I look up into the rear-view mirror and find Zoey squished between the two car seats with the girls already fast asleep, utterly exhausted after the long weekend. Zoey glances up and meets my eyes before ripping them away in her embarrassment. She’s hardly made eye contact with anyone since being caught sneaking out of Jet’s cabin. Jet, on the other hand, has been following her around like a puppy, unintentionally being the weekend’s entertainment.
It’s been fucking hilarious. I have no idea what’s going on with those two, but watching Zoey squirm has been one of the highlights of the weekend. She’s been avoiding Amelia like the plague, but I’m sure one late night and a few bottles of wine will have all the dirty details spilling out. That girl has an issue with talking too much where alcohol is involved.
Music streams through the speakers, and I can’t help but wonder if this is what it’s going to be like for the rest of my life. Taking my girls away and spending endless hours teaching them how to ride, going fishing, and sitting back with Amelia as the girls have the time of their life. I couldn’t ask for anything better.
This is the fucking life.
I turn into my street, feeling exhausted. After my 48-hour shift and a massive weekend, all I want to do is sleep, but I have a feeling sleep isn’t going to come for a while. My truck is covered in dirt, there’s a shitload of crap in the back that needs to get pulled out and sorted, and I promised Mom that I’d head over to her place to help cut the lawn and tidy things up while Tanner and my stepdad are away on club business.
As I pull up to my home, I notice a white car sitting in my drive, and my gut instantly sinks.
What the fuck is she doing here?
I pull up behind Amelia’s car and watch as her head turns toward my front door. Her brow furrows, and confusion instantly mars her face as she notices Jessa standing by my door.
I start shaking my head. Jessa knows the fucking rules. I come to her if I need anything, never the other way around, and besides, that shit is over. I haven’t spoken to her since before I met Amelia, nor do I want to. Which leaves me wondering how the hell she knows where I live.
Our fucking deal is over. What we had is long gone, so that begs the question of why the hell she’s standing on my front doorstep and forcing a scowl to come over my girl’s face. I’ve got nobody else to blame but myself. I should have dealt with this the second I realized I was done. Where was my decency then?
I cut the engine as Zoey sits up straight in her seat, clearly noticing Jessa as Amelia falls silent. “What the fuck is this bitch doing here?” she demands, momentarily forgetting that she’s sitting in between two little girls who are listening in with eager ears.
I turn to Amelia as I start unbuckling my seatbelt. “I’m sorry,” I tell her as she turns to look at me with devastation in her eyes. “It’s not what you think.”
Zoey scoffs from the backseat, but I can’t take my eyes off Amelia, who I’ve never seen look so crushed, and I realize that she’s thinking the worst. But why wouldn’t she when her past has been nothing but disappointment?
It’s as though someone flicks a switch. Zoey starts unbuckling the girls as Amelia bails out of my truck like a fire has just been lit beneath her ass.
I hurry out of my truck and race around to her side to find Amelia already halfway through getting Ryan out of her car seat.
“Bull, baby,” Jessa calls in a sugary sweet tone from the front step. “Where have you been? I’ve been missing you. Didn’t you get my messages? We need to discuss our baby.”
What the fuck? She must be going insane, but my attention is solely on Amelia as she attempts to get Ryan out of her car seat. “Mommy. No,” Ryan cries, trying to reach past Amelia with her hands outstretched to me.
Amelia blocks her way and pulls her tighter into her arms. “Stop it, Ryan. We’re going home.”
Ryan goes into meltdown mode. “No,” she screams, throwing herself backward to the point where I fear she might slip straight out of Amelia’s arm. “Bull. I want my Bull.”
I go to take her from Amelia, but she turns her back and storms towards her car, where Zoey is already working on getting Coby in. “What are you doing?” I ask her. “You don’t have to go.”
“Bull,” Jessa calls again. I look back over my shoulder to see her smirking at the destruction she’s just caused, and I promptly ignore her. She’s not worth my time, especially not now.