Inside Out by Grayson Cole Page B

them. He watched her giggle and put her hand over Burke’s forearm. She’d never done that with him. He watched her cross her legs and tried to recall when he’d ever seen her in heels so high. Delectable.
    Someone yelled at him for not listening. And now all he wanted to do was yell at her. “Tracey!”
    â€œWho’s Tracey?”
    Rett went silent. He hadn’t meant to say her name out loud, especially not in front of Kimberly.
    â€œRett, who is Tracey?”
    He could have said right then, “Tracey is in my tax study group.” He could have said it and everything would have been fine. In fact he could’ve said, “Tracey’s a friend of my sister’s. I just met her today and she really pissed me off. You know how my sister’s friends are.” That would have worked real well, considering that Kim hated his sister. But Rett didn’t say that, either. He didn’t want to save himself from this argument. In fact, he needed this argument more than Kim needed to teach kindergarten and have a little Brownie or Cub Scout of her very own. So, he didn’t say anything.
    â€œI’m not going to keep asking you. I’m sick and tired of you treating me like I am here only when it’s convenient for you. I am not your toy. You can’t play with me when you feel like it and ignore me when you don’t. We’ve been together way too long for this, and I want to know: Who is Tracey?”
    Rett remained silent and focused over her shoulder at the very woman she was asking about. He waited for Kim’s full fury to take over. He wondered what this same conversation would be like with Tracey. She was probably too poised and too sophisticated for hysterics.
    â€œRett, I’m talking to you! I want to know who Tracey is and what—”
    â€œSo where were you and Charles coming from today?” That was sure to shut her up. Maybe he didn’t feel like fighting after all. She folded her hands in her lap.
    â€œKimberly, let’s just have a nice dinner. We’ve been fighting a lot lately. You and I both know things have changed. That doesn’t mean we have to fight.”
    She nodded and said in a rush, “I talked to your mom today and she said she saw…”
    At the end of the night, Kim let him out in front of his building. He leaned in the window to give her a kiss before she left. He could tell she didn’t want to leave, but he slapped the hood of her car and she drove off. Up in the apartment he grabbed a six-pack from the fridge and sat watching late night talk shows featuring yelling and paternity tests.
    * * *
    Four hours later, still wired, Rett picked up the phone and called his sister. “Angie, get up!”
    â€œWhat the hell? Rett?” a deep, sleepy feminine voice asked.
    â€œYeah, it’s me.”
    â€œWhat time is it?”
    â€œThree-thirty.”
    â€œIn the…what?”
    â€œThree-thirty in the morning. I woke you?”
    â€œNo, honey, it’s okay. I just laid down, really. What’s going on?”
    â€œNothing.”
    â€œRett, babe, you don’t call me at this time of night for nothing. Can’t sleep?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œWell, come on over.”
    â€œNo, you were in bed. ‘Sides, my car’s in the shop.”
    â€œI’ll come over there. Kim’s not there, is she?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œGood, then I’ll definitely come over.” However, when Angie showed up at his door in flannel pajamas only fifteen minutes later—she lived a few blocks away—she said, “You have got to stop watching trash.”
    She cracked open a beer and took a swig before plopping on the sofa next to him with her legs folded beneath her. She asked him to talk to her, but he didn’t.

Chapter 11
    All Tracey knew was that the night after she went to dinner with Alex, Garrett called her. “Listen.” His voice was soft and