Read Online Fix You by Lauren Gilley - Free Book Online Page B

Somebody besides you fucking up.”
                  Bolstered by the knowledge that Walt had taken his last threat seriously, and still mellow thanks to Tyler’s very thankful Aunt Jo climbing into the shower with him that morning, Tam felt the beginnings of a smile threaten. “You can call my situation fucking up if you want,” he became serious and gave Walt a flat look, “but no, I’m not loving that Jess is going through this. Say what you want about me, but you can bet your ass I’ll never treat my Walker sister the way that asshole did his.”
                  Walt’s response was to lengthen his stride and catch up with his sons.
                  It had taken Tam his whole life, but he was starting to feel just how solid the ground was under his feet. Walt’s silence meant he was probably starting to feel it too.
    **
                  “I love my sister,” Jo said as she stepped out of her jeans and left them in the middle of her bedroom floor. She’d pick them up tomorrow. “Really, I do.” She padded barefoot to the bed in her panties and one of Tam’s old shirts, massaging her sore scalp as she pulled out her hair elastic. “But, damn, she’s been…”
                  “Stone cold?” Tam supplied.
                  “Yes,” she said with a groan as she folded up like a boneless doll on the bed beside him. It was a sticky, warm night and he was shirtless, the sheets down around his ankles. Jo rolled over him to her spot closest to the window and hooked a leg across his hips, tucked her face into the hollow of his throat. “She’s like Robocop. With claws. I thought she was gonna dive across the counter when the girl at Macy’s told her they’d just filled the last of their open positions.”
                  Tam’s arm came around her waist, fingers finding their way under her shirt out of mindless habit. His wedding ring was cool and smooth against her skin. “You gotta give her credit, though,” he said, his voice echoing through his chest and against her ear. “A lot of women would be drowning in tissues and chocolate in her situation.”
                  “I wouldn’t.”
                  “No?” She felt his chin against her hair as he strained to look at her. He chuckled. “Not even for me?”
                  “It’s not like you would know; you’d be six feet under.” She meant it as a joke, and he chuckled as if it was, but her voice was hollow. “You know I’d totally kill you if you cheated on me, right?” She tipped her head back and stared up at him through her lashes.
                  He chuckled again.
                  “I’m serious.”
                  “You know I’d totally never do that, right?” he countered. “And I’m serious, too.”
                  “I know you wouldn’t,” she said with a sigh, nails tracing an aimless pattern across his chest and down along his ribs. “I do, it’s just…”
                  “Jess and Dylan have your imagination working?”
                  “A little,” she admitted.
                  If she believed the guys, then Dylan had never been well-liked by any of them except Walt. Jordan claimed the guy had watched Ellie’s every move when they were all together, and though she’d wanted to doubt it, Jo could recall moments when she’d seen his eyes wandering. Mike had called him emotionless, and the way Jess had tipped back her wine glass without comment had been as good as agreeing with him. And if all the dark, hidden truths about Dylan were indeed truths, if Jessica’s perfect life was riddled with flaws, then how did any of the rest of them stand a chance?
                  Tam’s hand slid up the curve of her waist, over her shoulder, until he was spearing his fingers through the heavy tangle of hair