Page 111 of Timid (Lark Cove 2)

His silence was just another rejection. It was another dagger to my heart.

I clutched my phone to my chest and crawled back in bed, hoping he’d call.

He didn’t.

Three hours and seven minutes later, I heard his truck pull back into the drive. Then a few moments later, the front door opened and closed. He stomped his boots and thudded down the hallway.

I kept my eyes closed and stayed curled into my little ball, pretending to be asleep. My body was perfectly still as I listened to him strip off his clothes. The entire time I wished he’d say something and explain where he’d been.

He didn’t.

He finished undressing, crawled into bed and passed out.

When he began snoring, I rolled over to study his face. As I leaned closer, a heartbreaking smell filled my nose.

My boyfriend had left me alone in his bed only to come back hours later smelling like tequila and women’s perfume.

“Ryder, what would you like to drink?” Betty asked as she opened the refrigerator in her kitchen. “I’ve got apple juice, milk, water, lemonade and SunnyD. That was Willa’s favorite when she was your age. Oh, and Nate bought a case of Sprite because he is trying to give up Coke. Don’t ask me how trading one soda for another will help him quit the former because his reasoning makes no sense.”

“It makes perfect sense,” Nate said, walking into the kitchen. “I don’t like Sprite.”

“See?” Betty winked at my brother. “No sense.”

Ryder laughed. “I’ll try the SunnyD.”

“You got it. Jackson, what would you like?”

“Water, please.”

Betty nodded. “You guys make yourselves at home. I’ll get your drinks and come find you.”

“Can I help cook?” Ryder asked her. “Willa’s been teaching me.”

“A young chef. I like it.” Betty smiled as she filled a glass with ice. “Yes, you can help. You can help Willa peel the sweet potatoes.”

I glanced over at Willa at the sink. The moment we’d walked into the house, she’d gone right for the kitchen, practically ripping the potato peeler out of her mom’s hand to take over.

She looked over her shoulder at me, then turned her eyes down. She’d barely made eye contact with me over the last week. And whenever she did look at me, the pain in her eyes nearly broke me apart.

It was Thanksgiving and we were spending it with her family. Two months ago, I would have looked forward to a day at Nate and Betty’s place, eating a big meal. Maybe watching some football.

But now, I was coming out of my skin.

The last place I wanted to be was with Willa’s family. I didn’t want Ryder bonding with them. I didn’t want Nate and Betty to think this would be a new tradition.

This would be the one and only holiday he or I spent with the Doons.

The time for my inevitable split with Willa was here.

I sh

ould have cut her free sooner, but I’d been a coward. A big dumb coward. I hadn’t been able to walk away from her, because I wanted her too much. I needed her too much.

She kept me calm and collected. She’d been the one to keep me sane as I’d tried to fit Ryder into my life. Being the selfish asshole that I was, I’d clung to her because I needed her, and in the process, I’d let her get in too deep.

She was in love with me.

Somehow, I’d fooled her into thinking I was the kind of man she should love.