In Her Mind (Mountain High Valley Low ) Read Free Page A

but I sure knew what I’d walk into if I didn’t get back home at a decent time.
Chapter 3 Shelly
    I made it into Starbucks just seconds before Brian arrived, but I saw him standing out there swapping spit with that harlot. He thought I had left but when I saw Lexie coming down the block, I slowly pulled into a nearby parking spot and got out to watch her. I knew Brian just wanted to get rid of me when he asked to meet me here in a half hour. He didn’t want Lexie to see me in front of their building. Well, little did he know that soon both he and Lexie would be seeing a lot more of me!
    There was no way Lexie could compete with me. I was the mother of Brian’s son. Besides, Brian came looking for me and he knew my terms—all or nothing. I knew he wouldn’t let me into the house he shared with that woman. It would be just a matter of time before he was all mine again. Brian just needed a little bit of coaxing. That Lexie had him wrapped around her finger, but I would be the one to unravel her hold on him. I just needed a plan and a little bit of time.
    “Over here, sweetie,” I yelled to Brian from across the popular coffee house. I was hoping that someone he knew would be there to witness us being together, someone who would be sure enough to carry the news back to that trifling, man-stealing Lexie. “Did you want me to order you anything, hon?”
    “No thanks,” Brian said as he slid his fine, tall, well-built frame into the sleek amber-colored leather chair. “I don’t have much time, Shelly—”
    I placed my index finger against his sumptuous lips, silencing him. The softness of those beautiful robust lips brought back fanciful memories. The remembrance of their subtleness invaded my thoughts and I closed my eyes to savor the image of their moisture covering my body. It didn’t take much for me to recall the images since I imagined I was making love to him each and every time I had sex with my lame husband.
    “Sweetie, I realize it’s been a while and I apologize for that. Ever since you called me that day, I’ve been trying to figure out what to do.”
    As I spoke, Brian lowered his shoulders as if he had been holding his breath since he sat down.
“I want to work this out. But I really need to take it slowly. You understand, don’t you? It’s been hard keeping him away from you. You have to know that. It’s just that I was disappointed because I felt that you chose her over me.”
“What do you mean I chose her over you? Shelly, this wasn’t a contest. Please don’t make it seem like that.”
“Well, what was I supposed to think? All of a sudden she just came into the picture and tried to take over. For a while I just let her. But then once I was carrying our baby, I was no longer interested in playing games with that woman. I had my family to consider.” The room began to feel warmer. I had to keep my cool. Brian got mad easily and I knew I needed to pacify him for a little while to make things go my way. “Listen, Brian, I didn’t come here to argue with you. Please let me finish,” I told him.
“Shelly, I—”
I held my hand up. “Brian, let me finish. That’s why I ran away. But I’m back and I’m ready to move forward. I won’t keep your son away from you any longer.”
“What does your husband have to say about this? Does he know?”
Damn you, Brian. Why’d you have to go bringing him into this? “We are no longer together, sweetie. I couldn’t live a lie. My heart was never in it. I ran to him to forget about you, but even after more than a year, it just didn’t work. I felt bad for keeping you away from Brice.” I fumbled through my bag and retrieved the wallet-sized photo from his last photo session and handed it to Brian. “He has your eyes.”
Brian took the photo and stared at it as if he was studying every feature. After a few moments he smiled and asked, “When can I see him?” Brian finally looked relaxed, as if seeing the picture had made his day. He fingered