A Simple Wish About love - Karice Bolton Page 0,51

Slade tried to untangle himself from Penny, but it was too late.

Slade looked into Erika’s eyes, and all the promises he’d made to her came crumbling down as hurt darted through her gaze and she ran out of Slade’s parents’ house.

Penny started laughing. “Oops.”

“Grow up, Penny.” Slade slid the plate on the counter and ran after Erika.

But it was too late. She was gone, and he knew she’d never answer his call again.

Chapter Twenty

Thankfully, Jeremy and Scott were both upstairs when Erika got home. Shannon had agreed to hang out with Scott for the weekend while Erika tried to surprise Slade.

The only person who got a big, fat surprise was Erika.

Of course, she’d decided to drive to Idaho rather than fly, so all the way back, her trip was filled with tears and more tears.

First, there were the tears of anger, followed by the tears of sadness, followed by the tears of humiliation, which led her back to her favorite tears of all.

Anger.

And boy, was she angry.

Slade had called so many times that her phone had basically stopped registering them.

Shannon stared at Erika and drew a deep breath before pushing it out in a very dramatic way. They were both in the kitchen.

“It’s all coming back to me why I stopped dating. Men suck.” Erika hung her head in her palms, and her sister stood from her chair and came over to rub Erika’s back.

“Maybe there was a logical explanation,” Shannon tried, which only resulted in Erika raising her head to scowl at her sister.

“None of that Pollyanna crap here.” Erika shook her head and let out a groan before whispering. “And I slept with him. Why did I sleep with him?” Erika’s gaze landed on her sister’s. “Oh, yeah. Because you left me at the chowder house to fend for myself.”

“No, you slept with him because you two have a connection. A very strong connection.”

Erika laughed. “We have such a strong connection that Slade looked at Penny and saw my face, so he decided to go for it. That must be it. He just sees me everywhere and mistakenly let Penny wrap her body around him for an impromptu make-out session.”

Shannon grimaced. “You don’t know that it was impromptu.”

“Very funny.” Erika slid down in her chair. “I can’t let Scott see me like this. I have to be strong.”

“See you like what, Mom?”

Erika quickly wiped away the tears, but her blotchy face was a dead giveaway that she’d spent the last seven hours crying.

“What happened? Are Grandma and Grandpa okay?”

Erika stood and quickly hugged her boy. He was such a good kid. He didn’t deserve any of this. He needed a mom solely focused on him, as she had been for the last twelve years.

“No, Grandma and Grandpa are just fine.”

“Thank God. They’re getting up there.” Scott glanced at Jeremy, who was walking into the kitchen with an empty potato chip bag.

“Whoa. Should I go back upstairs?” Jeremy asked awkwardly.

Erika laughed and shook her head. “No. Just girl problems.”

Jeremy nodded. “My mom gets that every month.”

Erika smiled and didn’t bother to correct him as her son’s friend trundled to the pantry to search for more food.

“Are you okay?” Scott asked again.

“Yeah. Just a friend I thought was a friend turned out to disappoint me.”

“Is it Slade?” Scott asked, glancing at his friend hiding in the pantry.

Erika loved that her son was so astute, but there were pros and cons. She could never get away with a thing.

She let out a sigh and smiled. “Yeah. It was Slade.”

“I heard you two the other night. Everything seemed fine.” Scott scowled. “What could go so wrong in a few days?”

Shannon nodded. “That’s a really good question.”

Erika smiled. “And one that I don’t have an answer for. Sometimes, I think people just move on or outgrow relationships.”

“He’d be an idiot to outgrow you.” Scott smiled. “Want me to take him out back?”

Erika laughed and kissed her son’s head. She knew she could get away with that much in front of Jeremy. Anyone else? No way. Plus, Jeremy’s head was still stuck in the pantry.

“Try not to let him get you down.” Her son shrugged. “There’s a lot of men out there, and women shouldn’t forget that. If one’s a dud, move on to the next. It’s not that hard.”

Erika grinned and hugged Scott one more time. He was too wise for his age. “No, it’s not that hard.”

Jeremy came out with a bag of tortilla chips. “Do you have any salsa?”

Scott rolled his