Page 5 of The One I Want
“Two,” Jake says as he comes back into the room. “Cade is still in college. Then there’s Wes. But he’s married with kids. And you don’t seem like a homewrecker.”
“He’s also a player on the Fury, so he’s up in Nashville,” Whitley explains. The only reason I know what the Fury are is because Whitley’s brother is the head coach of the team. That’s about the extent of my football knowledge. That and the men look hot as fuck in those pants. “But the whole married thing might not be accurate anymore. I heard his wife asked for a divorce after he announced his retirement last week. He got home and she was waiting for him with papers. Just left him and the kids.”
“What?” Damn, that’s cold.
“Yup. None of the other wives liked her, so no one is sad to see her go. All of that is coming straight from my sister-in-law, so I know it’s the real deal.”
Wow. And I think I’m in for a life transition. I can’t imagine just being left like that.
“Well, even if the Taylor sons are a no go, I have everything I need right now,” I say. “This is the start of my new future.”
I head to the kitchen to start putting away dishes. But not before taking one look around my new place. I know it’s just a rental, but it feels like home. Maybe because it’s the first big thing I’ve ever written a check for. Maybe because it was the first time I’ve written a check. Either way, this feels right. This feels like what I’m supposed to be doing.
Then again, I said that about the two months I was a criminal justice major, so who knows.
Chapter3
Wes
I’ve always felta sense of comfort when pulling into the driveway of the home I grew up in. I don’t know what it is about seeing my childhood home, where my parents still live, that warms my soul when I need it the most.
Especially now.
It’s been a little more than a month since Cara left. She called the first night to tell the kids goodnight. When they asked when she was coming back, she played it off and didn’t give them a direct answer. My two youngest bought it. Emerson, my oldest, gave me a look like she knew exactly what her mother was saying without her saying it. Granted, she’s eleven going on thirty, so that didn’t surprise me.
Before she hung up, she asked to talk to me without the kids in the room. I thought maybe it was because she wanted to talk in a calmer setting. Instead, she wanted to know if I signed and returned the papers acknowledging that I’d received her petition for divorce.
I put them in the mail the next day and immediately called my lawyer. I told him I wanted the fastest divorce possible in the state of Tennessee.
I can count on one hand how many times the kids have talked to her since she left. Sometimes I don’t think they’re phased by it. Then there are the nights I hear them crying in their beds. I try to comfort them, but what do you say? How do you tell a child that their mother, who is supposed to love you unconditionally, just didn’t want to be a mother anymore?
Luckily, I’ve had my mom with me for a good part of the past month. Between my football schedule, and just needing help keeping them fed and alive, she has been a God send. It’s also how we ended up in Rolling Hills for trick-or-treat. She told them that there was better candy down here. That was all the evidence my kids needed to request Halloween in my hometown.
I didn’t protest though. Rolling Hills Halloween is the best. I loved trick-or-treating here as a kid. Every house had good candy—none of that pencil or toothbrush shit. Parents can walk the streets with their friends while their kids run up to the next house.
It’s perfect. It’s exactly what we need.
All of us.
“I hope I get Reese’s,” my youngest, Magnolia, says.
“You’re allergic to peanuts,” Emerson points out. “You can’t eat them.”
“Ugh,” Magnolia groans. “But they look so good!”
“I’ll take them from you,” Hank says. My middle child is never one to turn down a sweet. “In fact, all the candy you think is gross I’ll take.”
“Daddy!” Magnolia yells. “Hank is going to take my candy!”
I turn off the car and look back at my son. “Hank. Your sister gets first dibs on her candy. Magnolia, you can’t eat certain candies, so Hank willonlytake those. Is that fair?”
Hank does a whispered “yes” with a fist pump while Magnolia crosses her arms in a pout. I have to hold back a chuckle. She’s the cutest damn pouting Rapunzel I’ve ever seen.
“Now, what’s the rules about trick or treating?”
“Say thank you!” Hank yells.
“Very good. Magnolia? What’s another rule?”
