The best distraction just so happens to live a few miles down theroad.
I pick up my phone and call my sister. Ten minutes later, I jump in Kat’s truck, and we head to herhouse.
“Hey, preggo. How’s your baby bun?” She can barely fit behind the wheel. How does she still have two months left to go? My vag hurts when I think about thatdelivery.
“Kickin’ up a storm. I almost peed my pants earlier today, and my back hurts like amother.”
“Ooooh. Look at you almost curse.” I love teasing my sister. She’s always such a saint.Saint Katherine.I almost snort at my old nickname forher.
“Are you settling in at the ranch? How’s yourroom?”
I think about the pale blue paint with white trim and the neat bookshelf that’s been alphabetized. The lovely curtains that were obviously sewed with love and care, and the colorful quilt that covers the cushy queen-sizedbed.
“It’s perfect.” I avoid telling her about the corner of my room where my shit explodes out of my suitcase. “Like the rest of the house.Spacious.”
Stunning. A dream house, really. A wrap-around porch with a swing and potted plants. Five bedrooms and three and a half baths.A fantastic kitchen with tons of gleaming counter space and every appliance imaginable. Big, comfy couches that make me itch to have a Netflixmarathon.
My sister motions to me. “Ethan added a whole addition. Did a ton of work himself. Well, him and his brother. The east side of the house, Ithink.”
Pregnancy has made her spacey, because she was there when Beverly told us that Ethan had done those renovations. “Yeah, I’ve heard those Carter boys are good with theirhands.”
I’m looking forward to something breaking around the house so I can watch Ethan fix it. Hopefully whileshirtless.
She glances at me. “Don’t keep me in suspense. How are things going? Is Ethan still getting on yournerves?”
My sister knows I can be a snarky bitchsometimes.
“No, Ethan’s a great guy.” Too great maybe. I fill my lungs with a deep breath and decide to come clean. “Actually, I’m tryingnotto likehim.”
“Oh.” A beat passes.“Oh!Well, what’s wrong with that? He’s single and has his acttogether.”
Unlikeme.
She looks thrilled at thisprospect.
“No, he’s not single. He’s in the middle of a divorce. His words, not mine.” I fiddle with a loose thread on my tank top. “Plus, he has ‘rebound’ stamped all overhim.”
If that experience with Jamie taught me anything, it’s that guys like Ethan don’t settle down with girls like me. I’m a fun fuck. A good time. A way to burn off steam or sow some wild oats. Not a forever girl. Not someone youkeep.
Regret weighs in my heart. How I wish I hadn’t invested so much of myself in thatrelationship.
Ripping off the loose thread, I suddenly wish I could go back to Austin. “Ethan needs to play the field, get laid, get over his wife, and I don’t want to be just a hookup. I’m not in the mood to be therebound.”
It doesn’t escape me that Ethan has photos of his wife everywhere. I wish I could say Allison is ugly, but she’s not. She has a button nose and one of those cute pixie haircuts, which makes her gorgeous blonde hair look feather-soft. I toy with the ends of my hair, lamenting the split ends, but a haircut requires money I don’thave.
Kat rubs her belly. “I think all those rosaries Mom says for you are paying off. Listen to you, wanting something moresubstantial.”
I roll my eyes as she laughs, but I’m glad she doesn’t pick up on my glum mood. I’m here to soak up her happiness. I’m here to mask the fact that I wish I were at dinner with Ethan and his kids. I’m here because I don’t want to think about how he looked at me in the barn when we were standing so close or the fact that Miss Prissy Pants earlier is probably riding him in his freetime.
It’s easy for me to think Ethan looked disappointed when I told him I wasn’t joining him and the kids thisevening.
Except I know that’s my head playing tricks onme.
Because guys like him don’t do long-term with girls likeme.
I might as well get used to thatidea.
13
