Jack,” she dismissed me and dug into her breakfast.

Yes, we would talk about it later.

Sammy gave me directions to the home she shared with Carrie. I wasn’t eager to deal with Carrie again, but my girls needed their things.

Pulling up to the small cottage, I wasn’t expecting it to be as small as it was.

“How many bedrooms?”

Sammy swallowed. “Um, two.”

I looked at Sammy. “So, you and Charlie sleep together?”

“No, I sleep on the couch,” she quickly replied, then opened her door and hopped out. Sammy opened the back door to unbuckle Charlie from her seat, and I sat there, frozen.

Instead of climbing out of the truck, I turned around to confirm I heard her correctly.

“You sleep on the couch?”

“Yes.”

Yes. That was all she said before she and Charlie walked toward the front door. That got my ass moving.

I followed them into the house.

“Sam! Oh, I am so glad you’re home!” Carrie rushed over and gathered Sammy in her arms.

She appeared to love my girls, but there was just something I couldn’t put my finger on. Something about this woman had my hackles up every time we encountered each other.

“Sam, we have to pack,” Carrie said urgently.