Page 62 of My Mistake To Make

‘Damn, you’re good at this. That almost made my kitty purr.’

A couple of months ago, I wouldn’t have even got that joke. Now, I laugh and realize that being here with a real true friend is the warm hug I so desperately need.

We check into our room, change into swimwear and robes and head down to the spa. The jacuzzi is empty, so we make a beeline straight for it and sink happily into the bubbling water.

‘So, you want to tell me what this is all about?’ Missy asks after a while, and I shrug.

‘I just needed to get away for a while.’

‘Because…’

‘Because…’ I take a deep breath. ‘Something happened with Doug.’

Missy looks around us before sliding closer on the seat, her wide glee-filled eyes intense as she seeks out gossip.

‘Did you fuck him?’ God, she’s so excited that I almost want to say yes. Instead, I bat tears from my eyes as I tell her what actually happened and await her response.

‘I’m going to kick his ass. You know that, right? I’m coming back to Forest Falls with you, and I’m going to lodge my stiletto wearing foot firmly up his stupid ass.’

I can’t help but laugh. She’s so good for the soul.

‘I just feel like an idiot. I mean, it was nothing, not really. God, the girls I went to school with were getting fingered multiple times a week by spotty teenage boys, but it just felt significant—it felt intimate. It was the most intimate moment of my life, and he just left.’

‘You’re not an idiot, Cara. I get it.’ She squeezes my bicep lightly. ‘Also, props for saying fingered without flinching.’ I laugh again.

‘Oh, Missy. Why do you have to live so far away?’ I pout. I really do wish she was closer.

‘Well, if Forest Falls had a hair salon where I could get a job, I could move, but the ladies there are happy driving an hour for their blowouts, apparently.’

‘Really, you would move?’

‘I can’t live where I can’t work, Cara.’

I start to consider it. Doris told me to invest and find something to do with my days, and maybe I just did.

The spa was incredible.Unfortunately, we had to cut the stay short when Missy’s ex called to say her son wanted his mom. She explained that he only got that way when his dad got bored of taking care of him and started suggesting that they call her to come to get him. I could have stayed the second night as planned, but I decided to drive home instead.

As I drive up to the house, my heart starts to hammer inside my chest. He said I could move in, so I wanted to check that before packing up the cabin, but now the thought of seeing him makes me want to throw up.

I reach the drive and pull to a stop just as Doug walks around the side of the house carrying some wood—his tool belt hung low on his hips but, thankfully, a shirt on. His steps falter a little as he notices my car, and I hesitate before climbing out.Then I notice that he’s put the wood down and is looking around anxiously, flicking his attention between me and the house.

‘I thought you weren’t back until tomorrow,’ he says, stepping toward me, and I swallow hard as I walk toward the house.

‘Change of plan.’

‘It’s just, well, I…’

‘Daddy, I need to pee.’

The little voice coming from my porch causes Doug’s shoulders to drop and his head to hang a little.Daddy?He has a child… how did I not know that?

‘Cara, I’m sorry. I had nobody else to watch her today.’

I hear the regret in his tone—he feels guilty for having his daughter at the house. The daughter now stomping toward me.

‘Who are you?’ she asks sweetly, and I can’t help but smile—she’s so cute. She looks up at me with big brown eyes, her two little pigtail plaits in her brown hair, a pretty contrast to her grass-stained jeans and t-shirt.

‘Bo, manners,’ Doug says firmly, and she holds out her little hand to me.

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