Page 41 of Cold Foot Komodo

“No!” he yelled. “No to whatever manipulative bullshit you have to say. You missed me? Really, Farrah? The best thing that ever happened to me was going to Cold Foot because you couldn’t reach me there.”

“You’re not in Cold Foot anymore.” There it was. There was the grit to her voice. There was a hint of the real her. She lowered her tone. “And I could always reach you. You’re mine, Reed. Always were. Always will be. Lose the bitch.”

“You moved on. Now it’s my turn,” he gritted out.

“I forgive you!” Farrah yelled. “I just wanted to tell you that.” She dragged in a shaking breath. “I forgive you.”

He’d never heard anything so ridiculous in all of his life.

She forgave him?Sheforgavehim? Really?

“I don’t need your forgiveness. I need you to leave me alone.”

“You need to lose the bitch,” she ground out in that gritty tone that made him cringe. “For your son’s sake.”

The line went dead, and so did Reed. That’s what it felt like. It felt like a death. Drained of the hope and the life he’d felt this morning before he’d heard Farrah’s voice, he sat here frozen, gripping the steering wheel, staring at a snow-covered parking lot and repeating her words over and over in his reeling mind.

For your son’s sake.

For your son’s sake.

For your son’s sake.

What son?

Chapter Ten

Sasha wiped the hair from her cheek with her forearm to avoid getting more paint streaks on her face. She leaned over to the stool where her phone sat and checked it again, but the only messages there were from her mother. She’d checked out and stopped looking at those yesterday.

Maybe Reed was having to work late.

She checked the clock on the microwave, and it said 9:15.

Maybe her text hadn’t gone through earlier. Sasha set the paintbrush into the cup of paint and then checked her text thread with Reed.

After her shift, she’d texted him,I had the best day! I even made a friend, I think. I was thinking, you do all this nice stuff for me, but I don’t know what you like. You’ve brought me grape soda, and coffee, and cleaned the entire road for me. What do you like? Brownies? Four-course meals? I can make jerky. Do you like jerky? You shouldn’t be the only one doing nice things. How is work going?

He hadn’t responded, but it showed that he’d read it.

Maybe he’d thought he messaged her back, but had gotten busy and then forgotten. She did that sometimes.

Hey Hot Reed Lizard Boy. You might already be asleep since you woke up at the butt-crack of dawn, but I just wanted to say hello, hi, heyooo. I hope you had the best day today!Send.

She stared at the text for a full two minutes before she gave up on a response and set the phone down, feeling confused. He’d been so attentive and had seemed interested.

But…

When it came down to it, they barely knew each other.

Sure, he’d kissed her, and flirted, and done nice stuff for her, but she didn’t have any right to feel this confused this early. They weren’t even dating.

“Be cool,” she murmured to herself.

But the insecurities were creeping in. Maybe she was too much. That sounded about right. Her ex had said that a lot.

Okay. Okay! She picked up her cup of medium brown and went back to painting along the edges of the living room. It was so close to done. She just needed to focus on herself, and building this life.

She was already having complicated feelings, and was being too sensitive to the changes in his responsiveness.

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