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We’d been friends as teenagers, and we’d slept together once. It’s not like I had any rights to her, but I also knew there was no way I could stay in Livingston without at least hanging out with her again. At least as a friend.
But now, some other man was in the picture, her husband or at least her baby daddy.
That was going to make being friends with her again hard. If not impossible.
Dark thoughts filled my head. How did I know he was even a good guy? What if he wasn’t treating her well?
And no one told me. I get Joe not bringing it up in the middle of our awkward meeting, but what about Carl? I was living on his ranch, and he didn’t think to give me a little warning about something like Aspyn having a kid.
Maybe Aspyn’s new guy was an ass after all, and Carl worried I’d rush over to his house and pound his face in for not doing something about him.
No. That didn’t make any sense. There was no way Joe, Perri, and Carl wouldn’t have Aspyn’s back if someone asshole was mistreating her. There was something else. Something I wasn’t seeing.
I took a deep breath and then barked out a laugh. The whole reason I’d come back to Livingston was to get my head back on straight. Now, I was more screwed up than before I’d come.
I shook my head. I needed to stop bitching and live with the truth. We all had to live with our choices. Maybe it was too late. I’d just have to suck it up.
* * *
Carl was feeding the pigs with the help of a part-timer when I got back. He’d told me his name, but I honestly couldn’t remember it. I hopped out of the truck and thought about what I wanted to say to my friend.
I didn’t want a fight. I also didn’t know if I should have been more pissed at myself or Carl, but I did want some answers about Aspyn and that little girl. Hell, I didn’t only want answers. I needed some answers if I was going to have any piece of mind.
Carl finished talking with the other man and sauntered my way, a bright smile on his face.
My stomach knotted. I didn’t want to screw up Carl’s happiness just because I wasn’t feeling great.
He already seemed less stressed because I’d showed up and was helping him. I didn’t want to screw up the one friendship I was sure of, but there was no way he didn’t have some info on Aspyn and her kid.
I tossed him his keys. He snatched them out of the air.
“I was worried last week because several of the pigs caught a little virus,” Carl said. “But now they seem a lot better. Guess I’m due a little good luck, so not gonna complain. Even if other things are off.”
“What other things?”
He shrugged. “Perri’s pissed at me.”
“Why?”
Carl blinked a few times and then frowned. “You know how chicks can be, bro, am I right?” He let out a little chuckle. It sounded a little forced.
“Yeah, I guess.” I rubbed the back of my neck, unsure of what else to say. “She’ll come around.”
“Yeah, she always does.” He cleared his throat. “So, did you get everything you needed at town hall?”
I nodded. “Yeah, Joe helped me out, even inviting me to the dinner.”
A surprised look passed over Carl’s face. “Really? Good. I know it’s gonna be weird for the others to get used to you being back, but glad to hear it.”
“I also ran into Aspyn. We talked for a sec, but you know, she had things to do.”
The surprise on Carl’s face turned into something else. Fear. I was sure of it.
“O-oh? Yeah, guess that makes sense,” he said, scrubbing his face. “Both Perri and her work there, after all. I should have thou—I mean, how’s she doing?”
I stared at Carl, narrowing my eyes. He was acting squirrelly. Now I knew something weird was going on.