Nasty Page 16

  Nate smiled at Piper. “Okay, Karen it is,” he said to her mom.

  Piper’s mom turned to the open door and waved her arm. “Don, get in here.”

  A man in his fifties with thick gray hair stood in her threshold. He held his hands up. “I was just waiting for my turn, dear.” He stepped inside her entryway and closed the door behind him. “Hello, Piper. I don’t know if you remember me—”

  “Yes, of course I remember you. Your dog thought our yard was his yard. How is Percy, by the way?”

  Mr. Gibson laughed. “Percy is long gone now, but he always did like your lawn.” He turned to Nate and held out his hand. “I’m Don.”

  Nate shook it with a smile. “Nate.”

  “Come into the kitchen.” Piper motioned them with her hands. “Would you like some coffee?”

  “I would love some,” Piper’s mom said.

  “I’ll take one, too, please,” Don said.

  Piper led them into the kitchen with Nate bringing up the rear.

  As Piper poured her two new guests cups of coffee, her mom looked around her house.

  “I didn’t get a chance to clean since no one had warned me you were coming,” Piper told her mom in a half-joking, half-serious tone.

  Her mother waved away her concern. “I don’t care about that. I just wanted to see you. And I wanted you to get to know Don a little before the wedding.” Her mom’s gaze landed on the fridge. “Oh, you hung up the invitation.”

  Piper looked at Nate, who winked. “Of course I did, Mom.”

  “Did you get the time off of work?”

  “Yep, Wednesday through Monday.”

  “What about Nate?”

  “Excuse me?” Nate said.

  “What do you mean, Mom?”

  Her mother looked at her and Nate like they were children. “Did Nate get the time off work, too?” She put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes. “Nate is your plus-one, isn’t he?”

  Piper didn’t know what to say. A wedding was always the big-date question. What if Nate panicked at the thought of her inviting him? What if his feelings were hurt if she didn’t? She didn’t know what exactly had happened on the Fourth of July, but something had been bothering him. What if this was one of those things?

  Piper looked at Nate with an apologetic look. “I would, of course, love to have Nate come.” She turned to her mom. “But I can’t ask him to take off work and drive six hours to a wedding—”

  “I’ll go.”

  Piper looked at Nate. “What?”

  “I’ll go,” he repeated himself.

  She hadn’t known how much she wanted Nate to be there until he said those words. “Really?”

  “Really.”

  She grinned and resisted the urge to throw herself in his arms.

  “Well, now that that’s all settled, show us how the backyard is coming along,” her mom said. “I’ve been anxious to see the results in person.”

  On Sunday, Piper and her mom went shopping together for a little girl-on-girl time. Their mission was to find dresses for her mom and herself for the wedding.

  Nate had plans to go to a sports bar with his grandpa for the afternoon to watch…whatever sports were playing in July, and he was sweet enough to take Don with him.

  “What are you looking for in a dress, Mom?”

  “Something simple, and I was thinking off-white since I’m not a virgin.”

  “Mom.”

  Her mom laughed and shrugged. “Well, I’m not. You’re proof of that.”

  Piper wrinkled up her nose. “No offense, but gross. I don’t want to think about you and Dad. Or you and Don.”

  Her mom laughed harder and patted Piper’s hand. “That’s okay, dear. I don’t want to think about my parents either.”

  “Ew. And, now, I’m picturing Grandma and Grandpa.” Piper glanced away from the wheel and gave her mom a dirty look. “It’s not funny.”

  “Oh, Piper, I didn’t take you for a prude.”

  Piper gasped. “I’m not a prude.” She just didn’t want to picture old people doing it. “Although that’s something I shouldn’t protest in front of my mother, huh?”

  Her mom leaned over and put her arm around Piper as best she could in the car. “Oh, baby, I’ve missed you.”

  Piper laid her head on her mom’s. “I’ve missed you, too.”

  “I don’t suppose you’ll ever move home?”

  “Well…”

  Her mom pulled away and waved her hand, as if her question was silly. “Of course not. Especially now.”

  “Especially now?” What was her mom talking about?

  “I’ll just have to come and visit a lot,” she said, totally ignoring Piper’s question.

  “Mom, what did you mean by—”

  Her mom gasped. “Let’s go there.” She pointed to a store off to the right. “I’ve heard they have a great selection.”

  Piper concentrated on getting over into the far-right lane and getting into the parking lot. By the time she parked, she’d completely forgotten her mother’s comment.

  They walked into the national chain store and were immediately greeted by a salesperson. Piper’s mom began to tell the lady what she wanted, and Piper wandered away to look at bridesmaid dresses.

  Three hours later, her mom finally found what she was looking for, and she also found a dress for Piper to wear. Piper had only had to try on eleven dresses, but at least she was happy to note that there was no lace, no frill, and no bows. It was a simple light-blue dress. Some might not even guess it had been bought at a bridal store.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to go somewhere else to get a better feel of what’s out there?” Piper asked.

  The saleslady shot Piper a look, but she ignored the woman. She didn’t want to go anywhere else either, but this was for her mom’s wedding day.

  “No, I’m good. You know me; I hate shopping. I just want to go to the store, find what I want, and leave. Quick and easy is what I say. I don’t need to shop around.” She put her hand on Piper’s forearm. “Unless you want something else.”

  Piper held her hands up and smiled. “No, no, I’m good. I was making sure you didn’t want to go somewhere else.”

  She was very glad to be done with this quick and easy shopping trip, and she wasn’t going to offer to go to another store again.

  Piper looked at the clock on the wall. “I need a drink.”

  She wondered if Nate was having more fun than she was.

  Nate fingered the edges of his phone for what was probably the hundredth time.

  “Son, whatever you’re going to do, just do it.”

  “Huh?” Nate looked up at his Geepa, who raised his brow and looked at Nate’s phone.

  Nate threw it on the table.

  “I’ve watched you pick that thing up multiple times with that look on your face.”

  “What look?”

  “It’s the same face you had before asking that Heather girl to the school dance in seventh grade.”

  Except, this time, Nate wasn’t asking a girl to do anything.

  “Just do it already. And before that Don guy comes back with our drinks. He probably thinks you’re cheating on his woman’s daughter.”

  Nate scowled but chose not to comment. He wasn’t going to discuss his relationship with Piper with his grandfather. He picked up his cell again and unlocked it. He went to his messages, let his thumb hover over the Send icon for two seconds, and then hit the button.

  It was too late to back out now.

  Nate told himself not to expect anything and that he should set his phone down and forget about it, but the kid in him willed it to ding.

  He mentally rolled his eyes at himself and placed the phone facedown on the table. He felt like a loser.

  Ding.

  Nate turned the phone over and lit the screen.

  I’ll be there in ten minutes.

  He swallowed. He’
d thought a no or no reply would be bad. He didn’t know what to do with a positive response. How awkward is this going to be?

  “It’ll be okay, son,” Geepa told him as Don walked back to the table with three beers.

  “Did I miss anything?” Don asked, referring to the game. “I was in the corner and didn’t have a good angle.”

  His grandfather looked at Nate and back at Don. “Nah. It was mostly commercials.”

  Don sat. “Oh, good.”

  “So, you’re a Twins fan?” Geepa asked Don.

  “Yep. With no team of our own in Nebraska, there are a lot of Minnesota fans.”

  Geepa nodded in approval. “Good, good.”

  Ten minutes later, the door opened, and Nate’s father walked in. Nate glanced at his grandfather, looking for the approval he shouldn’t need as a man in his thirties.

  He hadn’t been able to get Tricia’s words out of his head since two nights ago. He hadn’t told Piper what his stepmom had said, instead choosing to take her home and make love to her. And, the next day, her mom had shown up at her house.

  Could his dad really want more of a relationship with him? Part of Nate felt like his father should have been the one to reach out since he was the parent and all. But, sometimes, a person couldn’t wait around for someone to give them what they wanted.

  So, he’d sent his father a text, inviting him to watch the baseball game. And, less than a minute later, his dad had said he would come.

  His grandfather smiled at Nate, as if he understood exactly what Nate was thinking. Hell, he probably did. He knew the things that Nate had gone through, growing up.

  When Nate’s dad reached the table, his grandfather stood and held out his hand. “Jerome, it’s nice to see you.”

  His father looked a little uncomfortable, but he shook Geepa’s hand. “Nathan, it’s good to see you, too.” His father looked at Nate. “Nate, thanks for inviting me.”

  Nate kicked out a chair. “Here. Sit.”

  His father sat.

  “Dad, this is Don. Don is engaged to Piper’s mom. Don, this is my father, Jerome.”

  Don held out his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Likewise,” his dad said as he took Don’s hand.

  “You like baseball?” Don asked his dad.

  His father nodded. “Yeah. I played football in high school, like Nate, but if it’s a sport, I like to watch.”

  Don looked at Nate. “You played football?”

  “Yeah. Only in high school though. I wasn’t good enough for college.”

  “Hey, football’s football. I played myself in high school.”

  His grandfather raised his bottle. “To playing football in high school.”

  “You didn’t play football in high school,” Nate told him.

  “And I don’t have a drink,” Nate’s dad said.

  “Well, what are you waiting for?” Geepa said, and everyone laughed.

  Nate’s dad got up to get a beer and another round for the table. Soon, the group of them were talking about all kinds of sports and bonding the way men bonded.

  Nate looked over at his father. Maybe the afternoon wouldn’t be so awkward after all.

  Nate didn’t know if it was because of the slightly emotional day he’d had or what, but that night, he dreamed of Jordan.

  They are sitting at the same table in the same bar and grill where they sat the night of the car accident. Jordan’s brown hair and green eyes look the same as always. There is no head wound in sight.

  Part of Nate knew it was a dream, yet at the same time, it felt like they were really back in the restaurant.

  Jordan brings his drink to his lips and takes a sip. As he sets the glass down, he says, “So, you’re screwing my wife now.”

  Nate looks down at the table. “I’m sorry.” Because what else is there to say? “I tried to resist her, but she came to me.”

  Jordan snorts. “That’s supposed to make me feel better?”

  Nate looks up. “Yes. No.” He sighs. “I don’t know, man. I don’t know what to do here. I’m out of my element.”

  Jordan laughs. “I’m just messing with you, man.”

  Nate’s skeptical. “You’re okay with me fucking Piper?”

  Jordan shrugs. “Someone has to.”

  “Dude.”

  Jordan scowls. “You know what I mean. She’s young, and she has so much life ahead of her. I know she’s not going to stay single forever.” He picks up his drink and gestures toward Nate. “There was a reason I asked you to take care of her.”

  “I think you asked me because I was the only one in the car.”

  Jordan laughs. “Well, there was that.” He leans in as his face grows serious. “But I do trust you, Nate. I know you don’t do relationships, but it’s not because you’re not relationship material.”

  Nate watches as blood begins to roll down the side of Jordan’s head. He points to his friend. “Jordan, you’re bleeding.”

  Jordan picks up a napkin from the table and wipes his face. But it doesn’t matter because the blood keeps coming. Jordan looks at the now-saturated napkin and frowns. “Ooh, that doesn’t look good.”

  Nate wants to help his friend, but when he tries to get up to ask for a towel, he can’t move. “Jordan, you have to stop the bleeding.”

  Jordan shrugs. “Nah, it’s too late for me now.” He puts his hand on Nate’s.

  Nate looks down to see that Jordan is getting blood all over him, but he can’t pull away.

  “Nate.”

  Nate looks up.

  “It’s not too late for you. Don’t let your past ruin this.”

  Nate shakes his head and tries to free his hand. “Don’t ruin what? I don’t understand.”

  “It’s not too late for you. It’s not too late for you.”

  Nate bolted upright, heart pounding and sweat rolling down his temples. It made him think of the blood on Jordan, and he hastily swiped it from his face. The dream had felt so real.

  Nate quickly looked around. He was in bed, alone. No sign of Jordan anywhere.

  Nate flopped back onto his pillow. Not that he’d really expected to see his dead friend in his bedroom.

  He took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down. His heart was still racing, and at this rate, he wasn’t going back to sleep tonight.

  Nate tried to remember what Jordan had said in the dream, but it didn’t make sense. What did he mean by it wasn’t too late for him?

  Nate snorted. It was such a stupid question. Jordan hadn’t really said it. It was all in Nate’s head.

  It was probably best to forget about it since he’d never been able to decipher his dreams. He had no idea what he’d been trying to tell himself.

  He closed his eyes, but all he saw was Jordan sitting at that table, laughing, with blood running down his head.

  He should have never asked Jordan to go out after work that night. He’d noticed that Jordan had hesitated before saying yes. The two of them had carpooled to work since they lived only ten minutes away from each other, and it had been Jordan’s day to drive.

  What would have happened if he had just told Jordan to take him home? If they had never gone for a beer? A beer that had turned into two?

  And, when Jordan had gotten a text from Piper asking where he was and why he wasn’t home, he’d laughed. Not because he didn’t love his wife, but because he was in trouble.

  Piper had wanted Jordan home, and it was Nate’s fault that he wouldn’t be again.

  He could still feel the wind in his hair as the two of them had driven with the windows down. It had been a beautiful May evening. They had come to an intersection. The light had been red, but he could have sworn that Jordan stopped and looked before making that right turn.

  However, the next thing Nate remembered was the sound of crushing metal and being thrown against the window. There had been a big burst of powder as the front airbags deployed, and Nate rem
embered coughing as he tried to breathe.

  He remembered assessing his injuries. He had felt sore all over, but he hadn’t thought he’d broken anything. He had next turned his attention to Jordan. Jordan’s head had been covered in blood, and he’d had a huge gash on the side.

  He’d called his friend’s name, and Jordan had miraculously opened his eyes. Nate had been so grateful in the moment because he’d thought his friend was dead.

  But then Jordan had coughed, and blood had come with it.

  That was when Nate had noticed the piece of metal from the door sticking out of Jordan’s side.

  “Jordan, hold on. The ambulance is coming.” Nate couldn’t hear sirens, but someone had to have called 911.

  Jordan seized Nate’s hand with surprising strength. “Please.” Jordan coughed. “Please.”

  Nate shook his head. “Please what?”

  Jordan met Nate’s eyes. “Please take care of Piper. She doesn’t have anyone here. I don’t want her to be alone.”

  Nate shook his head. “No. I’m not going to promise that because you’re going to go to the hospital and get stitched up, and you’re going to take care of her yourself.” Nate refused to think his friend wasn’t going to make it.

  Jordan’s grip increased, and his eyes pleaded with Nate. “Please. Please. Promise you’ll take care of her and help her.”

  Nate closed his eyes. If he made this promise, he felt like he was giving Jordan permission to give up. But, if something did happen, he didn’t want his friend to worry.

  Nate opened his eyes and met Jordan’s. “You’re going to be fine. You hear me? Fine. But, if something happens, I promise I will take care of Piper.”

  Jordan coughed up more blood. “Thank you.”

  And that was the last thing Nate remembered before he’d heard more metal crunch, and everything had gone black.

  When Nate had woken up in the hospital, he’d found out that the accident had caused the car to spin out into the middle of the intersection. While they’d been sitting there, waiting for help, they’d been hit. That part of the crash had knocked Nate out, resulting in a concussion. Jordan hadn’t made it.