Even though Mayson only sent me a quick Thank You text I knew that telling her take the rest of the day off would make her happy. She has been so busy lately that I don’t think she has had much time to spend with her dad. Their relationship is one that I have always envied. My biological dad walked out on my mom before I was even born. My stepdad took care of us financially but he never really treated me like his son. He had fallen in love with my mother, but never really wanted children. He only gave me things and “attention” (which was all fake) to make sure my mom would marry him. He talked my mom into moving to California when I went off to college to get her away from me. Now he has her all to himself. I haven’t seen my mother since I graduated from college four years ago. I get the occasional text and a card on my birthday. He took my mom away from me physically and emotionally. I suppose that is why I was always hanging out at Mayson’s house when we were kids, even before we
I was exhausted when I my head had finally hit the pillow. It felt like old times with Daddy, just sitting on the sofa and watching television. No matter what Daddy was doing he always found the time especially on weekends for movie time with me. Once Holden and I started hanging out together when we were young, Daddy always included him in movie time. Sometimes I was a little jealous of having to share Daddy with someone else. I had always know the Holden did not have the same home life that I did. I never mentioned it to him because I didn’t want to embarrass him. I had gone to Holden’s house only a few times and it was not an enjoyable visit. Walking into his house gave me chills. It was almost like no one lived there. I knew he got left alone a lot too. I didn’t let my parents know because they would have called Child Protective Services. Knowing how much they cared about Holden, they probably would have taken him in to live with us. That is just the kind of people that my parents
I am sure Mayson did not want me to come with her, but I was not going to let her sit here at the hospital alone. When I walked into the hallway, she was sitting on the bench and she was white as a sheet. I could hear her mother’s voice coming from the phone in her hand, but Mayson was not moving. I picked up the phone and started talking to Mrs. Cole. She gave me the details of Mr. Cole being in the ICU at the hospital. I told her that apparently Mayson was having a bad panic attack and I could not get her to respond to me. I did my best to reassure her that I would take care of Mayson and we would get to the hospital as soon as possible. I had seen Mayson suffer many panic attacks when we were together, but nothing compared to today. She was practically catatonic. She didn’t say a word on the drive to the hospital. Walking into her dad’s ICU room broke her. I held her up and did my best to comfort her. I felt helpless that I couldn’t do more for her. I wan’t to take any pain from h
When Seth came home, he looked worried. I just knew that Mayson had to be the reason for this. She was always a pain in my ass ever since I met her. She was always where she didn’t belong and she didn’t belong back in this town. If they lost this deal with the board, I was going to make Mayson pay worse than I already have planned for her. “Amelia, baby, do we have any bourbon let in the house? I need a stiff drink.” It was pretty bad if Seth was asking for hard liquor. That was usually his drink of choice when we had a bad fight and I had stormed out of the house. I was fuming mad. “What did that bitch, Mayson, do this time? You and Holden have to get rid of her somehow. She is going to ruin your business if you keep her around. The board members are going to regret ever crossing my man!!!” Seth just looked at me like he had enough at this point. He just sat on the sofa and looked at me. “Amelia, I am not in the mood to listen to you rant about Mayson. She has nothing to do wi
Mama walked back in the room with two cups of coffee. I am thankful for some caffeine right now. The panic attack completely drained me. “Thanks, Mama, I really needed the pick me up.” She had a frown on her face, but it didn’t seem like one she would have out of concern for Daddy. “What’s wrong Mama, looks like you have something on your mind?” “Mayson, you know I have never questioned why you left town so quickly. I figured you had your reasons and if you wanted to talk to me you would have. Me and your dad missed you greatly but also were very proud of you for going out on your own. Your dad would tell anyone that would listen about all of the great things you were doing away at college Now as as far as Holden is concerned, I have never understood what happened between you two. That is a discussion we will definitely be having very soon. But do you mind telling me why he left so quickly? He said you told him that you were fine and didn’t need him, but somehow I did not quite beli
I am so glad that Seth decided to meet me at the gym. I have to beat this frustration out of me. I am already taking my frustrations out on the weight machines but I need to throw some punches. That red headed vixen has got me all twisted up inside. I can’t figure out if I want to strangle her or make love to her. I was always supposed to be her first. I am sure she had her share of men pursuing her and that just makes me more angry. The need I have to possess her body is burning me up from the inside out. She was opening up to me today. I could see that fire in her eyes I had seen so many times when we were a couple. Those years may only be eight in real time, but I feel like an ocean of time is between us now. I am going to have to start all over again. What does that look like though? Maybe Seth can enlighten me. He is the biggest man whore I know but he may have some words of wisdom for me. “Holden, looks like you started without me. What’s going on my friend? You sounded pretty
I stayed home to help take care of my day for almost two weeks once he was released from the hospital. I did some work at home when I could because I was falling behind on my part of the project. There were some changes that needed to be made to the plans, before we broke ground for construction. Holden and Seth had been very understanding and I was thankful in so many ways. Another benefit was that I didn’t have to look at Amelia’s face every day. She had become more hostile towards me with some of her snide comments. Thankfully Mama hadn’t pressed me on answers in regard to what happened at the hospital with Holden. I have been kicking myself ever since for how I acted. I asked him to leave, but I really wanted him to stay. I liked how it felt to have his arm around my shoulders. He made me feel safe and like everything was going to be okay. That was how he made me feel when we were dating. Maybe it could work again, but I was so scared he would hurt me all over again. Once I wa
Being from a small town always has its advantages. So when Mayson called the police because of an incident with her car, the officer that got the call, notified me as he was on his way. Daniel Riffer and I have gone way back. I got him out of trouble a few times when we were in school together. I helped get his life together enough so he could go to the police academy. He came to town middle way through high school to live with his grandparents. His parents were abusive and were drug addicts. He was a good guy that had been dealt a bad hand. I decided that the best way to deal with this was to not rush in like an ass, by screaming and yelling. Mayson didn’t need to see how angry I was that not only had someone damaged her car, but that she did not listen to me about staying late. I should have been watching the office, but when I had gotten home I had fallen asleep on the sofa watching football. This was my fault for not keeping an eye on her. She will be mine again and I could have
I have had so much on my mind lately. Now that Mayson was out of the hospital and on the mend we could get the project back on track. Whenever I have talked to Holden, he said she was so ready to get back to work. The project has been on hold ever since Mayson’s attack. The investigation into Holden caused a couple of sponsors to pull their funding. Luckily the amount pulled wasn’t going to impact the overall budget. We are behind the eight ball on the time frame. It will take a miracle for the project to be completed on the original timeline. As soon as Holden gets back into the office, we both need to be making calls to contractors to get them back into town. We could not afford to pay contractors that were not working for over a month. Thankfully, this project isn’t the only thing that the firm has going on. There are a couple of projects in Clinton that have come in that have kept me busy. It has kept Amelia busy too, which keeps her calm. Ever since Mayson was attacked she’s act
That bitch just will not die. Mayson seems to have nine lives like a mangy cat. I am so over this whole thing. She should have stayed gone eight years ago. My life would not be so complicated if it were not for her. There is no way that I will be able to get close enough to her again to try to finally rid this world of her. After the incident in the hospital, she has not been without some sort of guard dog, Seth included. I had thought about slitting his throat in his sleep many times over the last couple of months because of Mayson. She sucked him into her perfect world just like everyone else. I can’t help but go back to the night of the attack and try to figure out what I did wrong. My footsteps sounded like thunder as I ran across the driveway behind the house. I could feel my heart pounding in my ears. I was so scared that someone was going to see me sneaking through the back yard. I almost could not catch my breath, but I had to keep moving. The stench of the roses that Ma
I ran my hands all over her body, exploring every inch of her soft skin, I let my fingertips linger on the lacy edges of her lingerie. Mayson’s own hands began to work on the buttons of my shirt, one by one. I could not help but moan as she traced the lines of my abs with the tip of her nail. I quickly moved to the clasp of her bra, freeing her breasts with a gentle touch that sent a shiver down her spine. Our kisses grew deeper, more urgent, as we were both seeking to reconnect with the passion that we had lost. The fabric of our clothing seemed to melt away, leaving us both bare to each other's touch. Mayson’s breath hitched as I slid my hand down her back, cupping her ass and squeezing gently. She had to feel how hard I was pressing against her. She rocked her hips slightly, teasing me. I could see in her lidded eyes how turned on she was and she was enjoying the power she had over me. The air was charged with electricity as our eyes met. We were making a silent promise of a pa
I really did not want to go lay down for a nap. I was tired of laying in a bed, but I could see how I really did not want to go lay down for a nap. I was tired of laying in a bed, but I could see how worried Holden was about me. He is blaming himself for what happened that night. I don’t blame him at all. I blame whoever walked into our house like they belonged and tried to take my life from me. I suppose it is a good idea to just leave Holden with his thoughts for now. If I could just remember something about that night after I got home. I know Mama said that I talked to her, but I don’t remember the whole conversation, just bits and pieces. What I really want is to be able to reconnect with Holden. Our love for each other has not diminished, but there is this cloud hanging over it because of what happened here. We need to find our way back to each other. It has been too long since we have laid in our bed together and I miss him so much. I want to feel his arms around me. Holde
It felt so good to bring Mayson home to our house. These last few weeks of her being in the hospital has been hard. I felt so helpless that I was not able to protect her that night. I am still worried that she will not feel safe with me or safe in the house. I will build her a new house if she does not want to stay here. I want the home that we will spend our lives in, raise our children in to be a haven for her instead of a bad memory. I could see that she was a little unsteady on her feet when she got out of the car. I went over to help her. “Holden, I am so glad we are finally home. This was a wonderful and unexpected surprise.” She looked so happy, but I was still so worried about her. "Holden, what’s wrong? You are so quiet," Mayson whispered as she placed her hand on my cheek. I leaned into her touch. I have missed being like this with her, just the two of us. "Just thinking," I replied, trying to keep the emotion from my voice. The house looked the same as it had the nig
I am so glad that I can finally get out of this hospital, I am going stir crazy. I have been here for over three weeks. I am ready to be in a comfortable bed. I hate that I have to go back to my parents, but the police have not released the house back to Holden yet. There is only one good thing about being in the hospital this long, it has given me time to think a lot of things over. It has also given me time to do some internet searching on Jennifer Martin. I need to know all that I can about her. She tried to ruin my romantic night with Holden, and she says she is carrying his baby. I am still not sure how I feel about the whole baby thing. It hurts my heart to think that I won’t be the one to give him his first child. I believe him, now, when he says that he always used protection during sex until we were together. Condoms can break and if she was on birth control that could fail as well. The reality is that I may have to face being a stepmother to Holden’s son or daughter. A
Holden Today could be the make it or break it day for the company. Not only has there been quite a bit of business funds and personal funds been put into this project, but our reputation as well. Seth and I both have made huge sacrifices to get our business up and running from nothing. We struggled financially until H&S Designs was up and running. Seth and I are so pissed off that someone has tried to destroy everything that we have built. I truly believe this person is the same one that attacked Mayson. Both of us need ot sit down and try to figure out who would hate either one of us badly enough to do these things. They were willing to commit a murder to get to us. If Mayson hadn’t been so stubborn, she may not have made it through the attack. Before the meeting I am heading over to talk to Daniel. I need to have my house back. It should not still be considered a crime scene. There is no evidence showing that I did anything. Mayson should be coming home tomorrow to our home
I have so much on my plate today that I do not even know where to start. Mayson is getting out of the hospital tomorrow. Seth and I have a meeting with the board after lunch to discuss the project. We are still in limbo as to whether or not it is going forward. I need to go to the police department and talk to Daniel to see if there are any new leads on Mayson’s case. He has gotten the police chief to agree to extra patrols at my house. The chief knows that I had nothing to do with Mayson’s attack. In a town as small as Chance, the rumor mill gets to buzzing. He cannot afford to lose the next election. Having an unsolved case involving a single woman almost killed in her own home does not look good on his resume. I was able to talk Seth into meeting me for breakfast at Fred’s this morning. We haven’t had the opportunity to eat together since before the project started. This has been a crazy few months. I never would have thought this town would have the same things going on that big
My mother died about an hour after she gave me the letter. It was weighing heavy in my carryon bag. I could not open this letter alone. I had texted Holden before I boarded my flight that I needed to see him. Seth: Holden I am getting ready to head back home. Mom passed away. Need to see you ASAP Holden: Sorry man have a safe trip. No problem. Meet me at the Cole’s when you get back Seth: Why are you staying there? Holden: My house is still a crime scene. I think the DA is being an ass. Mayson woke up today Seth: That is awesome man. Give her love from me. See you when I get into town After all of what I have been through the last couple of days, I welcomed the good news of Mayson waking up. I hated to have to pull him away from being with her. Holden and I know what it is like to have a dysfunctional family. I don’t know how I would have survived college without Holden. When I arrived at the Cole’s house, Holden was sitting on the porch. He looked so happy. I env