Page 61 of Tempt

“She is strong,” I look up to find both Gran and Rose looking at me. “She is stubborn and opinionated, and she has no problem telling me exactly how awful I failed at parenting,” I narrow my eyes at her.

How dare she.

“Ma, the amazing woman she’s become, that’s all you.” Rose breathes in deep. “You gave her everything I couldn’t and more, and I’m grateful she had you and still does. I just hope that one day, she’ll be able to look at me without disgust and the starting point is for me to stop pretending that I can get clean on my own.”

I want to believe her, I truly do.

“We’ll call tomorrow,” Gran tells her and Rose nods, as they once again embrace one another. I walk toward my room, needing some space. Part of me feels guilty that I said the things I did, maybe I was too hard on her. But another part, and even bigger part is thankful that one of us has finally gotten through to her.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-FIVE

Garrett

“Hi,”I say as I walk into Sugarland and look around, trying not to make things obvious.

“She’s not here,” Casey says, and I pause only a few feet away from the front counter. “Neither is Gran. They came in early to get things ready so I could operate on my own for the day.”

“Is everything okay?”

“It will be, I think,” she adds, leaning her hip against the counter. “They’ve got some things to work through, but I believe they’ve turned a corner.”

I’m not sure what to say. So, I only nod my head like I know exactly what she is talking about.

“Well,” I place the Latte I’d brought for Kyra on the counter, “then this is for you.”

Leaning in, she picks it up and lifts it to her lips taking a sip. “Mmm,” she hums with a smile. “What an unexpected treat,” she adds, licking her lower lip and I quickly look away.

“Well, have a great day.” I offer as I start to back away.

“I’ll tell Kyra you stopped by.”

“Sounds good,” I offer a wave and push open the door, stepping out into the morning air. Taking in a deep breath, I look up to the sky and feel even further away from Kyra than I had a few days ago.

The distance seems to grow wider and wider with time, and it's eating away at me.

I know she needs to work on her life with her mom. I know it's a complicated situation and I don’t know from one day to the next what the next move is. Or what it should be.

Sometimes I wonder if she and I will ever get back to the place we were.

* * *

I throw another bundle of shingles over my shoulder and start up the ladder. The sun beating down on my back makes it feel even hotter.

Reaching the roof, I toss the bundle up and over, before climbing onto the peak.

“I got it,” Landon hollers, sliding it forward and cutting open the wrapping. Immediately the two of us get to work scattering out the shingles and laying them in place.

The two of us work side by side like a well-oiled machine. I don’t mind doing a job with Landon, he’s fast paced, much like I am, and he doesn’t need two breaks an hour like a lot of the crew guys.

Working weekends for me has become a thing. Staying busy is better than sitting at home worrying.

After my visit to Sugarland this morning and not knowing what in the hell is going on, I need something to occupy my thoughts.

Two hours in and Landon and I had the job half completed. We are just about to call it lunch when his phone starts ringing, and he pulls it from his back pocket.

“Yeah,” he says, pinning it between his ear and shoulder so he can tack the last shingle in place.

Only he leans back, and I watch as his face goes slack.

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