Page 74 of Make Me Crazy (Loco, Texas 2)

Silence stretched again until he softly said, “Well, that’s, ehem, good.”

“Yeah, I guess it is.” She could feel her blood boil inside, the flames of humiliation and anger making her skin burn. “Is it kids in general you want to avoid or just with me?”

“It has nothing to do with you. It’s just a personal preference. People don’t stay together or stick around, and I just don’t want to bring a kid into that.”

“And that’s everyone, right? Cause Red’s mom and dad haven’t been together for thirty plus years or have five perfectly sane kids.” Sarcasm oozed out with her words and she was beyond caring. All her hopes that Jake was really with her, that he felt the same way she did, had been dashed with his stupidity.

“Look there are exceptions to every rule, but you and I both know the reality. Parents don’t stay together, and some even leave. Divorce, separation, abandonment. I don’t want it for mine.”

It killed her, destroyed every ounce of her pride to ask, but she had to know. “Is that where we’re headed, Jake? When that year is up, are we going to be done?”

His hands slipped through the short strands of his hair before he answered. “I don’t know, Rand. I’ve been taking one day at a time, seeing how things go.”

“But you don’t really think this is going anywhere, right? This is just a fun little experiment for you.”

His whole demeanor turned defensive as he snapped. “What about you? Weren’t you just using me as a test subject until you found someone who suited your wants and needs? I’m used to being that guy, but let’s not pretend this hasn’t been just about you finally getting your rocks off.”

Rand had never been a delicate flower, but she’d also never been a brawler either. She had no idea she had swung her fist and caught Jake right on his chin until she was cradling her throbbing fist, staring at Jake’s surprised face.

“Get out.” She snarled, squinting her eyes to keep the tears at bay.

A dark scowl marred his handsome face, a face that only an hour before had been filled with tenderness. “Gladly.”

He spun away from her and walked out of the bedroom, the front door slamming behind him. Choking on her grief, she flung herself on the bed and lost it. Cries escaped with each wracking sob, and for the third time in her life, she felt like her world had been ripped apart at the seams. Her mother. Her grandfather. And now she’d lost Jake too.

Chapter Eighteen

Rand had gotten up to feed and gone right back to bed. She’d skipped the spaghetti feed, telling Jamie to let everyone know she didn’t feel good. By the time Thursday night rolled around, the whole town was abuzz that the newlyweds had gotten into some kind of row and were no longer living together.

Rand was curled up on the couch with a plate of nachos, Scout hanging over her shoulder, both watching the movie Serenity, when Red came walking through the door.

Rand glared at him. “What happened to your new knocking habit? I was growing fond of it.”

“I came by to check on you.” Red’s narrowed gaze drifted from the nachos to her disheveled, puffy appearance. “I’m going to kick his ass and drop him in the swamp. He’s gator food.”

Rand set her nachos down on the coffee table and promptly burst into tears. She felt Red’s weight on the couch before he wrapped her up against him. “Honestly, I told him that if he hurt you, we were going to have it out.”

She sniffled and hiccuped. “He’s your best friend.”

“So are you.” He squeezed her.

“You like him better,” she argued.

“No, I fight with him less, but I share more with you.” He nudged her and she looked up at his smiling face, “You’re the glue, Rand. Jake and I could have ended up not being friends after that thing with Candace Seasons in eighth grade.”

Rand snorted. “You were both being idiots.”

“Yeah, but if it hadn’t been for you, we might not all be friends. And let’s be honest, you know if that fight had gone the other way, you would have taken my side.”

She smiled. “At this point I’m going to go with yes.”

“But not just because Jake is acting like a giant douche right?” Red said it teasingly.

“No, not just because of that,” she said, her laugh sounding slightly soggy.

Silence stretched between them for a minute before Red asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”

She laid her head against the back of the couch. “No.”

---