Home > My Almost Ex (The Greene Family #2)(7)

My Almost Ex (The Greene Family #2)(7)
Author: Piper Rayne

“And from what I hear, I was the first one to put a Greene back on the market as well.”

She puts her arm around my shoulders. “Don’t worry, you’re totally going to win him back. That Alicia is nobody.”

Another mother walks past us into the bookstore, and we hear Presley announce that story time is starting.

“Oh, I have to go. Here.” Cora pulls out her phone and hands it to me. “Call yourself and then I’ll call you afterward. Give you the address to my place.”

I do what she says, and she hugs me one more time before rushing inside. I think about her words. Win him back? Is that something I want to do? I wish I could answer that, but until I regain my memory of why I left him in the first place, I’m not sure I can. Right now, I feel as though a huge chunk of my heart has been dug out with a dull shovel. But past me must’ve had reasons for leaving my husband, right?

And then I spot my mom across the street. I’m about to follow her until she gets into a truck and drives away.

I know that truck. It’s Adam’s.

“I guess you weren’t invited,” Dori says.

The old bat is right. As if not remembering that it’s my life, two people I love are purposely keeping me out of every decision that affects me.

 

 

Not everyone in Sunrise Bay loves our family. We live in a small town where most people know one another. Because my grandfather bought a prominent parcel of land up on a hill overlooking the square years ago and built himself a house, most people think we’re a helluva lot richer than we are.

My grandfather was an honest man. Sadly, his brother wasn’t. But some people, like Susan Davis, decided early on which of the Greene brothers they sided with. Since Susan’s dad worked alongside my grandfather’s brother, and he was responsible for her family’s livelihood, Susan’s always loved him and hated my grandfather. It’s stupid shit that should mean nothing in the present, since my grandfather is long dead and his brother lives in Arizona. But as my dad says, you can’t change people’s thinking. You can try to enlighten them, but that’s about all.

We sit down at a diner in Lake Starlight, Lard Have Mercy. I used to come here quite a bit after my mom died. My dad wanted to flee the sympathetic looks in Sunrise Bay.

Susan picks up a menu and looks out into the square and the gazebo. Lake Starlight has a Founder’s Day Parade every year, and from the number of trucks hanging up banners, it looks like they’re setting up for it.

“Sunrise Bay is so much prettier,” Susan remarks.

I slide in next to my dad. “Rylan’s soccer coach lives here. He’s married to a Bailey.”

Susan nods as though she doesn’t know who they are. We all know the Baileys. The nine Bailey siblings lost their parents tragically when they were younger, leaving the oldest siblings to take custody of the rest. When tragic things like that happen, word of it carries over to nearby towns, especially with our three small towns clustered together—Lake Starlight, Sunrise Bay, and Greywall.

“Thanks for understanding that I wanted to go outside of Sunrise Bay. The eyes and ears there are just waiting for gossip, and I didn’t want Lucy here during this conversation.”

“We shouldn’t be keeping things from her,” I say.

My dad raises his coffee mug for the waitress, and she comes by and fills the cups. That’s his signal for me to shut up. “Susan, I understand you wanting to protect Lucy. She’s your daughter. But she’s also an adult. An adult who’s married to Adam. If we wanted to be technical here…”

Susan’s jaw shifts left and right. “Just spit it out, Hank.”

Surely he’s not thinking I’m going to take Lucy back? Fuck that. Only for her memory to resurface after I’ve grown close to her, and then I’m back to where I started a year ago?

“You said Adam was a breakthrough for her,” Dad says. “Why not give her more time here? See if more resurfaces for her.”

I choke on my coffee but manage to swallow it.

“Do you have any idea how much work I’ve missed since her accident? I’m not tenured at the university yet, so my job is hanging on by a thread.” She stirs her coffee. “And after last night, I’m not sure it is the right place for her.”

“Last night?” My dad glances my way through the corner of his eyes.

“So the Greenes don’t share everything with one another, huh?” She huffs, her narrowed eyes pointed at me.

“I went to the inn,” I admit.

My father’s shoulders sink. “I told you not to.”

If he thinks I’m going to apologize, he’s crazy. I have so many questions and I don’t trust Susan to answer them. “She’s my wife.”

“That’s not what you said last night,” Susan taunts me like a child.

“We were in an argument. Don’t act like you understand our situation.”

My dad places his hand on my arm to quiet me. The waitress must be used to family drama because she reappears with a smile, pen poised over her notepad, asking what she can get us.

“Just a muffin,” Susan says.

My dad says he’s just having coffee.

“I’ll have an omelet with cheese and bacon. Hash browns, crispy, and another side of bacon.”

The waitress jots it down, smiles, and walks away.

“One day you’ll have to change your eating habits.”

Susan offers advice I don’t want, so I say nothing since the man who taught me not to say anything if I didn’t have anything nice to say is sitting right next to me. Hate for him to think I don’t take any of his fatherly advice.

“As I was saying, my bag is already packed and if Lucy does as I asked, she should be at the inn, waiting for my return with her own bags packed. This was never more than a quick trip in and out.” Susan pretends like she’s so proper with her chin tilted up, gazing down at us. As if we’re having tea with lemon wedges and shortbread cookies at high noon. She always thought she was hot shit because she was a professor. Someone needs to remind her that Anchorage College and Harvard aren’t exactly the same. Not that I’m bashing my alma mater.

“Marla and I would be happy to have Lucy stay with us.”

Again I choke on my coffee. Why does Dad throw this shit out there right as I take a drink? I bet he’s doing it on purpose since I went against his wishes last night.

“Yeah, um, no.” She pours another artificial sugar in her cup, the spoon stirring constantly. All I want to do is take the spoon out of her cup and fling it across the room. “She’ll come back to Idaho with me.”

“Are you sure you don’t just want her to forget her life here? Forget Adam?” my dad asks in a sterner voice.

I could probably sneak out of this conversation. The kids playing over at the gazebo are having way more fun than me.

“Whatever happened that your son is being so tight-lipped about is the reason she left. They were over before the accident.” Susan continues to stir her coffee.

“All she said was she wasn’t happy,” I chime in.

Susan says nothing and rolls her eyes as though she doesn’t believe me. “Convenient that you’re already seeing someone.”

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