Part 2
### Chapter 1: Chapter 1
This story is a little out of my usual style, but it when your daughter tells you that she wants to see a story about divorce and betrayal that's clean and not dramatic, why not rise to the challenge?
This story is unedited at this time, so feel free to point out any errors you see.
There is mild profanity in this story, nothing like my usual work.
Shaylynn is a newly single mom who's learning that, sometimes, forever has an expiration date. She's trying to rebuild her life, create something structurally sound for herself and her sons. She moves back into her father's home expecting to heal, but the one thing she wasn't expecting was her father's neighbor, Matt.
Complete Chapters 23
Rating 4.9 ( 33 reviews ) Age Rating 16+
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Chapter 1
Shaylynn
“Damn it! Where’s my handheld?!” Ugh…the life of a mom is never dull and the chaos never ends… especially when you have two boys!
“Cody! Don’t say damn it! Did you try looking in your backpack? You know, the one I told you to put it in before we left?” His groan has me smiling as I can hear him shuffling through his backpack.
“Oh! I found it!” I roll my eyes, not that he can see me.
“Was it in your backpack?” I smile through the hesitant pause, already knowing the answer.
How do you rebuild your life after everything falls apart?
I don’t have the answer, but I’m damn sure trying to figure it out.
I’m twenty-nine years old with two sons, Bryce who’s thirteen and Cody who’s six…and I’m going through a divorce that I never saw coming.
Yes, I know I started a family too damn young and maybe that’s part of the problem, or maybe it has nothing to do with it…who knows.
All my friends were outraged when I agreed to the divorce so easily, making no attempt to fight for my nearly ten year marriage.
In my eyes, there was nothing left to fight for, not when he came home and told me he was leaving me for another woman…a younger woman…a woman he had been sleeping with for the last four years …a woman who’s now pregnant with his child …a woman who just so happens to be my younger step-sister.
So, I didn’t fight…I didn’t unleash my anger and hurt on him…or on her.
I simply printed out the divorce papers, signed and filed for primary custody of our sons, which he didn’t even contest.
The worst part is that he actually negotiated down his time with the kids rather than seeking more time with them.
Bryce understands and is currently angry with their father while Cody is struggling to come to terms with our new normal.
This new version of normal doesn’t just consist of their father’s absence, but we’ve also moved to the other side of the city to stay at my father’s beach house with him.
It’s been two months since my divorce was finalized and we arrived at my father’s house less than an hour ago, so I’ve been letting the boys run and play on the beach to stretch their legs before we get into unloading the moving truck.
Seeing them so happy warms my heart and helps numb the constant ache in my soul.
On the outside, I’m forcing myself to be strong, not for me, but for my sons.
Well, that’s a whole other situation entirely.
My emotions and thoughts are a dark swirling mess of chaos and destruction that leave me questioning every good moment in my marriage from start to finish.
“Mom! Look at this cool dog!” I smile at Cody as he sits in the soft sand while a large black lab excitedly licks his face.
“I think she likes you!” I chuckle as I slowly walk toward him to get a better look at the amusing scene.
I scan the beach to see if anyone appears to be looking for the sweet dog and easily spot a man walking down the beach toward us.
He looks to be in his mid thirties with a tall, muscular body that’s covered by a pair of joggers and a tank top, his black hair is bouncing with every step and he has a light stubble lining his jaw.
Once he gets closer, I see his dark blue eyes and, if I hadn’t just gone through a shit divorce, I’d be done for!
He’s absolutely gorgeous, but is definitely the kind of guy that’s out of my league, not that I’m even looking for a guy.
“I’m so sorry about her! I promise she’s friendly!” I look down at the dog who’s practically steam rolling Cody while he tries to pet her.
Yeah, like anyone could mistake her as something dangerous!
“I can see that. It’s no problem, really.” Cody smiles at me then looks at the man.
“What’s her name, mister?” The man flashes a beaming smile at Cody and crouches down so my son isn’t straining to look up at him.
“Her name is Hope and I’m Matt. I live in that house right up there. Are you guys just visiting?” He points to the house right next to my father’s and Cody’s eyes widen almost comically.
“We just moved and live with my grandpa right there. Our daddy’s a worthless, lying bastard so we left his sorry ass.” Cody points to my father’s house, but my focus is on what he said about his dad, something that I’ve never said in front of him, though god knows I’ve thought it…along with much worse.
“Cody Christopher Daniels! Don’t talk about your father that way!” He gives me a look of innocence and confusion.
“But mom , that’s what Bryce told grandpa!” I look at Bryce who shrugs as if it’s not a big deal.
“Don’t look at me like that, mom. He’s a lying, cheating bastard who chose to start a new family with our aunt. You should stop defending him.” I pinch the bridge of my nose and take a deep, calming breath.
“Bryce, please don’t talk about him that way and especially not in front of your brother. I know you’re mad and you have every right to be, but he’s still your father.” He rolls his eyes and starts walking back toward the house.
“I’m going to start unloading the truck.” I give Matt an apologetic smile as Cody stands up and brushes the sand off his shorts.
“I’m so sorry. He’s having a hard time with everything and is just so angry right now. He really is one of the sweetest kids normally.” Matt waves off my apology, his brilliant smile taking over once again.
“I get it. His anger will fade, just give it time. If you guys ever need anything, I’m right next door.” I suddenly feel embarrassed, realizing I never made introductions.
“Oh, I’m Shaylynn, but everyone calls me Shay, this is Cody and the angsty teen is Bryce.” He chuckles and glances up where Bryce had walked off then back at me.
“It’s nice to meet you all. Did you need any help moving your stuff into the house?” I feel strange accepting help from a man I just met onbeach, but I don’t even get a chance to answer before my dad’s voice cuts through the air.
“Shay! You better get up here before Bryce fills that damn swear jar!” I shake my head and sigh.
“We’re coming, dad!” Just as I attempt to politely decline Matt’s offer, he hooks a leash to Hope and leads her back to his house without another word.
I shrug it off, take Cody’s hand and head back to the house to find Bryce has already unloaded about a third of the truck.
“Mom, why do we have so much crap?!” I try not to laugh at him, but fail miserably.
“Bryce…you do realize that most of those boxes, or the crap , as you called it, are yours and Cody’s, right?” With a loud groan, Bryce heads back out to the truck while I start sorting the boxes in the living room and moving them to the appropriate rooms.
When I return to the living room for the next box, I see Matt walk in with two boxes stacked in his arms and I try not to stare, but I hadn’t expected him to just show up .
As he sets the boxes in the space I point to, I notice heavy scarring on his right leg beginning mid-calf and disappearing up underneath the basketball shorts he’s now wearing.
I would never be so brazen as to ask about the cause of it, but it certainly does have me wondering.
After several trips and Bryce surpassing his quota of random slips of profanity, the truck is finally unloaded and most of the boxes are put where they belong.
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### Chapter 2: Chapter 2
Once we’ve finished unloading the truck, my dad, of course, invites Matt to stay for dinner to thank him for his help and Matt, of course, agrees…as if seeing his muscles flexing and his skin covered in a light sheen of sweat for the last few hours wasn’t already driving me mad!
It’s official…I’m thinking like a sex starved lunatic!
While dad mans the grill, the boys and I sit with Matt while they fill him in on their lives before coming here.
Bryce even surprises me by talking about some of the activities he enjoyed in our hometown, though I did notice how his voice got a little quieter…his tone a little sadder.
“Dad said he was gonna teach me to play football, but he didn’t, right mom?” Poor Cody honestly noticed so much more than his dad ever gave him credit for and it truly breaks my heart.
While I was able to cover for some of their dad’s absences, it seems the ones I couldn’t, haven’t gone unnoticed.
“I know, baby. Your dad was really busy with work and it probably slipped his mind.” I hate covering for him, but I never want the boys to feel like they weren’t a priority and I never want them to think they did something wrong in all this.
“Busy working over Aunt Sarah in his office.” Bryce mumbles the comment, but I hear it and, judging by the shocked expression on Matt’s face, he heard it too.
“I could teach you. I meet with a few of the guys from my squad every other week to play a few pickup games and I coach a few of the kids from the youth center a few days a week who would be more than happy to have you join us too.” His words hit me like a freight train as I realize what he said as well as what he’s offering.
“You were in the military?” He smiles and nods, seemingly unbothered by my question.
“Army. eight years and five months of service before being medically discharged almost thirteen years ago.” And just like that, he suddenly has Bryce’s undivided attention again.
“Doesn’t that mean you got hurt?” Matt nods again, but his smile is now somewhat strained.
“I did. We were traveling to a small town where we were stationed and the Humvee in front of ours hit an IED. The force of the blast hit our vehicle and the one behind us hard enough to send ours rolling and the other ended up on its side.
“My leg was pinned and the injury ended up being bad enough to require several surgeries to fix. I’m good as new now, as long as you don’t count the scars, but I couldn’t return to service, so I was medically discharged.” Bryce’s eyes are wide while Cody just looks curious.
“Does it hurt still?” Cody’s soft voice, filled with innocent concern, seems to soothe the tense expression on Matt’s face.
“Sometimes, but not too bad.” Cody nods his head and glances at me before looking back at Matt.
“Do you have kids?” Matt smiles and shakes his head.
“No, but I always thought I would have them someday.” Bryce smirks when he sees the thoughtful look on Cody’s face, clearly amused with the questions he knows are coming.
“Do you have a wife?” I open my mouth to put a stop to it, but Matt beats me to it.
“No, I don’t. I almost did once, but things didn’t work out.” Bryce gives Matt a tense look while Cody looks to be appeased by his response.
“Mom knows all about things not working out, don’t you mom?” While I know it’s his anger toward his father making him speak out like this, his words still cut deeply.
“Hey, your mom loves you and is no doubt doing what’s best for you. This whole thing has been hard on her too, so show her a little respect, Bud.” Matt’s tone isn’t scolding, just level and firm.
Bryce stares at Matt for a moment with a mixture of regret and shock in his eyes before giving a single nod and turning to look at me.
“Sorry, mom. I know it’s not your fault that dad’s a bastard.” Cody nods his silent agreement, and though I would usually scold Bryce for talking about his dad that way, right now I don’t have it in me to care.
I know it’s wrong, but part of me is thankful they don’t blame me for our lives being upended and our family falling apart.
“I know, sweetheart. I love you both more than anything and I’m sorry this has been so hard for you both. I promise that we’ll get through this together.” Bryce gets up and walks around the table to give me a hug then kisses the top of my head before walking over to the grill to help his grandpa.
“You’ve got some pretty great kids. How old are they?” Before I can answer, Cody decides to answer for me.
“I’m six and Bryce is thirteen. Right mom?” I nod and give him a warm smile.
“That’s right, baby. Bryce actually just turned thirteen three days ago and Cody here turned six last month.” Matt seems surprised as he keeps looking back at Bryce then back to me.
“No way are you old enough to have a thirteen year old.” My brow raises and I give him a playful smirk.
“I assure you, I am. I had Bryce when I was sixteen then had Cody when I was twenty-three.” I can tell he’s thinking then his eyes widen slightly.
“So, you’re what, twenty-nine?” I nod and turn in my chair to check on my dad and Bryce.
“I am. Good to know I don’t look old enough to have a teenage son though. Thanks for the boost of confidence.” We both chuckle and he shakes his head while running his fingers through his hair.
“I thought you were closer to twenty-two or three.” I can’t even help my smirk, but I won’t lie, his unintended compliment hit me pretty hard.
Ever since I found out about my ex-husband’s affair, I’ve felt like maybe I just wasn’t pretty enough, that I didn’t look young enough…that I simply wasn’t enough .
It’s nice to know that I at least don’t look old.
“How old are you ?” He gives me a soft smile and leans forward with his elbows resting on the edge of the table.
“I’ll be forty-two in a month.” I…wasn’t expecting that! He doesn’t look older than thirty-five, but I guess he kind of acts older…more mature.
“Well, I thought you were a little closer to my age, so I guess we’re even. You act with the maturity of your age, but you certainly look younger.” He nods and, thankfully, smiles.
I’m honestly glad I didn’t manage to offend the poor guy!
The rest of the evening is spent with us discussing things the kids can do around town and with Matt telling the kids about the youth center where he volunteers on Saturdays.
Before Matt leaves to head home, he gets the boys to convince me to take them to the youth center tomorrow so they can play football with the other kids, not that it was a hard sell when anyone could see how excited they were.
The boys and I help my dad clean up the mess from dinner then head to bed.
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Readers can read all books for free, without any ads and give the authors feedback.
Books that perform well based on their reader engagement are published on our Galatea app.
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