Page 28 of Truly Forever
“I sure hope not.”
Little punk. “And why is that?”
“Because I don’t trust you.” He folds beefy arms. “And she’s been through enough in her life already.”
I think, at his core, Jacob’s a good kid, I do, but the blackness that suddenly haunts his features has me wondering all kinds of things. “Put your mind at ease, kiddo. I’m only trying to help. I’m not a permanent fixture around here. However, on the matter of trust…” As I see things, Hollie has two looming problems with her son.
“Yeah?”
“This drug mess aside, your mom is trustingyounot to ruin your life getting that girlfriend of yours pregnant.”
Smoke huffs out his ears. “That’s none of your business!”
“True enough, but I’m going to tell you something anyway, Carpenter. If it were me in your shoes, I’d think long and hard before tying myself to any young lady who’s willing to see me swinging in the breeze.”
Hollie
Finding John’s snazzy SUV in my driveway shifts my pulse into overdrive. Days passed with no word, and I’d begun to think I’d heard the last from him.
Which might not have been a bad thing. John Chavez has mastered the art of being an unsettling individual. Plus, he’s a man, and I’ve learned to keep my distance. It isn’t that I dreamed of spending my life alone, but sometimes, when the cookie crumbles…all you get is crumbs.
At least I have Jacob.
That thought, in its own right, injects fear into my veins. I can’t lose my son.
The rain that plagued me while loading groceries at the store has mercifully relented—mercifully because John is here to talk, and I’d much prefer to hold any conversation outside. The apartment feels unusually cramped when he’s inside it.
The flood light on the Parsons’ house illuminates Jacob’s gym bag on the blacktop. To my surprise, my son gets out of John’s car. I can tell at a glance he’s uncomfortable.
Approaching, I paste on a smile I don’t feel. “Hey. What’s up?”
John plants a palm on the shiny hood of his car. “Jacob and I have been talking some things over.”
I try to hold the smile. “I wish you had waited on me.”
“Sorry. Just the way things happened.”
He doesn’t look a bit sorry. He exudes every vibe of a man who does what he wants and expects everyone else to fall in line.
“Jacob, you want to fill your mom in on our conversation?”
My son’s face screamsno, but John’s pointed look is epic. Like I said, the man must always get his way.
I wrap myself in my arms and wait. With an economy of words, Jacob gives me hope, offering fresh information about the probable culprit in the crime he’s in hot water for.Iknewmy son wasn’t the guilty party—though I’ll confess a few doubts had wriggled their way in. Pie in the sky as I can be when it comes to my only child, I’m not completely stupid. I know that teens lie and do dumber things than the adult mind can conjure.
“Jacob, how could you lie about this? Your future is on the line!”
“You think I don’t know that? But I love Reagan, Mom. I do.”
“These charges could stick with you forever. Reagan, on the other hand, won’t be around long en—”
“Yes she will!” He uses a word I don’t condone—he’s been doing that more and more of late. “Why does everyone keep saying that? We’re in love, and you better get used to the idea!” He juts his chin, teeth clenched. “Can I go now? I have a test tomorrow.”
“You can go once you apologize for being incredibly rude.”
He looks at John and then me. “I’m sorry.”
Right. “You may go now.”