Escaping Me (25 page)

“
I love you, too,” he says, still a little winded himself.  “I hate arguing with you, but our make-up sex is amazing.”

“
It is, isn't it?” I chuckle.  “I might actually start picking fights,” I joke.

“
As long as it's something like me leaving the toilet seat up or an empty milk jug in the fridge, I'm okay with that.”  He kisses the top of my head.  “Just please don't run off again or not talk to me.”

“
I won't,” I promise.  “Remind me to talk to you about leaving your dirty clothes on the floor tomorrow morning, all right?”

“
Will do,” he smirks.

“
I'm far too tired to delve into the consequences of that argument.”  We laugh until we can’t keep our eyes open.

* * *

“Hey Mama!” I call as I walk into the kitchen, greeted by the overwhelming aroma of fresh homemade pancakes.  I quickly close my mouth, not wanting to drool.

“
Hey, baby girl. Just in time for breakfast.” She smiles as she carries a plate to the table, placing it in front of me as I sit down.

“
You know you are spoiling me for every other job,” I chuckle.  “I come here every morning to work and you keep fattening me up with deliciousness.”  I place a heaping forkful in my mouth.  “I'm never going to find another job with such good benefits,” I mumble out as I chew.

“
Well then, after you graduate from college, why don't you just come back here and work for me?” she suggests.  “I'm sure you'll be back in these parts to see your boyfriend anyway.”  That's right.  I haven’t filled her in on Cole moving.

“
Maybe not,” I frown. “Cole's moving to Georgia when I go back to school.”  She tilts her head, urging me to continue.  “Hank sold the house and got him a job offer to fix up a bunch of houses down in Savannah.”

“
That's incredible.”

“
Yeah,” I huff. “Incredibly inconvenient.  I mean, don't get me wrong.  I'm so proud of Cole and happy that he got such an amazing opportunity offered to him, but I just found him...” I hate talking about this.  “I just don't want to lose him,” I sigh.

“
Don't be silly!” She playfully swats my arm as she slides into the seat next to me.  “You can't lose people.  You lose things.  Like keys.  Or your mind sometimes,” she laughs, “but not people.  If you and Cole are meant to be, it will work out.”

“
You lost Vince.” I pause, not knowing how she is going to react to my blatant comment.  “What I meant to say was, you don't know where Vince is.  That's what Mal said you told her.”

“
I didn't lose Vince.  I let Vince go.  Very different.” She shakes her head.  “I chose to let Vince walk out of my life because I was trying to save my marriage.”

“
Do you ever wonder if you made a mistake?  Letting him go?”

“
No,” she quickly answers.  “I didn't love Vince—at least not in the way I loved your father.  Don't get me wrong, I had feelings for him, and I'm so grateful that I have your sister, but the two of us being together never should have happened.”

“
See what I mean?” I say.  “I love Cole, but what if we end up like you and Daddy?  What if loving each other is not enough?  A thousand miles is a long way.”

“
You're not going to end up like us, Whitney.  You'll learn from our mistakes.  You won't let the distance come between you.  Not to mention, you're stronger than I was.  You won't let yourself have a weak moment like I did with Vince.”  I can’t imagine cheating on Cole.  I can’t imagine another man being able to have any kind of effect on me, but I'm sure my mother hadn’t planned on it either.  There are just so many variables—different states, different friends, different lives.

“
I hope you're right.”  I turn my attention back to my food, forcing another bite and trying to regain the appetite I lost when we started talking about all of it.

“
If it helps, the way that Cole looks at you…” she grins.  “Your dad and I hadn't looked at each other like that in a long time before everything happened.  We got married right out of high school and never experienced any life outside of this town.  I think that was part of our problem.  You and Cole are a little older than we were. You've dated other people.  Dad and I never did that. From the time we were fourteen and on, all we knew was each other and we grew apart.  You and Cole have a better understanding of what you want out of life, and if you support each other, and love each other, you'll make it work.”

I smile, hoping she is right. “So very after-school special of you, Mom,” I giggle.

“I do what I can,” she says with a laugh.

* * *

Cole and I sit down at his kitchen counter to enjoy the home-cooked meal my mother packaged up and sent out the door with me that afternoon when my sister comes flying through the front door like her ass is on fire.

“
What's the matter?” I immediately stand, thinking only an emergency would have fueled her entrance.  My mind starts racing.  “Is Mom okay?”

“
She's fine.” She brushes off my comment, eagerly setting down the laptop she is toting under arm onto the table and flipping it open.  “I found him! I fucking found him!” she announces at the screen.  “On Google! Can you believe?”

“
Found who? Jimmy Hoffa? Jesus?” Cole snickers at her excitement.  “I mean, seriously, Mal. Spit it out.”

She smiles as she takes a deep breath and calms herself.  “I found my dad.”

I look at the screen, my eyes scanning down the results of the search for “Vincent Defrates” as Mallory tells us how she went online to check out hiring a private investigator before she did a little recon of her own.

“
This is him.” She moves the mouse over and clicks on the page for Defrates Iron Work. “See?” She points him out. “Owner, Vincent Defrates.  Mom mentioned that he was a welder, so it has to be him, right?”

I shrug. “I guess. How many other Vincent Defrates could there be in that specific line of work?”

“That's what I'm thinking,” she nods.  “It says the shop's located in Charleston, South Carolina.”

“
That's convenient,” Cole notes with a grin.

“
What do you mean?” Mallory questions his smile.

“
Well, favorite sister of my girlfriend…” He winks in my direction.  “Yours truly will soon be resident of the city of Savannah, and Charleston is just a few hours away.  I could check this guy out if you want.”  I feel a little sting when I am reminded once again that Cole won’t be living here anymore, but the way he offers to help out my sister by making sure this Vincent is the right Vincent melts my heart a little, and I think Mal's, too.

“
You’d do that?” She nervously bites her bottom lip.

“
Of course,” he answers.  “I'm not going to let you walk into some garage and just ask this guy if he's your dad.  I'll see what he's like.  Make sure he's legit, you know?  Maybe I can get a picture or something so we can make sure before you introduce yourself.”

“
He's right, Mal,” I add.  “He might not be the same guy that left here all those years ago.”

“
I won't let you meet him if I don't think it's safe,” Cole assures her.

She practically jumps into his arms.  “You are the sweetest guy I know, Cole Pritchett.  I don't care what anyone says.”

“Who says otherwise?” I joke.  “I swear to God, I'll cut them.”  That gets a good laugh out of Cole.  I've yet to fill my sister in on my almost fight with Megan.  I'm sure she'll be proud that her big sister finally learned to stand up for herself.  “So, I guess this means you want to meet him, huh?”

She takes another deep breath and releases her clutch on Cole's neck.  “I think so.  I mean, it has to be some kind of grand gesture from the universe that he was so easy to find, right?  And then what are the odds that he'd be so close to where Cole's going to be living?”

“Yeah,” I agree. “It's almost like someone's scripted this perfectly.”  I can tell Mallory is excited about the prospect of meeting her biological father.  My dad has been a pretty shitty stand-in for her, and I know deep down she wants to have a relationship with Vince.

“
Now actually meeting him,” she chuckles. “That's a whole other story.”

Chapter 26 – Cole

“
So we are doing this?” I ask, tucking in the light blue button-down shirt I am wearing into my khaki pants.  Whitney raided my sparse closet, insisting that this was acceptable attire for our outing.

“
Yes,” she proudly responds.  “We are so doing this.  My dad needs to know that I'm fully capable of making my own decisions, and the first one I'm making is that you and I are together.  I don't care what anyone thinks.”

We spent the last few weeks of summer blissfully ignoring the fact that our time was running out.  Whitney will be heading back to school next week and I've already put down a deposit on an apartment in Savannah.  There is no turning back now.  We've made a promise to one another that includes reserving airline tickets for me to fly home whenever I can, her coming to stay with me over Thanksgiving break, and excessive amounts of phone calls.  I am still negotiating phone sex into our arrangement, but she isn't fooling me.  I know exactly what to say to get a rise out of her, and she can only pretend that she isn't interested for so long.  I'll have her moaning my name from a thousand miles away—no problem.

Whitney's relationship with her father was strained by everything that had happened when he showed up unannounced.  They’ve talked on the phone a few times and she finally let him apologize for acting like a jerk.  So now, Whitney and I are getting ready to go a fundraiser hosted by her stepmother.  It will be the first time Whitney has seen her dad since and, lucky me, she insisted I go with her. I really don’t give a rat's ass if he likes me.  I want to be with her—not him.   Her mom is already on Team Pritchett, and as far as I’m concerned, one parent's approval is good enough for me.

“
Okay,” I chuckle.  “But I'm warning you.  This is going to be a fish-out-of-water experience for me.  All your family's richy-rich friends.”

“
You'll be fine,” she promises.  “We are just going to stay long enough for my father to apologize to you and for me to appease Jessica.  Despite what's been happening with my dad, she's always been so nice to me, and I did promise her I would come home for this.  She's worked really hard all year to raise a lot of money for a lot of kids.  It's the least I can do.”  She gave Jessica a lot of credit.  Whit said when she wasn't shopping she did a lot for charity.

“
He doesn't have to apologize to me. The only reason he'd even say he was sorry for being a dick is to make you happy.”

“
Well, I don't care,” she shrugs.  “It's the least
he c
an do.”

I nod as she motions for me to zip up the back of the dress she picked out for the event.  As good as she looks naked, she looks amazing in the dress—the floral patterned material clings to every curve of her body just right. Then she'll put on some high-heeled strappy shoes that make her legs look incredible.

I slowly raise the zipper, pausing to place a kiss between her shoulder blades and inhale the sweet smell of her skin.  When I finished zipping, I place my hands on each of her shoulders and try to knead away a little of the tension she is carrying.  I know she is stressed about seeing her father again.

“
I'm going to be with you the whole time,” I remind her.  “You shouldn't be scared to tell your dad how you feel. I've heard you on the phone with him and I think he has a pretty good idea.”

“
I know.”  She places her hand on top of mine and smiles into the mirror we are standing in front of.  “You just never know how he is going to react in person, and I don't want to put you through another scene like before.”

“
I'm not scared of your dad, Whitney,” I say.  “Believe me, if I had a nickel for every time a dad didn't think I was good enough for his daughter... Well, I'd have at least fifty cents.”

“
You are more than good enough for me,” she grins, turning in my arms to face me.  “I'll give you an entire quarter if you stop acting like you aren't.”

“
Gee, a whole quarter?” I tease.  “You don't have to give me anything,” I add with sincerity.  “Just knowing that you love me is more than enough.”

“
Look at you, Mr.-Big-Tough-Backwoods, getting all sappy,” she lilts before placing her lips on mine.  I pull her body against me as our mouths fuse together.  “I do love you, you know.”

“
I do.” I smile.  I really do.  I am so totally in love with her that I honestly believe there is nothing that can touch us.  That doesn’t mean that, once we leave our little love nest, everyone and their dog isn’t going to try and get in the way of that.  At least now I know that I have something worth fighting for...
literally and figuratively.