Page 18 of All Autumn
“There’s nothing he can say that I want to hear.” You would think, considering what my mother had dealt with for most of her marriage, that she’d be helping me toss Brian out the door. She was, after all, a master at showing my father the door.
She tugged on my arm. “Sit down, honey, and let’s have a civil lunch and conversation.”
I looked from my mother to Brian—who wore an air of confidence that he’d get pesky little me back in line—and decided love was off the table for me. That particular emotion wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. If there was any proof of that, it was my mom and dad’s relationship. From now on it was going to be all fun and games. Without saying another word, I collected my purse. If Mom wanted to have a nice visit with The Cheater, she was welcome to him.
“Autumn, just hear him out. That’s all I’m asking,” my mother said as she followed me outside.
I turned and faced her. “Why? So he can sweet-talk his way back into my good graces like Dad does with you? I can’t do it. You of all people should understand that. In fact, if you cared a lick about my happiness, you’d be telling me to run from him as far and as fast as I can.” I looked into her eyes and saw that she didn’t get it, that she never would.
“Men can’t help themselves, Autumn. It’s just the way they’re built. Brian’s always been good to you, and you’re the one he loves.”
“So that makes him cheating on me excusable? Maybe that kind of thinking is good enough for you, but it sure as hell isn’t for me.” I left before she could say more.
As a mother she should be doing everything in her power to ensure that her daughter didn’t repeat her mistakes. That she didn’t see that hurt more than anything Brian could do to me.
Back home, I buried myself in the plans for the remodel of the country club. I was done feeling sorry for myself, and I was done being sad over the breakup of my marriage. If nothing else, the little lunch episode had made me see the light. A new and improved Autumn Archer had been born.
Connor had calledbefore I left for the lunch that never happened, telling me he wanted to stop by this evening, that he had a surprise for me. All Connor had seen of me this past week was a crazy woman. One minute angry and defiant, and in the next, a weepy, depressed mess who favored her oldest pair of yoga pants and ratty T-shirts.
The new Autumn shaved her legs for the first time in seven days, put on makeup, and dumped the poor-pitiful-me clothes in favor of skinny jeans and a pale blue sweater. She also decided to make Connor’s favorite meal, a big fat cheeseburger and fries.
He’d been so good to me this past week, and I didn’t know how I’d have managed without him. The doorbell rang, and with it, my heart did a little bounce.
10
~ Connor ~
“Hey. . .” My voice trailed off as the door opened fully, revealing a very different Autumn from what I was used to seeing the past week. “Um, you look nice.” Real nice, and I particularly liked that blue sweater. And not because it hugged her breasts. Nope, I wasn’t even looking there. Mostly.
“Hey back.” She stepped aside to let me come in just as Beauregard gave an excited bark. I think he recognized her voice from the times she’d played with him. Her eyes widened, and then she leaned forward, peeking around the doorframe. “You borrow one of Jenn and Dylan’s puppies to come for a visit?”
Not exactly. I picked up the carrier. “Do you know which one this is?”
She took the carrier out of my hand, and as soon as I closed the door behind me, she let the puppy out. Dylan had rescued Daisy from the streets, not learning until later that she was pregnant. Daisy was a full-blooded black Labrador. Her vet guessed that the puppies’ father was a German shepherd mix.
“It’s Beauregard,” she exclaimed as the puppy pranced around her feet, yipping for attention. “Hey, Beau. How’s my best guy?” She picked him up, letting him lick her chin.
Jenn had told me that Beau was Autumn’s favorite of the bunch. I’d had some doubts about my plan driving over, but seeing the two of them together, maybe Autumn would be happy that Beauregard was now hers.
Beau was the closest in color to his mother, almost black, but with a reddish tint and longer fur than Daisy. He’d been named Beauregard after the bull Dylan had found and returned to its owner, and that was a story the town’s residents still talked about.
I followed the two of them into the living room—Autumn giggling and Beau doing his best to clean her neck with his tongue—and settled on the sofa. Autumn sat at the opposite end with Beau on her lap.
It was great seeing her laughing and looking like the Autumn I’d known before Brian broke her heart. What had changed between yesterday and tonight? For all my effort not to, and for all the talks I’d given myself over the past week, I was still thinking dirty thoughts of her.
But I didn’t do girlfriends. Not after seeing how broken Adam had been after Savannah left. I would never let a woman rip my heart out like that. And even if Autumn was interested in having a little fun, she was still married. I didn’t touch married women, even separated ones. I dated a lot, but I didn’t play in my backyard, another reason Autumn was off-limits.
Dating local women when you lived in a small town tended to get messy, especially if the relationship ended badly. The whole damn town thought they were entitled to put their nosy noses into your business, and when they took sides, no good could come of it. Although I had nothing to compare them to, Blue Ridge Valley being the only place I’d lived, it wouldn’t surprise me if someone did a study that proved our denizens were the number one nosiest residents on the planet.
After giving the puppy a few minutes to calm down, I said, “What’s new?” The question was an invitation for Autumn to clue me in to the change in her since I’d seen her last night when I’d dropped by with a pizza. I’d taken to doing that each evening, knowing that if I didn’t come by, some kind of food in hand, and sit with her, she wouldn’t eat.
After she told me about Brian showing up at lunch and her mother begging her to listen to him, I pushed my ass deeper into her sofa to keep from storming out the door. First I’d find Brian. I was normally an easygoing guy, but I’d like to see him missing a few front teeth, courtesy of my fists. As for her mother, I wanted to give that woman a tongue lashing. Considering all that Melinda Archer had lived through since marrying Ray, you’d think the woman would love her daughter enough to not want to see Autumn repeat her mistakes.
“So I had this epiphany,” Autumn said, bringing my attention back to her. “I’m not meant for love or marriage. My parents made sure of that, considering they suck at being role models for a happy marriage. Because of them, I have lousy judgment in men, witness Brian. But since I like sex, I’m only going to have affairs from now on.” She gave me an entirely pleased-with-herself grin.
I about swallowed my tongue while somehow managing not to stick my hand in the air, eagerly waving it to volunteer for sex with Autumn. “You don’t mean that,” I said, wincing at how angry my voice sounded at the thought of any man touching her.
“Oh, but I do. I’ve been trying to think of who should be my first, but what are my choices here? Hamburger Harry is way too old and Dylan’s taken, but maybe Tommy Evans? A cop in uniform is kind of sexy, and he’s single.” She scrunched her eyebrows together. “Probably not a good idea to troll for guys around here. Everyone would know about it within minutes if I spent the night with Tommy.” She smiled brightly at me. “I should go to Asheville for the weekend, see what cute guys they have.”
