Page 3 of Accidentally Falling
For the first couple of years after I learned his name, I didn’t look.
Knowing his name had been enough.
But curiosity got the best of me, and not just for my biological father but mysister.I’d always wanted one, but my mother had never married or even dated seriously enough for that to be a possibility.
Emotions warred inside me over the risk of being rejected by one or both of them. Still, I couldn’t stop the hope that fluttered through my veins at the thought of getting to meet them.
Knowing them.
And filling the void that had started as a grain of sand-sized hole in my heart that only got bigger over time.
I imagined it all.
The only thing I never anticipated was the reunion of my mother and Evan Mills after she moved back to Blackstone Falls.
Or that after several weeks of flowers being sent and coffee being had, my mother would not only finally accept his offer of a date but that they’d continue to date.
For weeks.
Months at this point.
Two and counting…
Resulting in the fact that I’m now sitting in my mother’s bedroom helping her pick out clothes for a romantic weekend away.
With my father.
“You can’t be serious,” I exclaim as my mother holds up a little black dress that we both know looks great on her. She blessedly hasn’t pulled out the lingerie.
I’ll be scarred for life and there’ll be no recovering from it.
“I thought you liked him,” my mother says casually, the slightest blush painting her cheeks as she carefully folds it and places it in her bag. Monroe James doesn’t blush.
Ugh.
“I’m getting to know him still.”
“So am I,” she says, smoothing down the floral dress as she checks her reflection in the mirror. “He has regrets and so do I, but he made the best choice he could at the time.” My mother huffs, “Lord knows his wife made him pay for it.”
“But—”
“You have the itinerary with the reservations and you did that little tracking thing on my phone, which I think is overkill but makes you feel better so I’ll deal with it.” She mutters the last part under her breath, and when did I become the parent here?
“Fine. Go and have fun with Evan.”
“It’ll all work out. You’ll see,” she says with a sweet smile as she presses a kiss to my forehead.
I want to believe her but sometimes life is messy.
Very messy.
2
JUDE
“Imade you an appointment,” Deacon says, his voice firm as he crosses his arms over his barrel chest. My brother may be younger than me but that has no bearing on the fact that he’s just as big an ox as I am.
“For…” I ask, letting my drawl seep into the single word.
