Page 47 of Side Hustle
“Proud of you for speaking up,” I offered, not daring to look at her and soften further.
She huffed out a breath. “Too late and not enough,” she muttered so low I wasn’t sure I heard her correctly. We came alongside my old truck and she stopped, spinning to face me, her hand still on my arm. “Rip. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for not standing up to him a long time ago.”
Her tired eyes pleaded with me to forgive her. I clamped my teeth together and begged my heart not to give in so easily.
“Did you know how bad it was for me growing up?”
She winced and the satisfaction was fleeting. I looked closer. Behind the tired eyes was a wound as deep as mine. One she never let me see growing up. For the first time I considered how life had been for her, married to an asshole who cheated on her and beat her only son.
She swallowed hard and nodded once. “He promised to do worse to us both if I ever said anything. My silence was the only way I could protect you. I’m sorry, son.”
Her eyes filled with tears and she reached up to pat my cheek with her soft hand.
And then she was gone and I was left with a cloud of her perfume, reminding me of the only soft and welcome memories from my childhood.
18
Rip
“Rip!”
I turned, my gaze finally leaving the spot where I saw my mother turn the corner, probably on her way to the police station to check on my father. Hazel ran down the sidewalk, her dark hair streaming behind her like even the strands on her own head couldn’t keep up with her. I knew the feeling.
“Hey. Everything okay?” she asked, obvious concern on her face.
My grin stopped her in her tracks, eyes wide and hopeful. “Actually, yeah. I’m great. Better than I’ve been in a long while.”
And I wasn’t even lying. Confronting my father, getting the truth out there publicly, and bridging the gap with my mother were all huge steps. Ones that lightened the load on my shoulders. I felt a bit shaky, like I was on newborn legs, but I felt good.
Hazel didn’t give me any warning, just leaped into my arms and tried to squeeze the life out of my neck. “I’m so happy for you,” she whispered.
Someone on the street let out a wolf whistle at the sight of Hazel’s legs wrapped around my waist. The birds called out their song from the tree above us. The smell of bacon wafted out each time someone opened the door to Forty-Diner. Life was happening all around me, and for the first time in as long as I could remember, I felt like I was part of it.
“Get a room!” Poppy yelled at us as she got back in her mail truck.
Hazel flipped her the middle finger and Poppy just cackled and winked at us.
“Hey.” I pushed her hair behind her ear and tried to talk around the joy bubbling up inside me. “Want to get that breakfast now?”
Hazel beamed back at me. “I do. But only so I have the energy to take you back to your place and pay you back for the wake-up this morning.”
Fuck. Now I had a boner right here on Main Street. I kissed her, making myself pull back almost as soon as our lips touched. If I lingered too long, I’d wrestle her down to the sidewalk right then and there, getting arrested for public indecency. And I really didn’t want to share a jail cell with my father.
“You know what?” I suddenly didn’t want to play it safe. I wanted to try something spontaneous and ridiculous. Something that would keep the smile on my face all day long. “Let’s get breakfast to go and celebrate. I want to have a Hazel day.”
Her brown eyes twinkled at me as she laughed. Her fingers absentmindedly twirled through my hair. “A what?”
I set her down from me and grabbed her hand, tugging her toward the diner. “A Hazel day. Let’s go do something crazy.”
Hazel squealed and I promised myself to do more Hazel days just to see the happiness on her face.
“Like what?” she asked breathlessly.
I came to a stop right outside the door to the diner. The gears in my brain were turning slowly. Damn things were rusty from lack of spontaneous use. I’d have to practice to get better at it. And then I had it.
“Skinny-dipping, maybe a bonfire to keep warm, a picnic at the beach, and we’ll see from there. What do you say?”
Hazel squished my cheeks together with her hands and went up on tiptoe to kiss me. “I say hell yes!”
