Abrupt Changes: A Second Chance Romance (O-Town Book 3) by Karen Renee (comprehension books .TXT) 📕

dead, and if I were available, you can bet I’d be all about getting his attention.”

From the living room, Mom guffawed. It was good to hear her laugh, even if it was at my own expense, essentially.

“That’s when she met her no-good, two-timing, weasel of an ex-husband.”

When the silence stretched, Mom said in a more somber voice, “Tell her about that, Rae.”

I sighed heavily. “That’s an even longer story.”

Tanya snapped the lid on the dip and put it away. “Believe me, I got time for that story. Jared stopped taking his naps three months ago, and Marcus is already out. Let’s hear it. What’d he do? Swoop in the very day Clint split?”

My face fell and Tanya mirrored my expression. “You’re kidding me?”

I shook my head. “Unfortunately, no. I mean, it wasn’t that immediate, but it kind of was. I cried myself into a nap, woke up and thought I’d go to the office to get out of the apartment, and away from thoughts of Clint. Except there were a dozen people in the office. I saw my creative director, but Trey was there too. He was an account executive, which meant he was on the business side of the office. For whatever reason, he was wandering around the creative area and saw me at my cube. Noticed my magazine ads, which happened to be for his account. He acted as though he was impressed, charmed me, and convinced me to go get drinks with him and other coworkers I hadn’t spent time with from the business side.”

Her brows furrowed. “And from that you married him?”

I scoffed. “No. From that, I met Angela, who is, bar-none, the best woman in all of New York. Somehow, Trey worked his way in there with me. He knew I’d been hurt. And the charming bastard convinced me to go against my policy of not dating coworkers, and one date led to many more. Clint never called. His mother sent a letter which ensured I never called him, and the rest is history. And that is why I’m not trying to ‘tap that,’ as you put it.”

“Well, shit,” Tanya whispered, but her lips twisted this way and that while she thought about something.

I couldn’t dwell on that because I needed to shake off memories of the past.

“What about now?”

I shook my head and focused on Tanya. “What do you mean?”

Her eyes widened. “I mean, what about now? You’re divorced. He never married. And for God’s sake, what’s that about? A man as hot as him, not married! So... what about now?”

“That’s what I’m sayin’!” Mom put in, unhelpful as ever.

I huffed out a breath. “There is no ‘now.’ I gotta figure out what I’m doing. No. Actually, I gotta figure out if the cops are wrong, and if Wynnie was murdered. Then, Mom and I need to chat—”

“I’m not goin’ to a home, dammit!”

I threw my head back and glared at the ceiling for a couple beats. “I never said anything about that, Mom.”

“Just as long as we’re clear.”

My phone rang, and to my surprise, the display showed Clint calling.

“Hello?” I answered, my tone questioning.

“Hey. You still in town?”

My lips pursed, but I unpursed them to say, “Yeah. Not sure when I’m out of your hair, Ramsey.”

Tanya gave me a beaming smile before she went to the living room.

In my ear, Clint exhaled slowly. “Don’t be that way, Rae.”

I followed his lead and did a slow exhale to hide my sigh. “Sorry. The way you spoke to me the other day just grated on me.”

He chuckled. “Don’t let this go to your head, but you being in town grates on me.”

I gasped.

“But in a Mellencamp type of way.”

I shook my head. “Say what?”

“You know, ‘Hurts So Good,’ but with you it’s more like you irritate me so good.”

“I’m so flattered.”

He chuckled. “Exactly.”

Dammit. There was that dry wit he had, and we bounced the jibes off one another like ping pong balls. It was familiar, which made it dangerous.

“I’ll text you when I’m leaving, Clint. In the meantime—”

“I was a dick, and I didn’t mean that bullshit I said, Rae. You don’t owe me shit about being with Penny. It’s tough on both of you, so of course she needs you.”

“Thanks.” I whispered, because I didn’t trust my voice not to give me away. He was hitting all my soft spots. I had shoved out of my mind how empathetic and insightful he could be. And as always, when he did wrong, he ’fessed right up to it and made it right.

“You’re welcome,” he whispered back. Then he said, “So what were you going to say, ‘In the meantime?’”

My lips quirked. “In the meantime, you don’t have to worry about supplying Mom. I bought up as many cans as I could today, though I’m surprised at how many more cans of Cajun peanuts there are.”

He laughed and my brows drew down.

“What’s so funny, Clint?”

He took a deep breath. “What’s so funny, Rae, is that I did a run today and couldn’t find anything but Cajun peanuts, which Penny can’t tolerate. And I wondered what the hell was going on. So much so, I asked the manager.”

I grinned. “You asked for the manager?”

“No,” he clipped out. “I know the manager, so I asked him what happened to the normal stock.”

I wheezed a brief laugh. “And what did he tell you? Hell, could he even tell you anything?”

“Honey, they got software just like any other business does these days. He said someone bought up six cans, all they had until tomorrow, and that had happened early this morning.”

I laughed outright. “Wow. I think that was me, but what were you doing at Mom’s Winn-Dixie? You don’t live around here, and you always preferred Albertson’s.”

He paused for so long, I nearly thought the call was dropped.

“Albertson’s left Florida a long-ass time ago, Rae. But to your other point, I don’t live that far away.”

My eyes widened because though Mom bought her house decades ago, her real estate values