Here With Me: An Ex-boyfriend’s Dad, Age Gap Small Town Romance (Sugarland Creek Book 1)
Here With Me: Chapter 5

Fuck, where is my bra?

After Fisher took off my dress, I flung my bra somewhere. I’m not about to leave without it since it’s the only one I packed. I don’t need my piercings blinding my family.

As I lower to my hands and knees, crawling around with my ass straight up, I replace it underneath his jeans.

Thank God.

Next, I dig in my bag for my panties.

It’s one thing to make the walk of shame at seven in the morning, but it’s shameful to do it commando.

And I am a classy Southern lady, after all.

With the exception of last night.

Once I’m dressed and slide on my boots, I grab the rest of my things. Fisher hasn’t stirred once since I climbed over his naked body and slid out of his bed. I’m half tempted to check his neck for a pulse.

That’d be my luck.

Best sex of my life leads to him dying afterward.

I know he’s older, but he’s not that old.

When I see his wallet on the counter, I contemplate taking a peek at his license to see his birth year. Amid our grinding against each other make-out session, I asked if he had a condom, and he told me to grab one from his wallet, which was in the back pocket of his jeans. Once I grabbed it, I tossed the leather aside.

Glancing once more at Fisher to make sure he’s still in a sleep coma, I open his wallet and look at his ID.

He’s forty-four.

Exactly twice my age.

Okay, so it’s not that bad.

He doesn’t even look forty.

It could be worse. He could be fifty.

But then I blink, reread his full name, and it does. It gets so much worse.

Fisher Underwood.

It can’t be. My throat tightens as I choke down the surprise I never expected.

I need to get the hell out of here before he wakes up.

God, I hope this is a hangover dream.

More like a nightmare.

All the air gets sucked out of my lungs at the realization.

I just slept with my ex-boyfriend’s dad.

The sun blinds me all the way back to my camper as the heat pierces my face. It’s one of those rare early summer mornings when it feels like a hundred degrees, but it should only be in the midseventies at this hour.

No such thing as global warming, my ass.

Tell that to my vagina lips that are currently glued together.

I dig my keys out of my bag and quietly unlock the door before creeping inside. Mallory sleeps on the top bunk since it’s smaller and has less space. Magnolia and I share the bed beneath her, which is only a full size and nearly has us on top of each other just to fit. At least she got it to herself last night.

Deciding to shower later, I crawl in next to her and lean my body against hers.

“Get your nasty sex sweat off me,” she groans, trying to wiggle closer to the wall.

I snort. “Don’t ya even wanna hear the juicy details?”

“Unfortunately, yes. But after I’ve had coffee and you no longer smell like a dirty hoof.”

Lifting my arm, I smell underneath it. “I do not. Leather maybe. That’s what he smelled like. And something else manly.”

She scoffs, turning to face me. “I can’t believe you finally got laid. The two-year dry spell is over! How do ya feel?”

“A little sore, actually.” My cheeky tone has her playfully smacking my shoulder.

“Besides that. Emotionally, mentally…how’d it compare to Jase?”

My eyes widen at the nausea rising up from my stomach, and I swear I’m going to vomit all over her right this minute.

“Mags, I need you to never repeat that sentence again.” I roll to the edge of the bed and sit, then rub my temples.

“Oh shit. What happened?” She gets to her feet and then kneels in front of me. “Did ya scream Jase’s name by accident?”

“God, no. Though it wouldn’t have been as much of a shock after replaceing out something this mornin’…”

“Spit it out, woman. What’d ya replace out? His age? Is he like forty-five or somethin’?”

I wince because I wish that were the issue. “Pretty damn close, but that’s not the problem…”

She stands as I keep my gaze on the floor. “You’re freakin’ me out. Just say it.”

Blowing out a breath, I blurt out as my shoulders sag, “He’s Jase’s dad.”

Silence lingers between us, and when I finally look up, her mouth is agape, and her eyes glassed over.

“Mags?”

“I’m gonna need you to repeat that.” She swallows hard. “Because there is no freakin’ way…”

“I saw his license. Fisher Underwood.”

“That could be an uncle. Or a long-lost relative. Maybe a second cousin. How do you know it’s his dad?”

“After everything he told me, I put the pieces together. He was married, like ten years ago, talked about how he had kids, and was a former bull rider. Plus, the age difference makes sense. Jase is twenty-four, and his dad is forty-four. Jase said his parents had him young. That would’ve made Fisher twenty.”

“Jase never told you his dad’s name?”

“No, he rarely spoke about him. All he’d ever say is that they had a strained relationship ever since his sister passed and he moved away for work.”

It dawns on me that Fisher’s lost a child.

Jase and I broke up a couple of years ago, but we’ve remained friends. We don’t talk as much because he’s busy working in real estate, and I spend every free minute training.

“If Fisher’s back in Jase’s life, he hasn’t mentioned it to me,” I say. “Then again, we only text a few times a month.”

“Wow…I mean…holy shit.” She sits next to me.

“Ditto.” I rub my temples again. “I didn’t even ask what he did for a livin’. He talked about his early bull ridin’ days, and then well, we got distracted.”

She nudges me. “I bet y’all did.”

Groaning, I fall back on the bed and cover my face. I don’t usually get hangovers, but I feel a headache coming.

“I take it you left while he was still asleep?”

“Yes, but to be fair, I’m not even a hundred percent sure he was alive. Either he’s dead or he sleeps like it.”

“Oh my God. You literally fucked him into a coma. Thatta girl.” She bursts out laughing, then slaps my bare leg.

“This is humiliating, Mags. How am I ever gonna speak to Jase again without confessing what I did?”

“First rule, you don’t tell your ex. Second rule, you replace yourself a rebound lay and forget it ever happened.”

“And what if Jase brings him to the ranch or somethin’? Or I run into them in town?”

“Well, you’ve gone this far without doin’ so. I’m sure you’ll be fine. Even if his dad is around, he probably won’t remember what ya look like without your legs around his head.”

“Hilarious!” I sit up and push her off the bed, then laugh when her ass bounces off the floor. “That’s whatcha get.”

“I still wanna hear the juicy details. Don’t think you’re gettin’ outta that.” She gets to her feet, and I laugh.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get them as soon as I hear about what you did last night.”

“I-I hung out with Mallory.” She shrugs, but the way she avoids eye contact tells me otherwise.

“Uh-huh.” I cross my arms. “We’ll see about that when I get her side of the story.”

Magnolia lingers around the kitchen as she grabs a couple of K-cups and then adds water to the Keurig. “Go ahead.”

She knows I won’t wake her, so I’ll have to wait until she’s up for the day. Mallory’s no snitch, though. She thinks of Magnolia as a sister too, but I’m good at reading people. I’ll know whether she’s lying for her.

“I’m gonna shower, and then we can meet up with the fam for breakfast.”

I dig out my phone from my bag and scroll through my texts until I see Tripp’s name and type out a message.

“Who are ya talkin’ to already?”

“Gonna see what my brother’s version of events from last night is…” I hit send before she can stop me.

“Why would you assume he knows anythin’?”

“Because you didn’t visit me at the bar like you promised, which means y’all were unsupervised for several hours…”

She shoots me a glare. “I’m not a child. I don’t need to be supervised.”

“No?” I raise my brows because around Tripp, she’s not herself. “Are we still talkin’ to the ex?”

“Ugh, why’d you have to bring him up? Gonna throw up my breakfast before I’ve even had any.”

Chuckling, I grab my shower stuff from my duffel bag and then walk to the bathroom. Before I shut the door all the way, I peek my head out. “You need to work on your poker face. I know you’re lyin’, and I’m gonna get to the bottom of it.”

Before she can move toward me, I shut the door and lock it.

“You’re a twat, Noah.” She bangs her fist on the other side. “Don’t ask Tripp about me, please! He’s gonna think I was talkin’ about him or somethin’.”

“Then ya need to stop pinin’ after men who don’t want you back! It’s for your own good. You need to move on!” I’ve told her this before, but sometimes Magnolia needs a swift kick of tough love.

Tripp has avoided Magnolia for most of his life, yet she can’t kick her schoolgirl crush.

It’s what made her date Travis in the first place. She thought making Tripp jealous would be enough to see what he was missing, but it only put her in a toxic on-and-off relationship. Magnolia has way too much to offer to settle down for anything less than unwavering love. She just needs to see it for herself.

“Fine. I’ll never talk or look at Tripp again if you promise you won’t bring my name up to him!” Her pathetic begging has me opening the door. “I’m a loser. I know.”

I pull her in for a hug. “If it makes ya feel better, we both are.”

She snorts, pushing against me. “You’re supposed to say ‘No, you’re not. You’re totally normal!’”

“Well, I could, but this unrequited crush you have is not normal. We gotta replace you a real man who’ll appreciate everythin’ about you.”

I love my brother, but he’s too ignorant to see what’s right in front of him. It’d be one thing if he didn’t see her that way, and it was a case of one-sided feelings, but Tripp’s played with her emotions since high school. He gives her a little attention, gets her excited that he’s interested, but then gets skittish like a horse who stepped on a snake. I’d smack him if I knew he wouldn’t send Momma after me.

“Hmm. Think Fisher has a brother?” She waggles her brows.

I roll my eyes at her sneaky way to bring up his name again. “He might. Jase has an uncle, but I’m not sure from which side of the family. I’ll be sure to ask him when I’m dyin’ of humiliation after he replaces out what I did.”

“Who you did.” She snickers.

“Shush your mouth. Now go make us coffee.”

She wraps an arm around me and pulls me in for a hug. “For what it’s worth, I’m proud of you for goin’ after someone you liked. I know gettin’ over Jase was tough and bein’ vulnerable with another man couldn’t have been easy.”

I give her a tight smile and shrug.

“I hadn’t expected you to get over him by ridin’ his dad, but who am I to judge?”

“Oh my God, I hate you.” I shove her backward so I can close the bathroom door. She knows damn well I’ve been over Jase, but it’s not easy dating in a small town where we all know each other’s business. The pool of single men is like a kiddie pool of emotionally unavailable boys.

“Love you too!” she shouts on the other side.

Once I’m under the hot stream, I contemplate my next move. Fisher will realize I bailed on him as soon as he rolls over to an empty bed, which I hadn’t intended to do when I first got up. I planned to leave him a note or text to explain why I had to leave and offer to talk later. I was so freaked out by his last name, I couldn’t even think of an excuse before hightailing it out of there.

Today’s the last day of the rodeo, so we could still run into each other, but if he calls, I’m not sure I’ll have the courage to tell him the truth.

The reason I can never see him again.