“Then tell the truth. Tell them what you just told me. Hell, I doubt many kids tell the truth on those fucking essays. They’d probably find it refreshing.” I laughed. “Maybe you could explain why your cowboy boots end at your ankles? What’s the story with those?”
Her laughter shook the hammock, and she kicked up her feet. “They’re shooties. You know… shoes and boots mixed together. Cowboy boots make my legs hot. So, these are my favorite.”
“Never heard of shooties before. See, I learn something new every day.”
“Stick with me, kid, I’ll teach you all the things. I call them booties because it’s easier.” She smiled. “So, what are you doing out here, Jett Stone? Do you train for your fights?”
I pushed to my feet. I was fine talking about her, but I wasn’t in the mood to start sharing my shit. “Nah. I just come out here to think.”
“I like it out here. I’ve never been anywhere on the lake where it was actually quiet. How’d you find this place anyway?” she asked.
“I live right up the street. No one comes out to this side of the lake because it’s a bit overgrown, but I found this little patch a few years ago and I’ve never seen anyone out here—until now.” I raised a brow and crossed my arms over my chest.
She chuckled. “Sorry about that. I just needed to figure out how I’m going to tell Mama about cheer. I knew no one would find me out here.”
“It’s fine. It’s not like I own the place.” I walked toward the water and picked up a few rocks to skip across the water. She came down and stood beside me.
“Well, thanks.”
I squinted my eyes when I turned to look at her, as the sun blazed from above. “What did your mom have to say about Alec fucking around on you?”
I didn’t know why I asked. Why I cared.
But I did.
“Pfft.” She threw her arms up in the air and shook her head. “Go figure. She didn’t think it was that big of a deal. But me dropping an F-bomb at the dinner table—that was a big freaking deal.”
I laughed. “Was your F-bomb freaking or fucking?”
“The latter.”
“You can’t say it again, can you?”
“Well, you heard it yesterday. And I certainly did the honors last night,” she said. “And she sent me to my room for it. She said that boys will be boys, and that we’d work through it.”
“That’s interesting. I would have guessed your mom would be pissed. She strikes me as the judgy type.”
“Why do you say that?” She placed her hands on her hips and faced me.
“Because she sure as shit judged my mom back in the day. Seems like she’d do the same to defend her own daughter.”
Adelaide’s head cocked to the side. “How’d she judge Mae? I didn’t even know they really knew one another.”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “Fucking figures.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” she huffed.
“It means that your mom lived down the street from mine. They’ve known one another their whole lives. Your mom used to babysit my mom when they were young because she was a couple years older. And then my mom got pregnant with me, and your mom never spoke to her again. Hell, most of the rich assholes in this town did the same thing. Like I said. Your mom strikes me as someone who might get a little pissed about a dude who fucks around on her daughter.”
Adelaide’s mouth dropped open, and she clamped it shut and turned to look back out at the water. We stood there in silence for a while before she finally spoke again. “I didn’t know they knew one another. I like your mom a lot. She’s a really nice lady. I see her every Saturday when the girls and I meet at the diner.”
I chucked a rock across the water and it bounced and glided across the lake. “Yep.”
“You don’t have to get all quiet on me now. Seems like you might be a little judgy too,” she said, turning to face me and raising her brow.
I chucked another rock, but this time it didn’t make it very far.
“How do you figure?” I didn’t hide my annoyance.
“Well, first you barely talked to me for years because you didn’t like my boyfriend. And now you’re being a little icy because you don’t like my mom. Just because Mama and Alec are assholes does not mean I’m one.”
I grinned. “Touché, Adelaide Edington. You’re a lot of things, but I agree—you’re not an asshole. You just seem to know quite a few.”
“Agreed. And my dad and my sister aren’t assholes.”
Now we both laughed at her words. This was not how I saw the day going, but I wasn’t complaining. Hanging out with Adelaide Edington did not suck.
“That’s good to know. Then there’s hope for you.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“I heard that Clem made it to state as a freshman. That’s impressive. What does your mom think of her being a runner instead of a cheerleader?” I asked.
She sighed. “Of course, she hates it. She’ll make up some excuse as to why she can’t go to her race this weekend. But my dad and I will be there cheering her on.”
I nodded. “That’s good you’re going.”
“Yeah. I need to be there. I see your mom and Gram at all your games.”
“Yep. Ma’s never missed one in all my years playing,” I said.
Adelaide dropped to sit on a large rock next to where we stood. “How old was she when she had you?”
I didn’t answer at first. It wasn’t something I talked about often. But I knew she liked my mom, and she wasn’t coming from a judgmental place.
“She got pregnant at sixteen and had me at seventeen.”
She nodded. “Your dad didn’t stick around to help her?”
“Nope.” I chucked another rock across the lake and it glided along the water with ease.
“That had to be hard on her. Hard on you.”
“It was definitely hard on her. Doesn’t matter much to me.”
“Why’s that?” she asked, pushing to her feet, just as the sun started disappearing behind the clouds.
“Because I didn’t know any different. You can’t miss what you never had, right?”
“I don’t know. I think it’s normal to wonder about things that you’ve never had. I know I do lately.”