She leans forward. "Yes, excuse you. Jason is mine and has been for a while."
I take my time and look at her. She might as well be my complete opposite. She's skinny with blond hair and big boobs. "I don't believe you," I tell her as I get up from my chair.
She grabs on to my wrist and holds me in place. "I don't care if you believe me or not. It's true. And even though he may be having fun with you right now, he'll be coming back to me."
"Are we done here?" I ask her.
She releases my hand and stands up. She’s a bit taller than me, and I lean my head back to look up at her. She's determined to get the last word in. It's obvious. She leans toward me and whispers in a low voice, "You may not want to believe it, but it's true. How else would I know about the piercing on his dick? It makes sex so much better, don't you think?"
She pats me on the back, and I stand there frozen. "I'll see you around, Tara."
Ashley barely gets out the door and my tears start to fall down my face. I look at Emery. “I need a minute."
She looks at me sadly. "Take as long as you need."
I walk out the front doors of the bakery across the street into the small park area. There are children playing in the fountain, and I sit down on a park bench, and my shoulders heave as I sob. I'm not sure how long I sit there.
I don't even realize someone has sat next to me until I hear Mark's voice. "Are you okay?"
I inhale deeply. I definitely don't need to deal with him right now. I wipe at my tears. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"I'm sorry that you're sad. I knew he would hurt you."
I pull my apron up and wipe my face. "What do you care, Mark? You hurt me too."
He turns and faces me. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I love you."
I can't help but laugh. "You cheated on me. You lied to me. You stole from me."
He doesn't even try to deny it. "I fucked up. I know I did, but I want you to give me another chance."
He's crazy if he thinks that I would ever give him another chance. "I can't. I don't feel that way about you."
His face hardens. "You don't get it. I can't let you go."
I shrug my shoulders and stand up. "You're going to have to."
He grabs on to my hand and holds me in place. "I'm telling you, Tara, if I can't have you, no one will."
I jerk my hand back and shake my head. "Forget it. You and I are over. There's no chance for us. I don't like you. I definitely don't love you. We're done."
His whole body goes rigid, and he stares at me. For just a second, fear fills me. I've never seen this look on Mark’s face before, but it scares me. I turn away from Mark to walk away and walk straight into Jason's chest. Mark’s voice is loud and clear behind me. “Remember what I said, Tara.”
Jason’s hands go to my shoulder, and he pushes me behind him. "Go back to the bakery. I'll be right there.”
I throw my hands up in the air. All we need is for him to go to jail again. But at this point, I really don't care what happens. "Don't even bother," I tell him and stalk back over toward the bakery. I'm done with men... all of them.
Chapter 13
Jason
When I was driving down the road, I saw Tara sitting on the park bench. By the time I parked my bike and backtracked to where she's at, it went all through me to see Mark sitting next to her. And when I walked up on them, the nerve of him to have his hands on her instantly had me seeing red. She's pissed. It's obvious she is. I walk straight up to Mark. "I'm telling you, motherfucker, if you ever come near her again, you will be six feet under the ground." I leave him with that and jog across the street to catch up with Tara.
Before she can get through the front doors of the bakery, I holler for her. "Mama, wait!"
She turns and throws her hands up in the air at me. "This is not going to work, Jason."
I grab on to her hand and pull her to the side of the building. I promised no more scenes in Whiskey Run, and her yelling at me right on Main Street is definitely not going to go over well with the Pres. "What did he mean, Tara, when he said remember what I said... what did he say to you?"
She shakes her head. "It's not him." She crosses her arms over her chest and looks at me as if she hates me. "Tell me about Ashley."