Just a Positive Pregnancy Test - London Casey Page 0,6
Have to get to the next city.”
“You’re not staying?” Willow asked.
“Sorry,” I said with a wink.
The two then walked away like I had vanished.
I turned to the bar and saw someone standing where I had been.
I nodded.
Great.
“Mind if I grab my beer?” I asked.
The guy looked back at me. “You left it behind.”
“No, I just stood up for a second.”
“You want your spot back?”
“No. Just my drink.”
The guy grabbed the beer and held it out and dropped it in front of me on purpose.
I rubbed my jaw.
“Oh, shit, sorry,” the guy said. “Why don’t you go play another sad fucking song on your guitar?”
Again, in another time and place and goddamn universe… I would have knocked the guy out.
Instead I just stared at him.
“What the fuck are you looking at?” the guy asked.
That’s when I stepped toward him.
I saw him make a fist and knew this was about to explode.
Then from nowhere a bouncer slid between us.
“There a problem here?” the bouncer asked the guy at the bar.
I didn’t bother to stick around and hear his response.
I walked to the backstage area again, grabbed my guitar case and left.
Back at the motel I sat with my guitar and a six pack of beer.
Two drinks down and I had barely played ten chords.
I couldn’t think straight.
I checked in with Mila, which was just a few sleepy texts from her.
I told her I loved her and missed her.
She texted the same back.
It didn’t feel the same though.
Shit, being on stage didn’t feel the same. Being in a motel didn’t feel the same either.
I was lost without Mila.
That happy, innocent, beautiful woman with the rainbows shooting out of her ass had grabbed my heart and won me over. She made me smile. She made me happy. She made me want all that today, tomorrow, and forever garbage that I swore I would never go after.
There was just one big problem.
That damn town and her damn family.
It was hard enough being accused of breaking into cars and all that. But to get blamed for stealing a necklace from Mila’s mother… that was gut wrenching to me.
Looking at their faces.
Theresa and Edith, confused.
Crosby looking let down.
Tyler wanting to fight me for many reasons.
Even after the truth was told, it didn’t matter.
That poor kid Lucy had been caught up in the middle of it all.
She took the damn necklace thinking it would help her feel better that her grandfather was dead.
I had to leave.
I didn’t regret leaving.
But I did regret not being there now with Mila.
I looked at my phone.
It was almost two in the morning.
Mila was fast asleep in her bed at the inn.
I needed to get some sleep because I did need to go to the next city for a show.
My life was out there on the road.
But my heart…
My heart was back in Gardner with Mila.
Chapter Three
MILA
Ma wiped her hands on a towel and reached out for a hug.
She squeezed me tight, for a second, then backed away.
She looked me in the eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I said.
“You sure? You look different.”
“She’s sad,” Crosby said as he gently punched me in the arm. “She misses her rock star lover boy.”
“Eat shit, Crosby,” I said.
“Aunt Mila!”
I turned my head and saw Lucy with her hands on her hips.
“I didn’t see you there,” I said.
“No excuse,” Lucy said. She put her hand out. “Pay up.”
“You’re still doing that thing? How old are you now? Twenty-three?”
Lucy giggled.
I reached into my pocket and dug out a one-dollar bill for Lucy.
“Do you really miss him that much?” Ma asked me.
“Do you need help with anything?” I asked, avoiding the topic.
It wasn’t just missing Silas.
I was pregnant with his baby.
Whoa.
“Take the salad to the table, please,” Ma said. “And don’t forget those peppers your brothers like too.” Ma stuck out her tongue. “Why torture yourself like that?”
“You know why Tyler does that,” I said.
Ma frowned and turned away.
It was because Dad used to eat peppers with his salad. That’s why Tyler did it.
I walked into the dining room to find Lucy on her chair, showing off her fresh dollar bill.
Tyler glanced at me. “I see you’re paying so soon?”
“It slipped,” I said.
“Aunt Mila told Uncle Crosby to eat dog poo,” Lucy said.
“Dog poo isn’t a bad word,” Olivia said with a smile.
“I don’t think she said the word poo,” Tyler said.
“Oops,” I said.
“Hey, there she is,” a voice said from behind me.
I looked and there was Edith and Thomas.
Behind them, Zeke, with a dinner roll in his hand.