Series: Fever Falls Series by Riley Hart
Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 92704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
I glanced at Saw again as he rested his hand on my thigh, stroking softly. Funny how such a simple touch, so gentle yet assuring, could bring me so much relief from the tension I’d had most of the way there.
“Are you gonna be okay?” he asked.
“I’m gonna get through it” was all I could offer. “I’ll feel better once I see her, know she’s safe, and vibe out where she’s at with it all.”
We finally reached her place, a one-story home in a much nicer neighborhood than some of the shitholes she’d lived in. Fern trees lined either side of the front yard, and her roses were in bloom under the window beside the front door.
As we approached the front door together, I felt a tug at my hand and looked as Sawyer offered a gentle squeeze. Like when he’d rested his hand on my leg to soothe me, I felt the tension in my chest ease up. I took a much-needed breath of air as we walked up the steps of the front porch.
“Here we go,” I said, ringing the doorbell.
We waited in silence for a few moments before the doorknob turned. The door opened, and there she stood, wearing a light-blue dress and a bright smile. She had her hair and makeup done, though I could tell by the red in her eyes that despite her grin, she’d spent some time sobbing before we arrived.
Sawyer released my hand as she hurried to me, threw her arms around my shoulders, and pulled me close. “Thank you so much for coming, babe,” she said before pulling away and turning to Sawyer. “And you must be Sawyer. Carter was telling me all about you.”
An exaggeration.
“Come in. Carter always has coffee, so I have a pot on. Would you like some as well? Or I can make some tea?”
Sawyer smiled, seeming surprised by how chipper Mom appeared.
Mom’s work as a waitress and her lifetime with assholes had left her more than equipped to save face around company, particularly an outsider like Sawyer. But I knew if he hadn’t been around, she would have had a full-blown meltdown, more than willing to show me the vulnerable side bubbling under the surface.
“I’m fine, thank you,” Sawyer said.
“No, no. I won’t have that. I’ve made some sweet and unsweetened tea, so say the word.”
Sawyer’s smile broadened. “If Carter is having coffee, I’ll have some too.”
“Perfect!” She guided us into the house, which was spotless, as it always was whenever I came to visit. Mom and I were the same as far as keeping our places neat and tidy, if only because it distracted from the mess going on inside us.
She led us into the kitchen, which overlooked the garden out back. She had a few seedlings coming up, but it was clear she’d just planted most of it. It was a sad sight, since I knew Mom wouldn’t be able to stay to see her work through if Jon asked her to leave.
“You like to garden, Ms. James?” Sawyer asked as he stepped beside me.
“Oh, I adore gardening. The roses out front are my babies too. I’ve planted tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers…but I did fewer than last year because we had so many we didn’t know what to do with. Now, Carter said you’d be fine with lasagna, Sawyer? Any garlic allergies? I was planning to make some garlic bread, but I wouldn’t want to have you breaking out in hives midway through the meal.”
“No allergies,” he assured her.
As she started preparing dinner, we chatted about superfluous topics, avoiding the elephant in the room. After Mom put dinner in the oven, we sat on the sofa in the living room, and Mom pulled out one of her photo albums, clearly determined to torture me as she showed him some of my most embarrassing pics.
“And this is Carter playing T-ball,” she said as she reached a photo of me at six years old.
I groaned. “Oh my God. I was terrible at that. And look at those ears!”
“He was the only kid who got injured with a softball,” Mom added.
“It hurt! I can’t remember anything about playing, but I thought it broke my leg!”
“Well, maybe you should have paid more attention to the game, babe.”
“You know those guys like Rush and Ash who disprove the gay stereotypes about us not wanting to play sports? Yeah, that wasn’t me.”
Sawyer laughed. “Me either,” he assured me with a chuckle.
I could tell he’d let his guard down now that he was adjusting to Mom. Surely he was seeing that she was more than the woman who caused me so much strife. She was nice, polite, playful… There were many lovable aspects to her, something even I had to remind myself of sometimes.
“This is third grade,” she said, pointing me out in a class picture.