Keeping Time (Steelwolf #2) - Stephanie Kay Page 0,2
marriage to Dustin had blown up in my face. We didn’t slowly drift apart. It wasn’t amicable. Dustin had left me. He’d destroyed me, throwing things in my face I’d never imagined from anyone, least of all my husband. The man who had promised to love and cherish me had turned into a mean-spirited person, one I’d never seen coming.
We’d been crazy twenty-two-year-olds with no idea about what the future would hold. And within six years, it was over.
My anger had faded as soon as I’d found out I was pregnant. James was worth every ounce of pain Dustin had put me through. I could say that now, three years later.
My interoffice messenger popped up, alerting me that Belinda and Bradford were here and I had to re-focus on work. I pushed aside my weird morning and opened the door for my clients.
“Good morning, Belinda. Bradford. Come, take a seat.” I gestured to the couch across from the overstuffed chair I always sat in during my appointments. They each perched on opposite ends of the couch. Belinda’s arms were crossed over her chest and Bradford crossed his ankle over his knee and tilted away from his wife.
This would be a productive session.
Three hours later, I tucked into the sandwich Jessica had grabbed for me when she was getting her own lunch. While my first session had been fifty minutes of arguing and accusations, at least the two appointments after that had been calm and rational. We’d gotten to the point in Shelby’s progress where I’d become a sounding board. She was home with her four kids while her husband worked, and she’d told me more than once that she grew to enjoy her little breaks with me.
People came to therapy for various reasons; some needed an open ear and some needed real guidance. I’d spent years figuring out how to read each of my clients to make sure they were getting what they needed from me. It was a constant juggle, but this was the career I’d wanted as soon as I’d taken my first psychology course in college.
The human mind fascinated me. How we could fixate on something mundane or overlook something obvious.
Or dwell on beautiful long-haired men that we would probably never see again. I bit back a chuckle and shook my head, wondering if I would run into Tristan again.
Which led to thinking about my son and how and when I would tell him who his father is. He was still too young to ask questions, but eventually, they would come and I’d have to figure out how to make him understand.
It was easier to deal with other people’s problems.
TRISTAN
I set down my beer after the pounding started. I knew it would be seconds before Jax’s voice was sing-yelling through the door, and my neighbors didn’t need to hear that shit any more than I did.
“Tris. Open up. Let us in,” Jax called out as I pulled the door open.
“Do you have to start running your mouth as soon as you bang on my door?” I asked as Bash and Jax walked in. We weren’t having band practice, so Charlie hadn’t tagged along.
It was still weird having a woman in the band after being just the guys since the beginning. Hell, it was still weird having anyone on the drums that wasn’t Jamie. But in just over a year, Charlie had filled Jamie’s shoes better than we could’ve hoped and was making her mark on the band. It was the best outcome imaginable, by far.
“I have a very sought-after voice, Tris. Everyone wants to hear it,” our front man said.
Bash shook his head as he walked in. “You keep telling yourself that, buddy,” Bash said, slapping Jax’s shoulder.
“So this is what you bought?” Jax asked, looking around the place.
“You know we’re only on a break for three months, Tris,” Bash said, walking around my new brownstone and taking in the state of disrepair.
I chuckled. “Yeah. I know. I wanted something to keep me busy. And we’re setting down roots, right? I’m done with LA, and Cassie is going to keep you here, so I wanted a place of my own. Besides, I have no desire to live with this one.” I nodded toward Jax.
“Hey, what’s wrong with sharing my bachelor pad?” Jax narrowed his eyes like he was hurt. Fucking drama queen.
“Your place is a revolving door. I’ll pass,” I said with a smirk.
Jax shrugged. “I can’t help it if the ladies flock to me.”