Wild Man (Dream Man #2)(79)

“I went to that emporium,” Daisy whispered to Shirleen. “Found me three pairs of boots.

Three. It was hot.”

“Mm hmm,” Shirleen muttered back, not tearing her eyes off the action.

I said to my friend, “Martha, honey –”

She threw up her hands. “But oh no, not you. Not the new Tess. Brock’s Tess. Brock’s Tess barely has time to return a text because she’s busy with him, his boys, his family, staying over at his house, having his fancy-ass new truck in front of hers –”

I interrupted to ask, “Are you still stalking me?”

“Am I Martha Shockley, your best friend since fifth grade?” she asked back.

“Martha, things have been busy,” I snapped.

“Yeah, busy with you gettin’ a little somethin’ somethin’ from a bad boy,” she leaned in,

“liberally. You don’t have time for me but you have time to haul your kick-boxing ass to his house on average three days a week seeing as your car isn’t here or the bakery.”

Jeez, she’d totally been stalking me.

“Oo, lawdy,” Elvira muttered.

“You got that right, sugar,” Daisy matched her mutter.

I glared at Martha.

“I’m in a new relationship,” I reminded her. “It’s always intense when it’s new.”

“You’re in over your head is what you are,” Martha shot back and my torso jerked back.

“Oo, lawdy,” Elvira repeated.

“You got that right, sugar,” Daisy whispered.

“You don’t know what I’m in,” I said softly to Martha.

“No, you’re right, I don’t,” Martha agreed. “Because I never see you or talk to you.” She shook her head and crossed her arms on her chest, saying, “I never thought you, you, Tessa O’Hara, my best friend since I could remember would toss me aside for a guy, I don’t care how hot he is.”

“Depends on what he’s packin’,” Shirleen whispered to Daisy and Daisy audibly stifled another giggle.

I kept my gaze on Martha.

Then I announced, “I’m in love with him.”

At that, her torso jerked back and she added her eyes getting big. The rest of the women shuffled their feet but kept silent.

I kept talking.

“I’ve shared this with him and Brock has shared he feels the same about me.”

“Oh God,” Martha whispered, sounding slightly horrified.

“I’m happy,” I told her. “Happier than I’ve ever been in my life which makes it suck that his wife is playing games and using her sons as pawns to do it, filling their heads with crap about Brock being with me meaning they can’t ever have a family again and making plays to get Brock back when he hates her only slightly more than I do.”

“Oh God,” Martha whispered, sounding definitely horrified.

I nodded. “She’s a piece of work and a pain in the ass and the kids are totally confused because they like me but she’s pretty much telling them they can’t because if they do, that means they don’t love her.”

“Oh God,” Martha repeated on a whisper, staring at me.

“And, if that wasn’t enough, Brock’s Dad has cancer and might be dying from it. There’s history there that’s unpleasant and his possible future demise is stirring up stuff that has long since been buried and Brock’s dealing with his own emotions with all that as well as his Mom’s, his sisters’ and his brother’s.”

“Oh Tess, I didn’t know.” Martha was still whispering.

“I did,” Elvira mumbled to Daisy and Shirleen. “I had Thanksgiving with them and we’ll just say his people are not The Waltons ‘cause, far’s I know, The Waltons never dropped the f-bomb repeatedly.”

I ignored Elvira’s commentary and replied to Martha.

“No, you’re right, you didn’t because I haven’t had time to tell you because all that’s happening on top of the bakery being busy and if that wasn’t enough, when Brock came back into my life, Damian came over for reasons only Damian understands.”

Martha’s torso shot back again but this time her eyes got wide and she sucked in a breath.

“That’s her ex, he’s cornered the market on ass**le,” Elvira explained on a mutter to Shirleen and Daisy.

“Lotsa those,” Shirleen muttered back.

“No, sister, I mean he’s cornered the market on ass**le, ” Elvira stated firmly and Daisy and Shirleen stared at her with dawning understanding then they looked at me.

“Why did he come over?” Martha asked softly.

“I don’t know, Brock answered the door and wouldn’t let him in. Then he threatened that if he ever saw Damian anywhere near me, he’d deal with him. Then he shut the door in Damian’s face. Then he called his law enforcement buddy and told him to tell the DA to tell Damian’s attorneys that he wouldn’t only be facing drug charges but also harassment, assault and sexual assault charges.”

More air being sucked in all around as understanding fully dawned.

“This Damian Heller we’re talkin’ about?” Shirleen asked and I nodded to her. “Shit,” she muttered.