Page 67 of Despite It All
“What the hell is going on?” my dad yells from behind me.
Matt scrabbles up off the ground. “He just assaulted me.”
“Oh, really?” my dad asks, stepping up beside Jett. “Graham, Owen, did you see that?”
“No, sir,” Owen says as they both step around behind Matt.
“Didn’t see a thing,” Graham adds.
Matt looks around at the men now surrounding him. “Figures,” he mutters, and spits some blood from his busted lip to the side.
“I think it’s time for you to go. Graham, Owen, make sure he finds his way back to his car.” My dad nods at Jett. “Your daughter wants you.”
Jett’s shoulders relax and unclenches his fists. “I’ll be right there.”
“I know you will.” My dad turns around and gives me a kiss to the head as he heads back inside the house.
As my brothers-in-law escort Matt back to his car, Jett turns to me and cups my face. “Are you okay, baby?”
“You hit him,” I mutter, still stunned.
His shoulders slump slightly. “Yeah, I did. I know you work with the guy, Wy, but I couldn’t let—”
A surprise laugh escapes me. “You hit him, hit him.” I bring my hand up to cover my laugh, I shouldn’t be laughing right now, but with how much of an asshole Matt has been these past two weeks, it was damn good to see him get knocked down a peg. “In front of my dad.”
Jett pulls me in for a tight hug and chuckles. “I think it earned me brownie points.”
I hear Matt’s tires squeal as he peels out of my driveway, and my brothers-in-law head back to us.
Owen claps Jett’s back. “I didn’t know you were a lefty.”
“Looks like that shoulder injury didn’t do too much damage,” Graham adds, and alarm bells go off in my head.
“Oh my gosh, babe, your shoulder! Is it okay?” I pull back so I can look at him. The babe slips out of me before I even realize it, but he doesn’t care.
Jett smiles at me. “It’s fine, Wy.” He plants a small kiss on my forehead. “Let’s go inside. In case you hadn’t noticed, I invited your whole family over for dinner.”
Chapter 20
If it isn’t perfectly clear, I’m fucking gone for Wyla Bennett.
Chapter 21
“Because I want to savor it when you do.”
Those words have been on repeat in my head since Jett whispered them. There have been countless times the question has danced on the tip of my tongue since.
I want to scream it. Demand it. But then, I don’t. Part of me needs to see that him leaving tonight won’t be the end. The fact that he gets on a plane going to the opposite side of the country in less than ten hours makes me want to vomit.
And as much as I would like to say distance isn’t a factor, it is. I don’t want to move to Seattle and Jett doesn’t want to move here either. Not full time, at least. It’s not physically possible for him to live here and still play.
I stare out the car window as we go over the Board River bridge. We’re headed back to Aster Creek after spending the weekend visiting Jett’s parents in Charleston.
We headed out Friday morning, and I was nothing but a ball of nerves on the drive over. I wasn’t entirely sure how they would react to the girl who skipped out on their son then had his baby with no way of telling him, but they were so welcoming and adored Stevie…and I mean who wouldn’t? And by this morning, Stevie was calling them Nana and Pop.
Rose and Stevie were fast friends, for sure, especially after their name bonding. And Stevie was over the moon when Jett’s dad, Vance, took her to the little pond they have in their subdivision to feed the ducks.
Vance is also an early riser so most mornings Stevie would slink out of the bed when he’d turn on the stereo a couple volumes too loud and help him make breakfast. I’ve gotten used to the early mornings so I usually followed her down and sip on some coffee watching the two sing together. After hearing Mr. Ellison’s singing, I think I get why Jett isn’t karaoke’s biggest fan.
