“Will do.” I pulled my hand away and revved my engine before taking off and leaving her standing there. I should never have told her I loved her.
I should have never started this with her.
Because now it would hurt like hell to walk away.
But her mother was right. I wasn’t good enough for Adelaide. That’s the one thing we could agree on.
I sent a text to Shaw and Jax when I got home, and they were both at my house within ten minutes. We climbed out on my roof, just like we always did, and Shaw pulled a beer out of his coat and handed it to me.
“How did dinner with the in-laws go?” he asked over a chuckle.
“Not fucking well. Her mother is a psychopath. She went all gangster on me and told me to stay away from her daughter. I should never have started this shit up with Adelaide. We don’t fit. I fucking knew better.” I tipped my head back and slammed the beer. The cool liquid hit my system and I relaxed a bit.
“Fuck that,” Jax said. “Are you kidding me right now? Everyone knows Addy’s mom is a haughty bitch. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Tune that shit out.”
But there were things even Jax and Shaw didn’t know about me. Things I didn’t want anyone to know. Especially Savannah Edington because then the whole damn town would find out. That wouldn’t be fair to Ma. Hell, she didn’t even know that I knew her secret.
“Come on, brother. You’ve never let anyone tell you who you are. Addy is crazy about you. And keep in mind her mother wanted her to date that piece of shit, Taulson. She’s clearly a poor judge of character.”
“We don’t fit. She’s right about that much.” I shook my head, tipping back the last of the beer in the can. “Why the fuck do I have to love the one girl that I shouldn’t?”
Jax’s eyes doubled in size. “Holy shit. I didn’t know you loved her. I never thought I’d see the day. That icy heart of yours finally softened.”
I flipped him the bird.
“Listen, Jett. People in this town can be judgmental little shits, and Addy’s mom is the leader of the pack. But anyone who knows you—they know you’re a winner. Why else did thirty-two schools try to recruit you, huh?”
“Because I can throw a fucking football.” I rolled my eyes, wishing he had another beer tucked in his coat pocket.
“Bullshit. You’re fucking brilliant, and you know it’s true because I would never compliment you unless it were absolutely necessary,” Shaw said through his laughter.
“What are you going to do?” Jax asked, and I saw the empathy when I met his gaze.
“I’m going to take a step back and try to figure this shit out. We’re both leaving for school soon, and I’m guessing she’ll be staying here and going to State if her mom has anything to do with it.”
“Dude, you know we always have your back, but I think you’re making a mistake on this one.” Shaw tipped his head back and looked up at the stars in the dark sky. Crickets chirped in the background, but it was otherwise a peaceful night.
“You’re right about that. I’ve made a mistake by letting it get this far. All right, thanks for coming over. I’m going to sleep on it and try to figure this shit out.”
“You want me to stay and hang out?” Jax offered, but I insisted I was fine.
I wasn’t.
But I’d figure this shit out on my own.
Just like I always did.
Chapter Nineteen
Adelaide
I’d called Jett several times last night after he’d left, and he hadn’t answered. Clem told me she heard our mother out on the front porch talking with him, but when I’d grilled Mama, she’d claimed they had a pleasant conversation and she’d inquired about his mother and grandmother.
But when he didn’t show up to school or respond to any of my texts, I knew something was up. I’d pestered Jax and Shaw all day, and they wouldn’t say anything, but I didn’t miss the way they kept looking back and forth between one another.
So, here I was. Driving to his fight with Coco, who’d just picked me up. I’d snuck out my bedroom window. It was a school night. Edingtons didn’t go out on school nights and certainly didn’t attend illegal fights. But I was quickly learning that I was a lot more than just an Edington. And Jett Stone was a part of me. He owned my heart. And I was determined to figure out what happened.
I jumped in the passenger seat of the car and Coco turned to face me. “Okay. I’m going to tell you something. It took a lot to get Shaw to crack, but I think I know what happened.”
“What?” I asked, my gaze searching hers for answers.
“Freaking Savannah Edington went all mobster and told him to stay away from you. She said he wasn’t good enough, which is ironic, considering she thinks Alec is good enough, and we all know what a douchebag he is.”
I shook my head. This was a stretch, even for my mother. She wasn’t a monster. Sure, she was set in her ways, but to pull him aside and tell him he wasn’t good enough. My hands fisted at my sides and I tried to calm my breathing. “What is wrong with her, Co?”
“I think she lets Mama T get to her, and she’s probably been chirping in her ear every day about you moving on from Alec. Who knows? But you need to put her in her place, Addy. This is like a bad B movie where the mama goes all crazy and kills everyone in town because her daughter didn’t win the beauty pageant.” She pulled away from the curb and laughed.
I rolled my eyes. “You have a twisted imagination. But I need to fix things with Jett first. Mama and I are due for a conversation, but I don’t even know if I can talk to her right now. I can’t believe she would invite him to dinner and then behave like that. I knew my mom could be snobby, but I never thought she was mean-spirited. My father will not be okay with this either.”
“First things first. Get your boy back, and then we’ll figure out how to deal with your momager.”
I laughed now, but a sick feeling settled in my stomach. People like my mother gave Willow Springs a bad name. And Jett might not want to deal with this kind of drama. He might not think I’m worth it. But I was damn well going to make sure that he knew I loved him, and if he was going to walk away, he wasn’t going to do it easily because I was going to fight for this.
For him.
For us.
We pulled up at the warehouse and Shaw met us at the door. “Jesus, Co. You know he’s going to be pissed that you brought her here. Sorry, Addy. No offense to you.”
“Listen, you’re hot as hell, Shaw. And if you’re lucky, this thing between us can keep going until we both leave for school. But make no mistake, it’s always going to be sisters before misters with me. Chicks before dicks. Hos before bros. You get it? This is my girl. She deserves to have a say before he kicks her to the curb.”