Shattered Ties(15)

“Well, Jesse, I just want to thank you for what you just said. I wasn’t completely sure that I could go through with this, but now, I am. I want to remember my baby girl always, and I want to make her proud.”

“You’re welcome, and I’m sure she was proud of you before. You were her mom, so that made you her idol.”

She put the clipboard down and walked around the counter to stand in front of me. “Thank you, Jesse. You’re a good soul. I hope you know that.” When she wrapped her arms around me and hugged me, I froze, unsure as to what to do. I’d never had a customer hug me before, and I wasn’t exactly the type to like physical crap like this.

I patted her on the shoulder gently until she pulled away. “You’re welcome.”

Rick appeared out of nowhere and stood beside us. “Hi, Martha. Are you ready to get started?

“Yes, definitely,” she said. She finished filling out the forms, and then she followed him back to one of the rooms.

I breathed a sigh of relief when she disappeared. I was glad that I’d helped her realize just how important her tattoo was, but the hugging wasn’t cool. I didn’t like people to show me their emotions, especially when they did it physically. Unless it’s Emma. She could get physical with me any day. I groaned to myself as I pictured us getting physical together. Way to give myself a hard-on at work. Hopefully, Rick wouldn’t come out of the back for a while until I could get my dick in check.

We didn’t have another customer the entire night, and by the time the shop closed, I was ready to bolt. I’d finished all my homework two hours ago, and I wasn’t good at sitting still and doing nothing.

I couldn’t help but smile when I started my car. I really owed Emma for helping me. What could I do to thank her though? I was pretty sure she’d laugh at anything that I could offer. Maybe I could buy her a burger or something?

Yeah, that’ll work. I’d offer to buy her dinner as a thank-you.



The lights were on in our trailer when I pulled into the driveway. I was glad to see that Mom had actually made it home on time tonight instead of being stuck with a double again. As soon as I walked inside, I saw her standing in the kitchen.

She glanced up and smiled when she saw me. “Right on time, kiddo. I made us dinner.”

I glanced at the clock on the wall as I walked to the table. “At ten o’clock at night?”

“Oh, shush. We never get to eat together anymore, so I thought this would be nice.”

I kissed her on the cheek before I sat down. “It is nice. Thanks, Mom.” “You’re welcome. I made your favorite—chicken and dumplings.”

My mouth watered as she set a plate down in front of me. Even though

I’d grown up in Santa Monica, my mom was originally from Kentucky. When I was younger, all the kids in the trailer park would come to our house because my mom would always make Southern comfort foods. It was something that none of them were used to. My mom was an amazing cook, but over the years, she’d started working more, so she didn’t have time to make dinner very often.

After my mother said grace, I grabbed a fork and started shoveling food into my mouth. “This is awesome.”

She laughed, and then she started to eat as well. “I thought you would like it. I wanted to talk to you about something while we have a chance.”

My fork stopped halfway to my mouth. So, that’s why she took the time to make my favorite food. It’s a bribe. “Okay...”

“It’s nothing bad, honey. It’s just...I met someone.” “Met someone?” I asked, confused.

“Yes, his name is Mark. He just moved here a few weeks ago, and we met when he came into my work for lunch one day.”

“Wait. You met a guy? Are you dating him?” I didn’t like this—at all.

My mom and I were a team. We didn’t need some * coming in and screwing everything up.

“I’ve been on a couple of dates with him, yes. He’s really sweet, and he wants to meet you.”

I stared at my mom, really stared. Even though she was close to forty, she was still pretty. Her hair was blonde and curly, like mine, and her eyes were an unusual mix of green and blue. I must have gotten my height from my dad because I stood a few inches over six feet while my mom had barely managed to reach five feet. She was tiny and cute, and I hated this bastard for noticing her.

“I don’t want to meet him. I’m sure he’s an *, just like every other guy out there.”

“That’s not fair, Jesse. You can’t judge him before you even give him a chance. He’s been really sweet to me, and it’s been nice to have a guy around.”

“I’m a guy,” I said stubbornly.

“Yes, you are, but it’s nice to have someone besides my seventeen-yearold—”

“I’m almost eighteen. There are only a couple of weeks until my birthday.”

“My apologies. It’s nice to have someone besides my almost eighteen-yearold son to look after me. I’ve been alone for a long time, Jesse.”

I sighed as I put my fork down. I didn’t like the idea of my mom dating some douche canoe, but I didn’t want her to be alone either. “Fine. I’ll meet him, but I’m not promising to like him.”

“That’s all I’m asking of you, but I really do think you’ll like him once you meet him.”