Wife Me Bad Boy (49 page)

Wasn’t that what Jackson would do?

That had been six months ago. He tried his best to hide the bullying from me, but when I saw it, it was heartbreaking. How could kids be so cruel? How could their parents allow them to be that way?

I put my hand on his lap as I drove. He took hold of my hand.

“We’re going to a movie tonight,” I said.

“Really?”

“Yes. And then we’re going for sundaes.”

“Mom. You don’t have to spoil me.”

“I’m not spoiling you. It’s for me as much as it is for you. We both deserve a treat, once in a while.”

“Want to eat popcorn for dinner?” he said.

I looked at him. I knew he was being strong for my benefit as much as his own. Eleven years old and he was already more of a man than some guys ever got.

“Oh, we’ll eat popcorn, but not for dinner. For dinner, we’re going to Harry’s.” Harry’s was Sam’s favorite diner.

“Mom, stop looking after me.”

“Stop looking after you? Do you know it’s my job to look after you?”

“I’m almost twelve years old mom.”

“So?”

“So that means I’m almost a man.”

I pulled into the Harry’s parking lot, stopped the car, and hugged my little son so hard I thought I might crush him. “You’re absolutely right, you know. You are a man. You’re a fine young man. But you’re also my baby, and you always will be, even when you’re six feet tall. And I’ll always look after you.”

He hugged me back so tight I felt his little arms quiver. Why did God give us something we loved this much? It was almost unbearable. I felt as if my heart would break if those little assholes at his school hurt him one more time.

“All right,” he said. “Let’s get some burgers. We can put this day behind us.”

Chapter 36

Jackson

“I
DON’T WANT TO KNOW
where you disappeared to last night,” Grant said.

I looked at him but I didn’t answer.

“I know that look, Jackson.”

“You don’t know shit, Grant.”

“Grady, Forrester, tell me this boy ain’t going soft on us.”

The four of us had just plowed one of the lower fields in my father’s vineyard. It was on the valley bed, which meant it was full of rock and gravel. It was work better suited to oxen and draft horses than men. It was real hard work. My hands were blistered, my back was burned, and my shirt was drenched in sweat. I was grateful to them for taking the day to help me out. I was taking over the vineyard from Grant, he was ready to move on to a new project, but between the farm and the house there was more work than I could handle alone. They knew I was trying to fix the place up for Faith so they were happy to pitch in.

I took my shirt off and threw it over the back of the truck. Grady opened the icebox and pulled out four beers.

“It was right in the back of this truck here that it happened,” I said.

The others nodded. When we were younger, we used to recount our sexual exploits with each other. Now that we were men we did it less often. Only when it was something out of the ordinary. I’d been playing coy all day and they wanted to know what was up.

“I can’t imagine waiting twelve years for one girl and then finally being reunited with her,” Grady said.

Grant, Grady and Forrester were all single, all confirmed bachelors, all still skeptical of the idea of true love.

I knew better.

“Ain’t it ever happened to one of you?” I said. “Ain’t you ever just found a girl and
known
she was the one? Known it like a bullet in the chest?”

“Never let it,” Forrester said.

“Life’s too short,” Grady said.

I shook my head. There was a time when I would have agreed with them. I’d have one-hundred-percent agreed with them, right down to the very core of my being. When I was younger, I’d rather have lost my cock than give it up to any one woman. But that all ended with Faith. That girl had me good, and she had me since the moment she first set eyes on me. I couldn’t ever get her out of my heart, and if I could have, I wouldn’t have wanted to. She was my purpose now. My very soul. Without Faith, there could be no Jackson. Not after all we’d been through for each other.

Not after she’d given me a son, a son I still had to meet.

“Grant,” I said. “Come on. You must have fallen hard for a woman at some point in your life.”

Grant shook his head. He wasn’t trying to give me a hard time. He wasn’t trying to pretend that being a lone wolf was better than finding true love. All he was saying was that it hadn’t ever happened to him.

“I never met a girl that amazed me so much I thought I should give up all the other women in the world for her,” he said.

“Shit,” I said. “Maybe I am getting soft.”

“Look,” Grady said. “Don’t let us knuckleheads get to you. You’ve found what we’re all still searching for. We’re all talk. If any one of us found a love like what you have with Faith, we’d give up everything for her, just like you have.”

I nodded.

“Shit, you’ve still got Sam to meet,” Forrester said. “You’re going to love that little kid. He’s as stubborn as you, Jackson.”

I let out a long sigh. I was dying to see Sam. I’d been dying to see him his entire life, and I was nervous of what he’d think of me. I mean, I didn’t even know if Faith had ever told him about me. Who’d he think his father was? What was he hoping for?

“I thought it was nice when Faith named him after your father,” Grady said.

“I did too,” I said. “I did too.”

The other three looked at me, then looked at each other, then burst out laughing.

“You’re getting
really
sentimental in your old age, Jackson,” Forrester said.

“Shut up.”

“Is that a tear in your eye?” Grady said.

“Fuck you guys,” I said, joining them in laughter.

“All you need is to go back down to the Rusty Nail tonight, and you’ll be right as rain,” Forrester said. “Hell, lets all go. There’ll be some tail there tonight. I’ll bet dollars to donuts all four of us will get our socks blown.”

They were teasing me. They knew there was no way in hell I’d get with another woman, but I played along.

“Sure, let’s get finished up here and go for a few drinks. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”

“It’s like you’ve been in prison,” Grady said. “You know the guys who go in for a long stint, come out changed men. Found Jesus. You need to get out and get good and drunk with your brothers, Jackson. We’ll set you straight.”

I nodded. I loved those guys. I’d have given my life for them. They’d have done the same for me. The years away had done nothing to lessen the bond between us.

Then I thought of Faith. That moment when my cock slid into her soaking wet pussy. That was
something
. That was something real.

“Grant,” I said.

“What is it, little man?”

“How was Lacey last night?”

“She was pretty quiet. Knocked back a few shots like she had something on her mind. Why do you ask?”

“I don’t know, I’ve just been worried about her.”

“She’s going through something with that guy she’s dating.”

“The secret guy?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I’d like to know what’s going on, but if she wants to keep her love life private, that’s up to her.”

“All right,” I said. “Just, keep an eye on her.”

Grant nodded. “Don’t worry, she’ll be fine. She always is. She’s been let down by jerk offs before. We never get involved. She and Faith can handle it.”

Chapter 37

Faith

“W
HAT DID YOU THINK?”
I said to Sam. We were sitting in a booth at the ice cream place by the theater.

“I
loved
it, mom.”

“What did you like best?”

He looked up at me and thought about his answer.

“I liked the way the boy looked after himself. He knew he could beat the bad guys. All he had to do was train.”

“I liked that part too,” I said. I didn’t say that the kid in the movie had a father to help him. That it was his father’s mentorship that made all the difference in the world.

“Did you like the part where the dad showed him how to defend himself?” Sam said.

“I did like that part,” I said.

The waitress came over and asked what we were having. Sam looked at me.

“Go ahead,” I said. “Order whatever you like. No limits.”

“No limits?”

I nodded. He scanned down the menu, which was cute because I knew exactly what he was going to order. We’d been coming to this place his entire life and he always had the same thing.

“Hot caramel fudge sundae with cream and a cherry,” he said.

The waitress took down his order. “And for you?” she said to me.

“Just a coffee,” I said.

She left and Sam looked up at me, his big, bright eyes like two stars in the heavens. I was spoiling him. He’d had hamburgers, popcorn, now ice cream. It wasn’t good for him, but being bullied at school wasn’t good for him either.

“Have you been thinking about what sport you’d like to sign up for?” I said.

Boy’s liked sports. It helped them make friends. Sam had enjoyed baseball when he was younger. Soccer too. He was an active kid. It was just recently that he’d become more withdrawn. He seemed to have lost his confidence. And I didn’t know how to help him find it again.

He shook his head. “All the mean kids are in sports,” he said. “I think I’d rather steer clear of them, at least for now.”

I nodded. I didn’t want to pressure him. Tonight was about being kind, helping him find his feet after a difficult day. We’d deal with his real issues another time.

The waitress arrived with the sundae and my coffee.

“Holy cow,” Sam said.

He always said that. No matter how many times he got that sundae, it never ceased to amaze him. I poured a little cream into my coffee and gave it a stir. I looked up at my son.

“I love you, you know.”

He smiled, more interested in the ice cream than his mother’s sentimentality. “I love you too, mom.”

My phone beeped. It was a text message from Lacey. It said, “I fucking love you so much.”

I wasn’t sure what to make of it. Lacey was probably drinking wine. I knew I should call her. “Honey,” I said, “I’m just going to call Lacey.”

“Okay, mom.”

I dialed Lacey’s number but she didn’t answer. I thought that was a little strange since she’d just texted but it wasn’t a huge deal. I sent her a text back. “I love you too, best friend. Is everything all right?”

Chapter 38

Jackson

I
WASN’T IN THE MOOD
for the Rusty Nail. It was nice of the boys to take me out and all, but I had Faith and Sam on my mind. I needed to reconnect with them. They were my family. I couldn’t let any more time pass us by. They were mine and I had to return to them. I had a terrible feeling that if I didn’t, I’d miss out on the opportunity to be a part of their life. Forever, this time.

“Fellas, I’ve got to go do something,” I said.

“Come on,” Grady said, “we just got here.”

“I know. We’ll do this another night.”

“What have you got to do? You just got back. You don’t have any plans we don’t know about.”

I smiled but didn’t answer. They knew what business I had. “I’m taking the truck,” I said. “You fellas will have to find your own way home.”

We’d all rode down in the pickup. Grant and Grady in the cab. Me and Forrester in the back.

Forrester shrugged. “You owe us a night out, Jackson. This was in your honor.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I said, walking out of the bar. I knew that if it hadn’t been for me, they’d have been more than capable of coming up with another reason to head out for a few drinks.

I got into the truck and turned the ignition. I pulled out of the lot with no idea where I was headed. Instinctively, I drove up out of the valley. I was headed for the hills. That’s where Faith was. Even if I wasn’t going to meet her, I still wanted to be near where she was. I thought about going to her house, but I didn’t want to surprise her there.

As I drove up the mountain side, I passed the municipal boundary separating the Valley from the Hills. There was a clear difference between the two areas. Most of the roads in the valley weren’t paved. They were packed dirt, compressed by all the agricultural vehicles picking up fruit and grapes. The valley was the hidden gem of California’s wine country. It had some of the best soil in the world. The climate was perfect for bringing out natural flavors. The heat built up during the day and gave the grapes a dryness you didn’t get in other places. In the evenings, cool, moist air rose off the Pacific and settled over the valley like a blanket.

It was a beautiful place to call home. It was a beautiful place to make a home with Faith, if she wanted to.

My relationship with Faith had taken an unconventional path. Twelve years apart was not something most people could survive. But I knew in my heart, Faith and I would survive anything. My love was like the vineyards in the valley. It would weather any drought. The grapes were temperamental, the weather had to be just right, but the vines themselves were hardy. They’d never give up. They’d live for centuries. My love was like the ancient vines, the solid stone of the valley bed, the Rio Secco winding its way down to the ocean.

As I got into the hills, everything became more manicured and perfect. The roads were new and clean, with irrigated rows of palm trees along the sides. The houses were large and modern, with views over the valley to the south, or the ocean to the west. Hollywood actors, Bay Area tech billionaires, you name it. They all had weekend homes in the Hills.

It was a good place for Faith to be. A good place for her to raise my son. She’d chosen well and I loved her for it.

The town was idyllic, the way all American towns used to be. There was a real Main Street, with old fashioned stores that stayed open till late in the evening. You could still walk down the street and get a soda in the pharmacy, grab a burger in Harry’s diner, or catch a movie in the nickelodeon.

I pulled up outside the movie theater and remembered all the nights I’d gone there as a child to catch the feature. I used to go there with my daddy. I missed him. I hadn’t had much chance to dwell on it since his death, but I sure missed him. I loved him like the soil loves the rain.