"You okay to drive?" I ask.
"Yeah. I'll go home and start looking for jobs."
"I'll call you later, okay?"
She nods and gets in her car. We watch as she drives off.
"Guess I'll go home." I turn and head to my truck.
"Riley, wait." Brad comes up beside me. "Are you mad at me? For going out with her?"
"No. I'm just in shock. I can't believe they're the new owners. And I can't believe you dated her."
"It wasn't a date. I didn't like her from the moment I met her. Nate didn't either, but he put up with her because he really liked her friend. If either of us had known she was the girl who bullied you back when you were a kid we never would've went out with them." He takes my hands in his. "I'm sorry. About all of it."
"Like you always say, it'll work out. It has to, right?"
"Right." He smiles. "Let me take you somewhere. Get your mind off all this."
"I can't. I have to go find my mom and make sure she's not doing something stupid."
"You think she went home?"
"I don't know, but I'll start there."
"After you check on her, we're going out. Wherever you want to go." He opens the door to my truck. "Take this thing home. I'll meet you there and we'll take mine."
I stop before getting in. "Can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"What Kari said in there. That stuff about me not being right for you. It's true. I don't make sense with you. So why are you dating me?"
"Why are you listening to Kari? It doesn't matter what she thinks."
"But I want to know. Why are you dating me? You could have anyone. A girl with money. A college degree. A future."
"Riley, we've already talked about this."
"Yeah, and I still don't get it. Why are you with me? Why me and not someone else?"
He smiles. "I thought you already knew."
"Knew what?"
"That I love you."
Chapter Twenty-One
Riley
"You love me?" I say like I don't believe him.
He folds his arms over his chest. "You got a problem with that?"
"Um, no." I look down. "I just thought maybe I heard you wrong."
"You want to say anything back?"
I look up at him and see that smile that instantly won me over when we met. "I've um, never said that to anyone."
"Now's your chance. Unless you don't love me, but I'm pretty sure you do."
I lean back against the truck. "Why do you think that?"
"I can tell. It's a gift. One of many."
"Oh, really." My brows rise. "You can tell when a girl's in love with you?"
"I can, but I can't tell you how. It's a secret. But I know you do, so if you don't want to say it—"
"I do." I smile. "Love you."
"Good." He gives me a kiss. "See you back at your place."
"Wait—what? That's it?"
He's already halfway around the building, heading to the street where he parked.
"He loves me," I say to myself, smiling as I get in the truck. "Brad loves me."
I want to call and tell someone, but I have no one to tell. I can't tell Nate. And I can't tell April. She's too upset over what happened. I should be too, but right now I don't care. I only care that Brad loves me. Brad—a hot, smart, future doctor—loves me.
Back at the trailer, I stop Brad before he goes inside. "This could be bad. Just wait out here."
"I can handle it." He nods at the door. "Go ahead."
"Okay, but I warned you."
We go inside and find my mom sitting on the couch watching soap operas, the TV blaring. She's eating a bag of chips, but there's no liquor anywhere.
"Hey, Mom." I sit beside her while Brad stands by the door. "Tough morning, huh?"
"You watch this one?" she asks, her eyes on the TV. "I can't figure out who the blond's sleeping with. It's either her uncle or the guy she works with."
"Mom." I grab the remote and mute the TV.
She reaches for the remote. "Turn it up! I'm missing my show!"
"It's a commercial." I point to the TV.
"Then go to a different channel."
"Mom, we need to talk."
"What's there to say? You saw what happened. I quit."
"I did too."
"You did?" she asks, her penciled-in brows lifting.
"I can't work for Kandace. Or Kari."
"Kari was there?"
"She came in after you left."
She huffs. "How the hell did those two end up with the salon? I know they got money, but why here? Why that place?"
"It doesn't matter. We'll find other jobs. Maybe we could go apply at some places tomorrow."
"Forget it. I'm retiring." She yawns.
"You can't retire in your thirties."
"You can retire whenever the hell you want, and I'm deciding today's the day." She kicks her feet up on the table. "Now give me the remote."
Brad clears his throat. "Riley, let's go."
My mom looks over and sees him by the door. "You been there this whole time?"
"We just came to drop off Riley's truck," I tell her.
"Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you," my mom says, looking back at me. "Jerry's getting out of prison in October. He's gonna want his truck back."
"Guess we'll have to go back to sharing a car. I can't afford to buy one."
"I ain't sharing. You go get yourself a job and buy your own." She yanks the TV remote from me and turns the volume up.
I meet up with Brad at the door. "Bye, Mom. Be back later."
She ignores us as we leave.
"Why do you put up with that?" Brad asks as he drives out of the trailer park.
"She's just angry about Kandace buying the salon. She needs time to cool off."
"I'm talking about her taking your money and then not even sharing her car."
"She's right though. We can't share a car. It won't work. We each need our own."
"That's not the point."
"Brad, I don't want to talk about this. You're starting to sound like Nate."
He breathes out a frustrated sigh. "You hungry?"
"What?"
"Let's go get something to eat." His phone rings and he hits the button on the steering wheel to answer it. "Hey Nate, what's up?"
"TJ just called. He wants us to get there early if we can for a staff meeting. I told him I'd tell you and Riley."
"She's here. She heard you. I got you on speaker."
"You're with Riley?"
"Hey, Nate," I say. "I left work. It's a long story. I'll tell you when we get to the pool. What time are you heading over there?"
"In a few minutes. But tell me now. What's going on?"