The Long Road

There are times in your life that you never forget. Times when you learn an important lesson but one you never wanted to learn. I could have gladly gone my whole life without some lessons I've learned. They aren't the type to make you grow and blossom in life. No, they are there to make you understand that some mistakes you never come back from. You'll never be innocent of. I've learned what it feels like to realize I cannot protect myself. I know how fragile I am and how fast someone can make me feel that. I've learned that someone can take away all control I have over my own life. But, I've also learned that I can be stuck there with no way out.  The night I realized there was no way out was when Rob had thrown a glass vase at me, and it exploded off my wrist when I threw my arm up to deflect it. He was on a rant about something, and I can't even remember what it was anymore. There's always something, but I managed to get my phone and run out of the condo calling the

It's been a few weeks since Sharky's date night, and Rob has finally found a new job. He's very excited about it. This job is perfect for him, he says. Rob is, of course, the absolute best at it, and they can already see this and are talking about moving him up. I keep the eye roll on the inside and agree that this will be perfect for him. Something else about Rob is that he is always the best at everything, even when he's not. You agree and get on with it. No one else knows what he knows, and they're all a bunch of idiots. Rob starts to rant about the old boss and how stupid he was to let him get away, and I agree that that wasn't a smart move on his part while my eyeball twitches, but I get it under control. Thankfully there's a game on, and Rob gets sucked into it.  I take a blanket out to the small balcony and curl up in a chair to watch the small section of the gulf coast off in the distance. I love the smell of the ocean. It smells like home and me

Brodie Seeing her after so many years was a shock to my system even though Wyatt had told me she was coming, and I knew she wouldn't be able to run and hide from me this time. I wasn't prepared for the enormity of the feelings it would stir up. We've got to have a talk and put it behind us, and that's going to happen before she leaves. We're family, and now that I'm living in the town, we need to hash it out, move on from the past. I'd fucked up. I knew it, but she's married now, and I can't turn back the wheels of time.  Damn, she's still beautiful. She looks even better with age. She's twenty- eight now, and I'm thirty. It doesn't seem even seem possible.  I walk out to her car with Wyatt to bring her bags in and see her purse and phone lying in the front passenger seat, so I open the driver's side and sit down to gather them up. I notice a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, and the car stinks of cigarettes.  "Hey Wyatt, when d

I woke up to the smell of bacon cooking, so I brushed my teeth and made my way to the kitchen. Momma was sitting at the island with Ms. Patty, and Brodie was at the stove making french toast and bacon.  "Nova! It's so good you're home, dear. Your mom has missed you so." Ms.Patty hugged me and kissed my cheek. "So good to finally have you both home." "Yes, Brodie told me he moved back. That's wonderful." I smiled and kissed her cheek. Then made my way to momma and gave her a squeeze and kiss.  "I told him I was perfectly capable of making breakfast in my kitchen, but he ordered me to sit like I'm one of his commandos." Momma shook her head and smiled.  "Comando's?" I was puzzled. "Those handsome security men that work with him. If I were young again, I would snatch one up!" "Momma!" I busted out laughing.  "You laugh but wait until you get a gander at one," she raised a brow then wiggled it.  I h

Brodie Wyatt had told me about Nova not taking their conversation well, but when I got out of the shower the following day to find her gone, I was pissed. I hadn't had one of the guys on her because I was in the house with her. I didn't think she'd bolt while I was taking a shower. I went to my phone and found her note. That's when I knew what made her desperate enough to leave. She still should have come to me, and that made me angry. I picked up the phone and called Wyatt to give him a heads up about what was going down, and he mentioned that she had been doing something on Cheryl's laptop and said that she might already have a job somewhere. I went to Nova's room, and the laptop was on her dresser, so I opened it and checked the history, but she had deleted it. It was a good thing I put a tracker on her car. It would take time if I had to wait on Tyson to retrieve the information. I looked around her room but didn't find anything except a box under her bed full of