Page 44 of Falling for You

Sawyer walks me to my car as the other guys that work with him stare at us. I see a few sniggers and elbows in sides. Basically, they act like ten-year old boys on the playground instead of grown men, but whatever. It’s kind of cute, actually.

I turn around and lean against my car door. “So, I guess I’ll talk to you soon.”

“For sure, pretty girl. Expect a text about two seconds after you get on the road. But don’t answer it until you get home. I’d like to keep you safe.” He pushes a strand of hair out of my face and I caress his cheek with my hand. He’s got a little stubble, and the feel of it causes warmth to flood my core.

“No texting and driving. I got it, Dad.” I can’t help but tease him.

“There is nothing fatherly in the way I feel about you, in case you can’t feel that.” He pins me up against the car with his hips. I can feel that his erection hasn’t gone away. I moan a little at the contact.

He gives me a sweet, brief kiss and murmurs in my ear. “I would do a lot more to you right now, but there’s too many eyes on us. I do have a question though.”

“Shoot.”

“Will you finally let me take you out to that fancy dinner I promised? I want to show my girl off, and give you the kind of date you deserve.” He kisses my cheek close to my earlobe and I shiver.

“I would love to, even though you don’t need to take me anywhere fancy. I like being with you.” And I mean it. We could sit and have a cheeseburger at McDonald’s together, and I would be thrilled. But I like that he thinks I deserve more.

“I want you to have the best, Red, because that’s what you deserve. Two days from now, Saturday night, be ready to go out and get well and truly wooed.”

“Sounds like a plan.” We let go of each other and I can’t help but grin as I pull away from the garage. He turns around to wave and I blow him a kiss. He looks around, and even though his face is red, he blows me a kiss too.

Sigh. This guy is the best.

Chapter Forty-Two

It’s okay to make mistakes. It’s okay to be a screw up. Just don’t be one forever. -Sawyer’s mom

Sawyer

I have my head phones in and I’m thinking of where I can take Ronnie on our date when there’s a knock on my bedroom door.

“Come in, Mom.”

She comes in and I look up. My mom was once a beautiful woman. She still is in my opinion, but she looks much older these days. What my dad did weighs heavily on her. She was once the strongest person I knew, but my dad’s betrayal pushed her into a downward spiral so deep I could no longer reach her. With the help of the psychologist my uncle’s money paid for and the medicine she is now on, she’s starting to seem like herself again. She now gets out of bed and tries to function normally. For months after Dad was gone, she would lay in bed and stare at walls. I want nothing more in life than for her to smile and dream her big dreams again.

She sits down on my bed and pats my hand. “How’s it goin’ bud? I know I haven’t asked lately, but I wanted to talk to you about what happened with Brad. I hope you know you did the right thing.”

“I do, Mom. I don’t have any doubts about that. If he had done more to hurt Ronnie, it would have killed me. I’m sorry if it’s made things difficult for you though.” I look at her closely. I notice the weariness in her eyes and the dark spots under her eyes. Her blonde hair falls limply around her face and she brings her thumb up to chew on her nail. I take it out of her mouth and notice her cuticle is bleeding.

“Mom, talk to me. What’s wrong?” I put my arm around her shoulders and feel her sink into me.

She leans her head on my shoulder and sighs. “I’m okay, Sawyer. I promise. I wish I could make things better for us. I know I made things hard on you by wanting to stay here.” Her eyes fill with tears. “The house reminded me so much of mom and dad, and it made me feel better to have their memories close.” She pauses, and I can tell that she’s steeling herself to tell me something. My stomach drops a little. Now, what? “I think it’s time to start a new life and make our own way. Staying here has given your uncle power that I don’t want him to have any longer.” Her words make me wonder if she knows the kind of jobs I’ve had to do for my uncle.

“Mom, I never want you to worry about that. Staying here was important to you, so it was important to me too. If you’re ready to move on, then we will. If not, then we’ll be okay. I’ll make it work here.”

“Sawyer, you shouldn’t have to make it work. You should work on being happy.” She sits up straighter. “That’s what I’ve decided to do. Work on being happy again. No one can do it for me. I’ve depended on other people for too long. It’s time for me to do things on my own.”

“That’s great. What do you want to do?” It is wonderful. My mom hasn’t mentioned any plans for the future in a long time. For so long, she’s only looked behind her, not to what may lay ahead.

“I want to go to nursing school. It’s what I wanted to do when I was younger, and I think I’m ready now. Even if I need to get student loans, I can make it work. And we need to get out of here and get our own place.” She chews on her lower lip. “Hopefully, we can get out without angering your uncle.”

“What can I do to help? I’m not a kid, mom. And I’m sorry. I know I’ve made things more difficult by going to the police for Ronnie.”

She pulls back to gaze up at me. I know I remind her of dad sometimes and that makes her sad. I inherited his dark looks, but I hope to God I inherited her values and personality.

“Son, you made me so proud by standing up to Brad and that crowd he runs with. You defended an innocent girl, and that could never be a wrong thing. We’ll just have to pinch our pennies a bit, but we can make it. Your grandparents left you a small trust and that will go to you soon.” I remember my uncle’s threat about holding the money up in court, but I push that worry aside. Right now, I want to make mom happy.

I smile. “Well, that’s great. We can use that money towards a new place. Why are you so worried then?” It seems like an easy solution. I make decent money at the shop, enough to help with expenses. I have no idea if my uncle with follow through with his threat, but I don’t want Mom to know about any of his devious plans. We will figure something out.