The Lost Days (Prairie Town Book 3) (30 page)

“I’m...coming inside.” He blinked.  “It’s hotter than the blazes out here, Kelly.”

“The only day with sunshine this week, they say,” she replied casually. “But that’s still no reason to come into
my
home after what
you
did.”

“Kelly.” He sighed in frustration and wiped the sweat from his brow, frowning.  “I know you’re angry with me, and a little hurt, but—”

“A
little
hurt?” She fumed.  “You think I’m a
little
hurt? Ha! I suppose if that’s what you want to call it.  Getting to know you and stupidly believing there might be something developing between us, allowing my son to think
there
might be something developing between us, and actually letting my guard down because I genuinely liked you...only to find out you’ve been manipulating Devin and luring him into the same deceitful web?” She snorted and rolled her eyes.  “Yeah, I’m a
little
hurt, I guess.  Just a smidgen.”

“I did
not
manipulate anybody, Kelly.  Jesus Christ,” he said, huffing.  “I genuinely like you, too.  I made a mistake, all right?  I should have told you from the get-go.”

“What does that mean?” She stared at him, long and hard, grinding her teeth together as she debated slamming the door in his face.  He deserved that much.  “You should have told me you were whispering the same sweet words into Devin’s ear?  You were telling him how you didn’t want a supermodel, you only wanted him?”

“That’s not fair.  I never said that to him.” He glanced over her head and his jawline tightened, but then his voice softened. “I meant what I said to you, Kelly; every single word of it.  You mean a great deal to me, and I should have been honest about what I want.”

“So now I mean something to you, huh?” Laughing bitterly, she rolled her eyes again.  It was annoying that she wanted to cry.  He definitely didn’t deserve any tears from her.  Besides, she’d already cried enough over it and she was done.  She was just done.  “Pray, do tell, Nick.  What is it you want?”

“You.” His voice became husky.  “And Devin.  I want both of you.”

“Oh my god.” Hugging her arms around herself, she slumped against the doorframe and bowed her head, sighing.  “Laney was absolutely right.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing. It’s nothing. Look,”—she waved a hand in the air—“It’s nothing against you, it’s really not, but I’m not interested in whatever you’re offering.  A three-way relationship? That’s what you want? Really?”

“Really.” He was being serious.

“Wow.”  Now she’d heard it all, and she’d heard a lot of things during her 27 years on Earth.  How did she ever end up as a potential candidate for a threesome?

“Please just hear me out, Kelly.  I swear it’ll make sense if you just listen to me.”

He thrust his hand forward and she stared at it, perplexed.

“Just take it,” he pleaded.  “Five seconds and if you don’t like it, I’ll leave.”

“What for?” She arched a brow.

“Just take my hand, Kelly.”

I’m going to regret this.

Hesitantly, she grabbed his hand.

He grabbed it firmly and shook it. “Hi, I’m Nicholas Laveau and I’m polyamorous.  I believe the heart is too big to love only one person and it’s my preference to give my love to two people, always, and for those two people to love each other, too.”

“Polyam—”

“I know it’s not socially acceptable, Kelly,” he interrupted. “I know it’s deemed weird and taboo in most places, but I don’t care.  It makes me happy, and all I want is to find the two people who will complete me.  Like Patrick completed you.  That’s what I want.”

“You can’t honestly compare what you’re looking for, to me and Patrick.” She released his hand and glanced at the floor nervously.  “It’s different.  It’s...it’s not like what I had with Patrick.”

“You’re right.  It’s different in its own right.  Love, for every person, is different.  But do you understand what I’m trying to say to you?  I wasn’t messing around on you or Devin.  I wasn’t manipulating anybody.  This is who I am.  And you two are what I want.  I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“But you did,” she whispered, meeting his gaze.  “And I’m not sure I can be around you anymore.”

His face fell and it made her feel bad.  “You’re not serious about that, are you?  You can’t...be around me anymore?”

“It’s weird, Nick.  It’s really weird.  I didn’t get much sleep last night and come to find out, I was crying over nothing because you’re bisexual and you just want to be loved by a man and a woman both, at the same time, and you pulled out a big fancy word for it, so it’s obviously okay.”

“Kelly...”

“I think it’s time for you to go now.” Her nostrils burned as she stepped back inside and grabbed the doorknob, doing her best to ignore the pain in his eyes.  “I’ll be sure to pay for all the work you’ve done for us.  Bye, Nick.”

“Kelly, wait.  Don’t do this.  Just let me explain it better, please.  Kelly.  Kelly!”

She closed the door and leaned against it, squeezing her eyes shut as tears began to fall.  Turning the lock over, she listened to his voice and the tears in it as he banged against the door.

“Please just give me a chance, Kelly.  Give
us
a chance.  We could make you so happy.”

“Go away,” she wept softly.  “Go home, Nick.”

“Kelly, please don’t do this.”

She didn’t respond.

“Kelly...”

A few seconds later, she heard his descending footsteps and she knew he was gone.

It’s for the better,
she thought, wiping at her eyes. 
I can’t be involved in something like that.  I’ve got two kids to think about.  What would people say?

It wasn’t that she actually cared what people would say because she’d always danced to the beat of her own drum.  What really terrified her about the idea of Nick’s proposal was she
might
actually like it, and somehow, in her mind, it would be an insult to Patrick’s memory.

“I don’t even find Devin attractive,” she said, scoffing.  “What the hell is Nick thinking?”

But that wasn’t true.  Devin had always been a good-looking guy; it was his attitude and behavior that made him unattractive.

But he’s changed,
she thought, gulping. 
And he’s interested in me.  They both are.

Any hot-blooded woman should have been thrilled, flattered. 

She was just scared.

And confused.

“Mama!” Justin called from the kitchen.  “Your cellphone is ringing!”

“Oh, shoot.” Surely to God Nick wasn’t trying to call.  Again.

Racing back into the kitchen, she scooped her phone up from the counter and sighed in relief.

It was Tula.

“Hey, you,” she said upon answering.  “I’ve changed my mind about today.  I want to tag along to the water park.”

—————

“O
h, God. I’ve missed the sun,” Tula mumbled, stretching out on the lounge chair she’d been protecting with her life for the past hour and a half.  “It feels good, doesn’t it?”

“It does.  It’s definitely a nice change from all the rain,” she replied, glancing down to make sure her towel was still conveniently hiding her tummy from the view of people passing by.  “I heard we’re getting ready to get some really nasty weather.”

“Nasty schmasty.” Tula laughed, lifting her sunglasses away from her eyes and staring at her.  “Honey, we’re far enough away that we’ll be safe from the worst of the hurricane.  You don’t need to worry too much.”

“Haven’t you heard? Worry is my middle name,” she joked, chuckling.  “And we could still get some pretty nasty winds – maybe even a tornado.”

“Pfft. Tornadoes.  Sweetie, I’m from Oklahoma; I was desensitized to tornadoes by the time I was four.  As long as you’ve got a basement, you’ll be fine.”

“I do have a basement, thank God.  It’s cluttered with only God knows what, but I have one.”

“See?  So what are you so worried about?” Rolling onto her stomach, Tula peered at her, a coy smile playing on her lips.  “You never did tell me what made you change your mind about coming today.  I asked three times and you shot me down every time.  What happened?”

“It’s a pretty day and I didn’t want to spend it cleaning.”

Tula narrowed her eyes and snickered.  “Harper is better at lying than you, and she can’t even talk yet.” Sitting up quickly, she adjusted her bikini top and flipped her hair over her shoulder.  “So spill.”

“There’s nothing to spill!” She insisted, mirroring her friend and sitting up.  Tugging the towel around herself, she laughed nervously.  “Honestly, Tula.  I’m just here to spend time with my friends and watch my kids have fun.  Is that so bad?”

“You’re still lying,” she replied in a sing-song voice.  “And it’s odd, really, but you haven’t mentioned that beefcake one time.  What’s his name again? Nick?”

You bitch.

“Well, there’s simply nothing to say.”

Tula pointed a finger at her.  “I’m onto you, Spencer.  I know there’s more to the story and you just don’t want to tell me.  A week ago you couldn’t shut up about him.”

“It’s not really anything to—Justin! I see that!” She screeched, causing Justin to drop the bucket of water, he was intending to dump over an unsuspecting Jamie’s head.  “I will put you in time out, little fella.”

“Aw, Mama. I was just playing around,” he whined, pouting.  “She’s dry.”

“He’s not doing any harm, Kel,” Lydia said, pulling Jamie onto her lap and kissing the side of her head.  “I’ve got an eye on them.”

Relaxing slightly, Kelly felt embarrassment wash over her when a few people gave her odd stares.  Dang, had they never seen a parent before?

“Go play with Skylar, Justin,” Tula said, smiling.  “Stop distracting your mama from talking about this.  I need to hear it.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Justin replied, giving her a small salute before running off to join Skylar in the kiddie pool.

“Now.” Tula focused her attention back on Kelly.  “Tell me what changed.”

“Nothing, really.” She picked up her cellphone and avoided her friend’s gaze. “Shouldn’t Laney and Benji be getting here soon?”

“Soon enough, I suppose.  Now stop avoiding me, Missy.  What happened?”

“I’d also like to know.” Lydia smiled, grabbing Jamie’s little hands and helping her stand.  “You’re being really mysterious about it, Kelly.”

“Oh, my god,” she groaned, tossing her phone back into her bag.  “You guys, it’s not a big deal.”

“Which means it
is
a big deal.” Tula leaned forward, her breasts threatening to spill from her top.  But she didn’t seem too worried about it as she eyed her.  “You need to tell me. I’m lacking inspiration for my current novel.”

“That does not encourage me to tell you.”

“Then tell me.” Lydia stood up, holding Jamie on her hip.  “Did something happen between the two of you?”

“I guess you could call it something,” she murmured, tucking some hair behind her ear.  “It wasn’t really a good something.”

“Tell us, please!” Tula begged, clasping her hands together and shaking them.  “I swear I won’t write it into my book, Kelly.  That was just a joke.”

“I know it was a joke. I do, I just,”—she sighed and fell back in her chair—“I honestly don’t even know where to begin.”

“The beginning is a good spot.” Tula wiggled her eyebrows.  “Now, spill.”

It took a bit more persistence from her two wonderful—but nosy—friends, and before the hour was up, Tula and Lydia both knew the story of “Polyamorous Nick” and all the drama that had gone down since the lip-lock she’d stumbled upon at the bookshop.  Between a few gasps of shock and several “OH MY GOD”s, Kelly tried to explain her feelings about the proposal and her uncertainty about accepting it.

“I can’t believe I missed all of that!” Lydia exclaimed, pressing a palm to her cheek.  “This happened after Callum and I left?  Why didn’t Laney tell me about it?”

“Because she obviously wanted to keep the juicy details to herself,” Tula laughed.  “Or Kelly Dearest swore her to secrecy.”

“I didn’t swear anybody to secrecy,” she promised.  “I was just so hurt over it.  I didn’t know what to do.  I guess Benji and Laney felt sorry for me or something.”

“Well, I’m sorry, too.  It’s not okay that he kept that from you.  He should have been honest from the start.” Lydia rubbed her back, comforting her.  “Are you okay now?”

“I think so.  I’m just confused. I mean, what would you do in my situation?” She stared back and forth between the two of them, hoping for some guidance.  God knew she could use it.

“Are you kidding me?” Tula stared at her with wide eyes.  “You’d be insane not to give it a try, Kelly.  That’s like...every woman’s fantasy at one point or another.  Two men? Oh, if I was single...”

“That has never been
my
fantasy,” Lydia chimed in.  “I was just happy to find someone. I’m satisfied with Callum, thank you very much.”

“And I’m satisfied with Paul, honey.  He’s all I need.  But,”—she smiled with a wicked glint in her eyes—“If I hadn’t met him, I’d be down for a ménage à trois.  Besides, it’s not just about sex with Nick, is it?  He mentioned the ‘L’ word, didn’t he?”

“He did, but he wasn’t saying he loves me or anything.  He was just saying that he wants two people to love, in the future.  I just don’t know how I feel about it.” Rubbing at her temples, she heaved a sigh and regretted tagging along.

On one hand, she knew it was good to get out and spend time with her friends.  Sunshine didn’t hurt anybody – but on the other hand, she wasn’t really sure what her friends would think about her if she
did
decide to entertain the idea of playing a part in making Nick’s fantasy a reality.

“I think you’re overthinking it, Kelly,” Tula stated, pulling her back into reality. “You do like Nick, I can tell. And maybe you’re a little apprehensive of Devin – we all are – but what if this is something that could make you happy?”

“You deserve to be happy, Kelly.  No matter who you find that happiness with.” Lydia sat down beside her and patted her knee, smiling.  “And it doesn’t matter that Devin’s involved, if that’s what’s got you so worked up about it.  Talking to him yesterday really got me to thinking about how much somebody can change.  He’s like...he’s the kid I remember in kindergarten.  He’s kind again, and I don’t think you should reject the offer if you want to give it a try.”