‘Yeah,’ he said. Thoughtfully, though. Distracted.
She waited, sure he was going to add something else. The music seemed to make the air pulse, the beat of it accentuated by the gentle slapping of the waves against the shoreline. It was a perfect night. The sky was the inkiest of blacks, and the stars glittered and shimmered, almost as if they were, themselves, dancing in the heavens.
‘You know, it’s not something I make a big deal of, but I have this thing.’
‘Thing,’ she prompted. ‘You know, you make that sound like it might be forewarning me of some kind of venereal disease. Or that you have a foot fetish or something.’
He laughed, holding her a little tighter. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a movement and glanced that way, almost on autopilot, then shivered when she saw Aiden. He was talking to Blake, but she had a very strong feeling that he’d just been watching her, and had looked away to avoid making eye contact. Her body tingled.
‘Nah, I mean, a charity.’ Chuck rushed to add, ‘It’s not a big deal. I don’t really advertise it.’
‘What kind of charity?’
‘We help people escaping domestic violence. Part of that involves offering legal aid – for whatever they need. Could be help with their will, or custody, or separating assets, or it could be more serious, depending on circumstance. I know it’s not exactly what you’re talking about, but we do offer the opportunity to work from home, provided there’s a week every month spent in the office.’
She stared up at him. ‘Are you offering me a job?’
‘I’m just saying, you could think about it.’
She blinked quickly. ‘Why don’t you advertise the fact you do this?’
He shrugged.
‘That’s not an answer.’
He smiled, but for once, it was lacking his trademark carelessness. ‘Then I become the story. I don’t want that. This isn’t something that needs to be spotlighted. We do good work, behind the scenes. We help people that need to be helped. I have other ways of grandstanding and getting my ego stroked.’
‘Wow.’ She stopped dancing so she could stare up at him. ‘You’ve really surprised me, Chuck Daly.’
‘I aim to please.’
She ignored the double entendre. ‘It’s an incredible cause.’
‘Yeah.’ His voice was rough. ‘I mean, I know a bit about it.’
She frowned. ‘The law?’
‘DV. It’s – something Blake and I, you know, have in common.’
The penny dropped and a burst of sympathy exploded through her as she understood what he was admitting.
‘You grew up in an abusive house?’
He nodded once.
‘I’m so sorry to hear it.’
He lifted his shoulders. ‘I got out.’
‘Still,’ she said, a little unevenly. ‘I know that kind of thing can leave scars for a lifetime.’
Unbidden, her gaze drifted across to Aiden and Blake, locked in conversation. They were both smiling though, looking happy. Content. Only a handful of people could understand the pain that was just beneath the surface. The hypervigilance that had arisen because of the way their father had been to them, as small boys, and their mother, all their lives, until Aiden and Blake had used their God-given talents to flee to safety.
‘I’m okay,’ he said. ‘I dealt with it. First team I joined in the majors got me to see a shrink. I hated the idea at first. Talk about a waste of time. Except, it probably saved my life.’
‘How so?’
‘There’s a lot to deal with, when you come out of that. The guilt, at not being able to stop it. The grief, because even when someone hurts you, or hurts someone you love, you still kind of love them. It’s crazy, but you can hate and love someone all at once, and you have to just kind of learn to sit with that. Accept it, don’t fight it, don’t try to change it.’
