“Hey, James, what’s up?”
“Dude! You coming to the party? It’s going to be a blast from the past. A few of the guys have come into town.”
“I’m not sure if I can make it.”
“Trev, come on. I’m getting married in two months and this is the last party I’m throwing. Just come and have some fun. Some of these girls from high school are still looking pretty hot.”
“Yeah, I’m not interested in that, James.”
A roar of laughter came through the phone. “That’s right! Rumor has it you’re settled down. I have to admit, I was sort of stunned that you stopped working at your brother’s bar, I thought you loved it there. What a place to blow off steam.”
“My priorities changed.”
Wade smiled and shook his head.
“Well, what the fuck ever. Just come for a little bit.”
“Fine, I’ll come, but I’m not staying long.”
“That’s what I wanted to hear. Feel free to bring anyone. I’ll see ya soon.”
The phone went dead, and I pulled up Scarlett’s number. Walking away from Wade, I hit dial. I sighed when I got her voicemail.
“Hey, Scarlett, it’s me. Listen, I’m taking the rest of the day off and heading to James Larson’s river party down at his place. I was just wondering if you wanted to go with me? I know you said you had today off from all the over time you had been working. I’ll be leaving here in a bit so if you want to go, just give me a holler and I’ll pick you up.”
I hit End and pushed my phone into my back pocket. I glanced out over the vast Texas hill country. For as far as the eye could see, it was our ranch. I loved this place, but something felt missing. Something was off, and I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling brewing deep in my soul.
“Come on, Scarlett! You never do anything fun anymore.”
I sat on my living room sofa, my feet tucked under my body, a pint of ice cream in my hand. My hormones had been off the chart the last few weeks and my emotions even worse. I’d been putting off seeing Trevor because I wasn’t sure if I would break down and cry…or what I would do.
“Lynn, I’m pregnant. Going to a river party when it’s hot as hell out is not my idea of fun.”
“Okay, so I’ll admit the eighty-eight degrees in November thing sort of sucks, but you have to come. This will be your last fun time out before you get a giant basketball in your belly and you start to waddle like a duck.”
I shot her a dirty look.
“I talked to James just a little bit ago. He said Trevor was coming so I figured that meant you were, as well. I mean, are you not pregnant with his baby?”
That got my attention. “Trevor’s going?”
Her smile faded. “Are y’all not together? I mean, you’re not dating? Because Trevor has made it very clear to everyone he is off the market. When Margret and Darcy saw Trevor at the feed store, Darcy said Trevor didn’t flirt with them once! He said hello when they said hi and he kept right on going. Sort of pissed Darcy off, but Margret told her about you and the baby.”
“Wait, Darcy was trying to put the moves on Trevor? When?”
“The day before yesterday, I think it was.”
I snarled. “That bitch! She works in Dr. Buten’s office! She knows I’m pregnant with Trevor’s baby.”
Lynn half-shrugged. “Well, you didn’t go to high school here, girl. Darcy was the poster girl for class slut. She didn’t care if a guy had a girlfriend or not. She’s been trying for years to hook up with Trevor Parker and hasn’t been able to.”
I lifted a brow. “Really?”
With a nod, she replied, “Yep. Now go change and let’s go.”
Sighing, I threw the blanket off and headed to my room, finishing off the chocolate ice cream as I climbed the steps.
Once I got to my room, I found my phone on the nightstand. I’d forgotten I left it there to charge. Picking it up, I saw a new voicemail from Trevor.
Hitting speaker, I listened to it while I changed into a pair of shorts and a light blue sweater tank top. Once I heard that Trevor had invited me to the party, a new feeling swept over me. I was actually excited to go. I was bummed I’d missed his call and would have much rather gone with him, but I knew I would be seeing him there. After the whole thing with Eric being at my house and Trevor showing up, I had been wanting to talk to him. I’d seen it on his face and heard it in his voice. He was worried I was growing more distant. I hadn’t meant to be pushing Trevor back; it was just hard to maintain control when he was around. Plus, I had been working a lot of overtime to save money so I could pay bills when I went on maternity leave. Grabbing a sweater, I made my way down the steps.