Never Let You Go: Save Me Series Book 2 Read online

  What if he gave in and fell for her manipulation again? Susan knew how to play at his weaknesses, like using sex to try and get what she wanted. She knew exactly how to revert back to the woman she was before she fell off the deep end. He couldn’t allow it. The vulnerability was a thing of the past, much like their marriage was becoming.

  Sitting back in the chair, he watched the rain fall, splashing the large puddles on the edges of the curbs. Cars drove past, splashing the water up into the yard. With all of the rain they had been getting, it would green things up nicely. Spring time was coming - Rodney’s favorite season. A time of renewal and things coming to life. A time to start fresh. He wasn’t one for signs but maybe this was all for the best, matching the weather and nature.

  His heart skipped a beat when he saw the headlights down the street. Even though it was dark, he knew that was Susan’s car. She slowed down as she neared the driveway, pulling in beside his pickup under the carport. Clenching both his knees, he took another deep breath and fought another urge to throw up. Here it came. There was no turning back now. All it would take was one glimpse of her and he’d know what she’d been up to. She wasn’t good at hiding it and he was good at pinpointing it.

  She held her coat over her head as she walked through the yard and up onto the porch, shaking out the water. Just as Rodney had predicted, she was under the influence of something. She could barely stand up straight and her eyes were bloodshot. She wouldn’t even make eye contact with him.

  “What are you doing sitting out here?”

  “Waiting on you,” Rodney replied. “We need to talk.”

  Susan’s posture slumped and she rolled her eyes. “Why do we always gotta talk? It’s always something!”

  “Always something because of you.” Rodney sat up and looked across the street. “We should probably go inside. Our neighbors don’t need to hear this.”

  “Oh, you’re planning on getting loud?” She bobbed her head, her attitude thick. “We gonna get as loud as the other afternoon? That was wild…” She laughed and her words slurred, shortening Rodney’s fuse. He was on the verge of blowing up before he even got to say what was on his mind.

  Grabbing her hand, he pulled her through the door and slammed it behind them. Standing in the entryway, he made sure to block the exit. If she stayed true to the past, she’d want to storm out once he lit into her and this time, he was going to make sure she heard every word he had to say.

  Looking down the hallway, she put her purse down and shrugged out of her coat. “Where’s Justin?”

  “He’s not here. I didn’t want him here for this.” Leaving out the part about Carol taking him was for the best. Susan always held resentment for her sister, especially when it came to her taking care of Justin in times like this. The woman held no interest in her child but if someone else stepped in, it lit a fire under her.

  “Oh, you’re serious, huh?”

  “What did you take? Where you been?”

  “Who says I took anything?”

  Rodney clenched his fists and swallowed. She was acting like a damn teenager. “Let me rephrase the question. What are you on? And don’t try and hide it. I can see it in your eyes.”

  “I’m not.” She shook her head, looking away from him. “Why do you always think that when I leave the house?”

  “Fine. Deny it all you want.” Rodney raised his hands and laughed. “I don’t need you to be honest with me. I already know. And I told you this was your last chance. You swore up and down to me that you’d get clean and never look back. It’s been, what, a day? A day, Susan!” He raised his voice, unable to keep calm. “I guess Justin isn’t a good enough reason to try.”

  “I told you I’m not cut out to be a mother.”

  “Apparently you’re not cut out to be a wife, either.” It was harsh but Rodney meant every word of it.

  Susan closed her eyes and winced. “No, I guess I’m not. Which is why I cheated on you tonight.”

  At first, Rodney wasn’t sure if he heard her right. Opening his mouth to say something, he stopped himself, making sure her reply had registered correctly in his mind. He could forgive so much but the mention of an affair was the tipping point, the final straw in their relationship.

  “You what?” He whispered but she heard him loud and clear.

  “I just got back from cheating on you. So I think your worry about me being on something is pretty much a moot point now, yeah?”

  Was she just saying this to get at him? No! He had to stop justifying everything and making excuses. If she said she cheated on him, she did. Backing away, he balled his fists again and bit his bottom lip so hard that any more pressure would puncture it.

  “Why?”

  “He doesn’t judge me for the drugs I choose to take. In fact, he likes to do it with me. He doesn’t stand on his tower casting judgment on me for wanting to have a good time. For wanting to feel good!”

  “So you’ve been seeing him for a while?” Rodney really didn’t want to know but it was like looking at a bad wreck. He had to know.

  “Oh yeah. A few months now.”

  It felt like Rodney’s world had toppled over on him. He had every intention of asking for a divorce but this was a whole new hurt he had never felt before. He could try and help her addictions. Adultery was a whole different topic he couldn’t stomach.

  “Who is he?”

  Susan smiled. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  “Do I know him?”

  “Maybe. Why does it matter? You were gonna leave me anyway, weren’t you? That’s what this whole talk was about, right? You got Justin out of here, you waited for me, and you told me one more chance. But I beat you to the punch, didn’t I? You can’t compete with this guy. So, yes, I agree with you - I want a divorce. I’m sick of being around people who can’t accept me for me.” She patted her chest. “I’m gonna use. I don’t wanna get clean. And he understands that. You never did!”

  “I wanted you to get clean so you wouldn’t kill yourself, Susan. All of that is killing you. The drugs, the huge amounts of liquor…” It didn’t matter anymore. She had made her decision and there would be no convincing her, nor did Rodney want to. She had broken the sanctity of marriage - he wanted nothing else to do with her. “Get out of here. Get out of this house!” He stepped toward her, so angry that he saw red.

  “You’re kicking me out?”

  “Don’t act so surprised. What, did you think I’d forgive you for screwing another man? Because I forgave you so many times before for breaking your son’s heart? For making him go through all of the bullshit? Why don’t you go stay with your perfect man?”

  “This is my house too.”

  “Not anymore. You made the decision to cheat. I pay the mortgage. I pay the bills. I want you out of here! Now!” Rodney yelled, certain the neighbors could hear.

  Picking up her purse, she edged toward the door, not taking her eyes off of him, her devious smile never leaving her lips. “This isn’t over, Rodney.”

  “You’ll hear from me soon. I suggest you get a lawyer. Now get out. I don’t want to breathe the same air as you.”

  Rodney opened the front door and motioned for her to step out onto the porch. It took her a few seconds before she finally moved. It was the longest few seconds of Rodney’s life, and once she had stepped over the threshold, he slammed the door, rattling the pictures on the wall. Resting his head on the wood, warmth gathered under his eyelids and he let it all out - the emotions flooding him like a hurricane.

  Susan had hurt him for the last time. He wasn’t going to put up with it any longer.

  Chapter Nine

  Amelia couldn’t believe she was at the bar on a night off. She felt like she was there enough during the two nights a week she worked but tonight she was her for fun. Usually, she’d never be caught there but she deserved a night out. After all of the drama with Phillip, she needed to cut loose and get out of the house. She found herself watching for him - even though a restraining orde
r had been filed, it was only a piece of paper and Phillip disregarded most of what the law had said.

  “Girl, you seem tense!” Heather nudged her and scooted her drink in front of her. “I can’t believe I convinced you to come out tonight!”

  “And we had to choose this bar, didn’t we?” Amelia sipped on it - a vodka sour, and it went down nice and smooth, relaxing her.

  “It’s the best one in town. Look at all the hotties at the bar! They are world’s better than Phillip!”

  Amelia had to agree with that. She glanced back at the booth where she had first met Rodney, her stomach sinking at the sight of a different group of people in it. Why was she thinking about him, anyway? He was a married man, and of course he was. He was too gorgeous for someone not to snatch him up and claim for themselves. Whoever she was, she was a lucky woman.

  “Look how busy we are tonight, Amelia! On a Thursday!” Chris, one of her favorite bartenders to work with walked by, putting fresh drinks in front of them. “I can keep them coming if you like. Got you a tab running.”

  “Yep, I’m a paying customer tonight!” Amelia yelled over the loud song playing on the jukebox, the liquor loosening her up. She was at that perfect level where she was buzzing. Anything more and she’d lose control and she couldn’t allow that. She had to work in the morning - she didn’t want to waste the day because of a hangover.

  “So, any of these gentlemen with the nice asses up here in front interest you?” Heather chewed on her straw, leaning in toward Amelia.

  “Oh come on, I just broke it off with Phillip!”

  “Girl, they just want to bed you. They don’t want to wed you! It’s what you need. A nice romp in the sheets with someone with no strings. Just something fun that you can part with the next morning.”

  Amelia finished her second drink and eyed the third that Chris had brought by. No, it was a bad idea to drink it. She needed to go home soon. “There’s always some kind of string attached, Heather. There’s no such thing as…”

  “As getting lucky with it not going further? You have been tied up with Phillip too long! There is such a thing and I think it’s what you need!”

  Amelia traced the rim of her glass with her finger, running it through the condensation. She was never the one-night stand type of girl, not even when she was in school. It was after ten and she wanted to go crawl into her warm bed and sleep. If she admitted that to Heather she’d just get made fun of even more, and that was fine. Heather was a night owl. Amelia was an old soul.

  “Oh my God, Amelia. Hottie at twelve o’clock. He just walked through the door.” Heather’s tongue practically fell out of her mouth and when Amelia saw who she had spotted, her heart about fell out of her chest.

  It was Rodney, he was alone, and he looked amazing. His plaid shirt was unbuttoned at the top, revealing a smooth chest and the small hint of a silver chain. His blue jeans hugged his thighs like they were custom tailored to fit him and his dark hair - it had a personality of its own, curling around the brim of his black baseball cap. She couldn’t see his eyes but remembered how green they were during her encounter with him at the hardware store.

  Walking past her table, he tipped his hat bill and smiled, though the light behind his eyes was gone. “Hey, Amelia. How are you?”

  “Hey, Rodney! I’m doing okay.”

  “That’s good to hear. Real good to hear.” He continued past, sitting on a barstool at the far end of the bar, alone.

  “Close your mouth, Heather. It’s not flattering.” Amelia laughed and went ahead and took a few sips off of her third drink. The look on her friend’s face was priceless.

  “How in the hell do you know him?”

  “He’s a customer at the hardware store. And I served him drinks the other night.”

  “Hell, girl, get your ass over there and talk to him. That’s exactly what you need! He looks… He looks like he could make you forget all about Phillip.”

  Amelia shook her head and glanced at Rodney, whose head was ducked as he peeled at the label on his beer bottle. “He’s married. That’s my luck.”

  “He sure doesn’t look married.”

  “How can you tell by looking at him?” Heather did have a radar but she had spotted the ring. He was taken.

  “The way he smiled at you, Amelia. And he remembers your name. That’s something to go off of, whether you want to believe it or not. You should go talk to him. You can talk to married men. It’s not like you’re gonna bone him right there at the bar, though that surely would be kinky.”

  Amelia loved Heather like a sister, but sometimes her abrasiveness was too much to handle. She didn’t have good luck with me either, and was known for taking things way too fast. Amelia would tread lightly when it came to taking her friend’s advice. But she wanted to go talk to him, but she hadn’t drunk enough liquid courage to get over there. She had only talked to him twice but she could tell something was off about him.

  “Go, Amelia!”

  “What about you? You want me to just leave you here?”

  Heather smirked and chewed on a piece of ice. “I’m a big girl. At least go over there and stir up a conversation.”

  Amelia slid off the chair and straightened her blouse. Why did she even care what she looked like? She wouldn’t be a home wrecker and mess with him. She could have a friendly conversation with him, right? The fact that she was so nervous about it told her otherwise. She was attracted to him, there was no doubt about that. The ring she spotted on his left finger was an immediate deterrent - whoever his wife was didn’t deserve someone coming in and turning their world upside down because Amelia couldn’t control her lustful desires toward a man she barely knew.

  She pretended like she was going to talk to Chris behind the bar. Being employed there was certainly an advantage in case she needed to abort her mission. But what would she use as an excuse to talk to Chris? She had made it perfectly clear that she wasn’t there to work, she was a paying customer, and Chris needed to keep the drinks coming. That’s it! She could change her drink order.

  Luck was on her side - there were no available spots to squeeze in and talk to Chris, except for an opening right beside Rodney. She caught his eye as she walked toward him, faking an attempt to get Chris’ attention long before she got to the far side of the bar. It worked like a charm, and Rodney waved her over, his smile making butterflies flit in her stomach.

  “What do you need? I’ll flag him down,” Rodney yelled over the music. “I need another beer, anyway.”

  “A beer is good. Whatever you’re drinking.”

  “I hope you like dark beer.”

  “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “A lot of people don’t. It’s an acquired taste. But of course, you probably know that. I bet you can look at anyone and peg exactly what their poison of choice is.”

  Rodney held up two fingers toward Chris and he scooted two more bottles of beer to them. “Wow, I must say, you and Chris have some chemistry going on here!”

  “I’m an easy man to please.” Rodney patted the barstool beside him. “Have a seat. You don’t take it now, someone else will.”

  “I should probably get back to my friend. I don’t want to leave her alone.”

  “Looks like she’s faring just fine.” Rodney pointed toward her and Amelia looked over her shoulder. Of course, Heather was doing fine. She was the social butterfly that never met a stranger. She always loved to hustle pool and tonight was no exception. It was also helpful for Amelia. She didn’t want to stop talking to Rodney just yet.

  “So, try me,” Amelia said, sipping on the beer. It was a bit thicker and bitter than she liked but she’d never let Rodney know that.

  “Try you?” His thick eyebrow arched, the inflection in his voice raising his tone a bit.

  “Yeah. Point someone out. I’ll tell you what they’re drinking.”

  “You’ll cheat. You probably know all the regulars.”

  Amelia shook her head and looked down at his left hand that was
resting on the edge of the bar. No ring. Her heart thumped hard, almost bad enough that she feared he’d see it. Where was his ring? For a second, she wondered if he was that type of guy - the type who left their ring in their glove box when they went in for a drink just in case they could take someone home. No, she couldn’t think like that. She was making far too many assumptions about a man who was nothing more than an acquaintance. It was none of her business what he did.

  “No, that’s why I’m having you point out the person so I can’t cheat.” Amelia giggled, feeling a little more buzzed than she’d like to be. Mixing vodka and beer wasn’t a wise decision but it was too late now. She had to remind herself to slow down on the drink.

  Rodney looked around the room, swiveling in a circle on his stool. “Hmm… let me look around here.” It took him a few seconds but he motioned toward a man just three stools down from them. It was loud enough that he’d never even hear that they were speculating about his drink choice. There was also a big enough crowd that Amelia couldn’t even look to see what he had in front of him.

  “Whiskey. Neat. Four fingers.”

  “What kind of whiskey?” Rodney asked, the corners of his eyes squinting as he waited for her answer.

  “Woodford Reserve. I’ll bet my next night of tips on it.”

  “You’re awfully confident, aren’t you?”

  Amelia motioned for Chris to come down to their part of the bar. Weaving through the other workers, he draped a towel over his shoulder and leaned in close - a loud song’s bass was pumping loud enough that it was making Amelia’s eardrums ring.

  “What’s up? Need two more?”

  “No!” Amelia waved her hand in front of him. “I need you to tell me what that man in the green trucker cap has been drinking.”

  Chris stepped back, his eyes wide as he laughed. “Amelia, honey, don’t tell me you want to buy that old man a round!”

  His reaction made Rodney laugh and finally, she saw the same smile from the hardware store. His giggle was adorable, but her eyes fell to the tan line where his wedding ring had been before. What was the story behind that? She really hoped he wasn’t a pervert. He didn’t fit the mold at all.