Page 42 of Signed With Love

Before I can pull my wallet, Claire places a twenty down. I playfully pinch her side and give her a look. I had this, but she doesn’t care about my gentlemanly ways. Her return expression dares me to argue. And there’s the smile back. Playing this with her feeds that bitter soul I’ve come to acquire.

“Hey.” Finn slams a hand on my shoulder as Claire finishes paying. “The countdown begins. Already done with this shit. I hate weddings.”

I just nod as I accept my drink from Claire. She raises her glass toward Finn as Chadwick and Rylee join us. I realize just how much I need these people as the reception music starts. I watch the reminder that I failed my mother as her husband walks into the reception with his new wife.

Thorne catches my eye for a moment, and I’m thankful I skipped the ceremony itself. There’s that everyday resentment that he has that reflects back to me although he wears a happy smile for his new wife. Well, it wasn’t supposed to be my mother on that flight. But like always, she cleaned up my shit for me when I got drunk and partied too hard the night before.

It should have been me, not her, in flight that day. I remember that fact every time I look in the mirror. The music changes to the next song, and the party takes off. I tilt my beer back and drink.

???

I’m done. The tension builds in my blood the longer we go through the motions of this wedding reception. Throughout the cake cutting and the toasts, time stretches out as I recall each of these moments that should have ended with my mother.

The beer bottle hits the table with a rattle echoing off the wood. All evening I’ve handled the looks from the residents of Casper. Their whispers are making my head hurt. That, or it could be the third beer I’m on.

Claire’s hand tugs on mine and draws my attention.

We can go? she signs.

I nod in response and rise from the table. The escape is near as we walk from the reception area. Of course, I don’t make it far before Lizzy’s brother, Nick, cuts us off at the door. That tension coursing through me comes into focus as I tighten my fist.

“Leaving already?” His voice is slurred, the drink in his hand not the first of the evening. “How’s it watching your girl marry your stepdad?” He glances over my shoulder. “And you brought your new girl to watch it too? You’re a fucking mess, dude. Couldn’t save your job, your relationship…” He pauses to take a drink, and I wait. Say it. I fucking dare you. “Or your mom.”

That’s when my arm flies out and connects with his jaw. The crunching sound resonates throughout the room as everyone focuses on his face. The beer bottle shatters against the floor as voices rise behind me.

I draw back and swing again. Hands land on my arm to stop the next swing. Voices close in, but I don’t stop as the blood that boils beneath my skin has me launching forward again. Red covers the floor when he spits to the side.

“Jamison, stop.” My body deflates as the delicate words coming from Claire finally break through the wave of anger crashing over me. I let whoever is pulling me off the piece of shit on the floor win. To increase my torture at how her voice sounded, I turn to look at Claire. Her brows are scrunched, and the pity so obvious. I never wanted her to see me like this.

“I thought you’d keep your shit together.” I glance over my shoulder and see Hollis, a state trooper. There’s nothing to say as he directs me outside.

Chapter Twenty-One

Claire

My gaze stays trained on Jamison as the state trooper pulls him away. I’d seen what the guy said to him, but before I could become a buffer between them, Jamison struck. There was nothing I could do to stop him. Chadwick grabs my arm as I start their direction, knowing my goal before I could move.

I turn toward Chadwick, my brow wrinkled. I don’t like to be held back like that. Chadwick pulls his phone out to type a message. Once finished, he passes it to me. Give him some time to cool off.

I know he needs the time, but I’m not letting him sit in jail either. We all have dark moments, but that’s what friends are for. To be there to help you through them.

I’m not letting him stay in jail, I type quickly and hand the phone back to him.

It doesn’t take Chadwick long to give a response. He won’t sit in jail. Hollis is a friend of ours. Come on, I’ll take you home.

When I glance up, his expression is sure. Perhaps he’s right, but Jamison punched the mayor’s son at his daughter's wedding. I’m not as sure of Jamison coming home tonight, but if Chadwick is, I’ll trust him.

Rylee steps up and rests her hand on my shoulder, and we follow Finn outside. The eyes of the guests stay in our direction as we escape. The bride is crying, her husband and father discussing something while Lizzy’s mother tries to comfort her. Jamison gave them exactly what everyone was waiting for—a show of what they believe was the jilted ex. That wasn’t the case; the guy Jamison hit knew exactly how to press Jamison’s buttons by bringing his late mother into it.

We load into the back of the SUV and make the drive back to town. I rest my head on the window and stare out at the night passing me by. Finn pulls up to my father’s place after the drive, and I climb out. I give a quick wave goodbye and take the short path up to the cabin. The porch light is off. My parents were not expecting me tonight. I was supposed to spend the night with Jamison before I leave for Anchorage in the morning.

I unlock the door and make my way through the house. It’s dark, but there’s a harsh light coming from the television in the living room. Dad rises from his chair and joins me in the kitchen when he hears me enter.

What happened? he asks, his gray brows dipped low.

I wasn’t there for him like I should have been, I sign back. I should have gotten him out of that wedding before things escalated. That’s what I should have seen coming as his girlfriend. Not that I knew he had such a temper with Lizzy’s brother, but his mom is definitely a sore spot.

Explain to me, Dad asks and takes a seat at the table. He clears a spot, his History Channel show all but forgotten in the other room. Dad moves some of Daisy’s journals around, and I remember how much I want to show these to Jamison, even though he doesn’t want to read them. I pull it off the table, the one I’m certain talks of the dad he doesn’t know. I hold it, then set it in my lap so I can sign to Dad.

---