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When Mia appeared to be no worse for wear, it didn’t alleviate the rage running through my veins. I know there is more to what Mia said when I asked her about Shady’s reminiscing comment. Again, not wanting to push her, I let it go, but I will find out what he was talking about. Mia may like to appear tough on the outside, but I know deep inside the old Mia still lurks. If I push too hard, she’ll fold into herself, and there’s no telling how hard it’ll be to coax her out again.
“What next, Dad?” T asks, interrupting my thoughts.
“Watch your feet and try to pull the tire off the wheel base.” He yanks and pulls until it bounces to the ground. I roll it out of the way and grab the other tire.
“Next, we need to line the holes on the tire up with the lug nut posts on the wheelbase.” Nodding, he picks the tire up with my help, and we push it on the wheelbase.
“Start putting the lug nuts back on but don’t tighten them all the way. Start with one, and then move to the opposite one until they are all done.”
I watch as he does this. I haven’t had many opportunities to teach him stuff like this. He lives full-time with Tessa. I get him every other weekend, some holidays, and half the summer. I thought it was best when we arranged custody for him to be with his mom for the majority of the time. Now, I’m wondering if I made a mistake. I thought things were going smoothly. Apparently, I was wrong.
“When we finish here, we’re dropping the car off at Mia’s. Afterwards, we’re taking her to lunch. That okay with you?”
He stops tightening the lug nuts and looks over at me. He pulls his brows down in concentration before he answers, “Do I have a choice?”
“Yes, you do, T. You always come first. But…” I hold my hand up to stop him when he opens his mouth to talk. “Before you say anything, answer something for me. Why don’t you like Mia?”
He doesn’t answer right away, just goes back to working the crowbar. After he’s finished, he turns to me and says, “I remember hearing you and mom arguing about her when I was little. There have also been some things mom’s said about her.”
It doesn’t surprise me that he heard me and his mom talking about Mia. It was always a big issue between us. Anytime she was brought up, I tried to keep it quiet for fear of T hearing, but Tessa is a hot head and has a big mouth. I tried to shield him, but Tessa didn’t care. What pisses me off is that she said something purposely to T. He’s a kid and doesn’t need to be dragged into our shit.
“What has she said?” I ask him.
“That Mia is the reason you and mom divorced,” he says quietly, and looks down at his feet.
“Trent, look at me, son.” When he looks up, I continue. “Mia and I dated before your mom and I got together. There was a misunderstanding, we split up, and then I got together with your mom. I always carried feelings for Mia, and your mom didn’t like that. I understand why she didn’t like it, but the feelings were still there. You’ll understand better when you’re older. There were some things that happened between your mom and me and that’s why we divorced. Mia was not involved and had nothing to do with us splitting.”
I won’t give him the details, but I won’t outright lie to him either. No, Mia was not the direct reason why Tessa and I divorced. We were married for six years before I just couldn’t do it anymore. Tessa hated that I wouldn’t sleep with her, and she was constantly bringing Mia up in our relationship. We shared a bed, but I never had sex with her again after that first fucked-up time. Just thethought of touching Tessa in that way made me sick to my stomach and my dick to shrivel up. I was faithful to her the entire time we were married. The same thing couldn’t be said for Tessa. I didn’t care. She could sleep with the entire population of Ohio, and it wouldn’t have fazed me.
“Can you just give her a chance? You might find that you like her.” It’s important he does this. It may not ever happen for Mia and me again, but I would love if they could have some type of relationship. Mia is the only female, besides my mom, that I’ve loved.
“Yeah, Dad, I’ll try,” T says, and I ruffle his hair.
We finish with the tire, and I walk over to the flat to lift it to put in the back of my truck to dispose of. When I do, something odd catches my eye. I place the tire on the tailgate of my truck and take a closer look. What I see has my blood running hot and my gut clenching.
Who in the hell would want to slash Mia’s tire? The first face that pops into my head is Shady. He was out late last night, and he did corner Mia, but it just doesn’t feel right. Nothing in his demeanor from last night says he was up to something ill-mannered. Of course, I’ll be stopping by Dax’s house later to confirm he was there. Surprisingly, Dax is the one and only friend of Shady’s I can trust. Yes, he’s a hard-ass and a dick just like Shady, but I know he’ll speak the truth. He’s normally a loner, not getting into anyone’s business, not covering for anyone. He’s never been an issue in this town.
I throw a tarp over the tire and close the tailgate. I won’t be telling Mia about the tire yet, not until I get some answers. As far as I know, Mia has no enemies. She’s quiet and hasn’t kept many friends over the years. Yes, she can be a bitch at times, but I don’t see someone slashing her tires because she mouthed off a little. There’s Tessa, but I know she’s down in Tennessee visiting a friend.
I tell T to get in Mia’s car, and I climb in myself. It doesn’t take me long before I’m pulling into her driveway, nocloser to figuring out who would sabotage her car. I get out, leaving T behind to sit in the car.
When Mia answers my knock, the breath gets knocked out of me. She’s standing there in just a black camisole that shows off two hard nipples and tiny, skimpy, black boy shorts that showcase smooth tanned legs. The tattoos on her arms and chest are on full display. Her hair is tousled, and it looks like she just woke up. All I can do is stand there and fuck her with my eyes. It isn’t humanly possible not to. I know she must see my reaction, but when I force my eyes from her chest to her face, all she gives me is a bored expression.
“Ah, fuck, Mia,” I groan. “Please tell me you don’t answer the door wearing that all the time.”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I don’t. I just got up when you knocked. I checked the peep hole and saw that it was you.”
Not realizing I’m doing it and unable to stop myself, I take a step forward and reach out for her. Before I make contact, Mia slaps my hand away like a parent would an errant child.
“No touching. Don’t make me regret opening the door for you,” she scolds me.
“Fuck, Mia, what do you expect?” I ask in a pained voice.
“I expect you to be a gentleman,” she says sweetly, with a smile.
“You would test any gentleman in what you’re wearing, Pix. Either go get some damn clothes on or T’s going to be sitting out in the car by himself for awhile.”
She laughs and takes a step back before she replies, “Not likely, Sheriff.”
