His Tattooed Virgin(Divine Creek Ranch 12)(37)

“Do you have everything you need?”

“Yes. I hit Walmart for toiletries, and Mom let me raid her closet. I bought a new phone and got a new number on my way out of town. Cheaver’s had a sale so I got some outfits and accessories. Mom thought it might be better if I stayed here for a few days until he shows up and talks to the authorities.”

“What about your job?”

Lucy shrugged with nonchalance, but her lip trembled. “They said they understood but told me that if any of my clients called they’d have to schedule them with other massage therapists until I knew when I was coming back. I worked so hard building up my little following.”

Seth knew there was more to this story than she’d told him so far. His mom had said that Lucy had seemed not only upset about the loss of all her earthly possessions but also scared when she’d come to the house that morning. She’d suggested that Lucy visit Seth in Divine until things settled down and they knew more.

“Luckily, Waldo was at the vet.” Waldo was an overgrown, lovably obnoxious, and recently neutered tomcat Lucy had taken in.

“Did you bring him?”

“No. I knew I’d be making several stops and it’s too hot to leave him in the car. Mom has him.”

“You’re welcome to stay however long you need to, Luce. Both you and Waldo. I hope they find that asshole. I’m all ears when you’re ready to tell me the rest of the story.”

Looking thoroughly exhausted, Lucy shrugged and lifted her bare feet to the bed as she reclined on the pillow. “Later. I just need to decompress right now.”

Seth nodded and rose from the bed. “You hungry?”

“Starving.”

“I’ll fix us something.”

“Where’s your girlfriend?”

“I dropped her off at home a few minutes ago.”

“She didn’t want to spend the evening with you?”

“It’s not that. She wanted us to have time to catch up and her mom is visiting her this week.”

“She sounds nice. Not at all like that friggin’ heinous bitch you used to waste time on.”

Seth laughed as she giggled and the sparkle returned to her eyes. “Geez, tell me how you really feel, sis.”

“She was a possessive, spoiled, bitchy brat. No wait—she was entitled, and snotty, and at the same time really slutty—”

Seth held up his hands. “Okay, okay. I get the picture. Not my best choice.”

Lucy got up off the bed and hugged him again, hard. “She wasn’t nearly good enough for you, Seth.”

“Thanks, Luce. I think you’ll like Jayne when you meet her.”

“Jayne, huh? What does she do?”

“Librarian.”

Lucy snorted when she laughed. “Are you serious? Horn-rimmed glasses librarian or hot librarian?”

“Hot librarian. Very hot.”



* * * *



“Mom, you didn’t have to give him a hard time!”

Jayne stood inside the foyer, toe tapping on the tile as her mom continued snickering behind her hand. Jayne was happy to see her but beyond frustrated with the timing of this visit. When she’d let her know about making the trip to see Dr. Hawks, she’d had no idea her mom intended to show up for a visit, letting herself into the house with the extra house key Jayne had sent her.

“I was gentle. I just wanted to see where he stood. He didn’t need to know that you’d already told me about him. I was just ascertaining his intentions. Your father would’ve given him a much harder time than I did.”

Jayne let out a soft laugh, knowing that was the truth. Her dad would take it as his duty to at least try to scare the ever-living shit out of Seth, all in the name of being a dad. “You weren’t that bad.”

“So he’s your boyfriend, huh?” The happy glow in her mom’s eyes made up for the embarrassment she’d felt earlier.

“Yes. But behave from now on, Mom. You sounded just like Charity for a minute.”

“Why thank you. She learned it from me, though.”

Jayne had a good time catching up with her mom as they put together the ingredients for a simple meal. Jayne filled her in on what the doctor had said, and they reminisced over everything she’d been through. She was reminded of that feeling she’d had back in December, perched on the precipice ready to really start living. Her body still ached a bit with unrelieved tension, reminding her of what she’d hoped to be doing that evening.

“Have you called Grace and Charity to let them know you’re in town?”

“No but I need to.”

While Jayne washed the dishes and tidied the kitchen, her mother sat on the couch with her feet up and chatted on the phone with Grace.