Down a Bad Road by Regina Buttner

Author:Regina Buttner [Buttner, Regina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-05-03T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 19

A knock on the back door roused Lavender the next morning. She had invited Clint over for dinner the evening before, but at the last minute he’d called to say that Logan was carrying on about being gypped out of his Dad weekend, so Clint had stayed home to appease him. Lavender had drunk half the bottle of wine she’d picked up for the occasion, then passed out on the couch around midnight, oblivious to her former lover skulking beneath her window like a tipsy Peeping Tom.

The knocking sounded again. Lavender got up from the couch and shuffled into the kitchen, and was surprised to see Clint standing on the back stoop. “I didn’t mean to wake you,” he said as he stepped inside. “I thought you’d be up by now.”

Lavender pushed her hair out of her face and rubbed her eyes. “I don’t have to work till noon today, so I was sleeping in.”

“I left Logan with my sister so we could have some privacy to talk,” Clint said. He unzipped his jacket but hesitated before taking it off. “I mean, if that’s okay with you?”

Lavender’s heart did a flip-flop—he’d come to tell her he wanted her back! “It’s fine,” she said with a casual shrug, not wishing to appear too eager. She wasn’t about to overplay her hand by welcoming him home with open arms and legs. The man owed her an apology first, for his violent behavior on that night when he’d discovered the affair.

“Great,” Clint said, waiting for Lavender to sit down before pulling out a chair across from her. He ran his hands through his hair, then placed them flat on the table. “Lavender,” he began, “I’m really thankful we’ve been able to spend this time together over the past couple weeks. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and there’s something important I want to say to you.”

Of course there was. Lavender nodded encouragingly.

“I know we’ve had our differences over the years,” Clint said. “We got pushed into marriage before we were ready. We didn’t have a chance to grow up before we became parents and had so many responsibilities thrust on us.”

Lavender bobbed her head in agreement.

“We did our best, though,” Clint said, “to make it work.”

She smiled. Yes, they did.

“It’s been really hard at times, for both of us,” Clint went on. “We’ve struggled through a lot together, for Logan’s sake. I appreciate the efforts you’ve made to be a good mother to him, even when it was difficult and he pushed your patience to the limit.”

Lavender bobbed her head some more. Get to the point already.

Clint clasped his hands. “I want you to know that I’ve given this a great deal of serious thought.”

Here it comes, Lavender thought. The humble contrition, the plea for forgiveness, the begging for her to take him back. She folded her hands demurely in her lap, trying to suppress a smug smile.

“You’ve probably come to the same conclusion that I have.” Clint stared down at his tightly clasped hands for a moment, then raised his eyes to Lavender’s.

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