“Slowly,” Adam advised. “Take your cues from her.”
Michael blew a breath until his cheeks expanded. “I’m up against a deadline, Adam. I can’t let this go on too long.”
“Give her until next weekend,” Adam responded. “Just don’t be so uptight about it. You know how to play it cool. Otherwise, D and I would’ve gotten rid of you a long time ago.”
“Truer words, my G.” Derrick lifted his cup to Adam’s, and they clinked them in solidarity.
“Why the fuck have I remained friends with you two all this time?”
Derrick chuckled. “Because your life would be boring as hell without us.”
“True,” Adam joined in. “And you wouldn’t’ve gotten laid half as much as you did in college if we hadn’t spent all our teenage years teaching your pitiful ass the ropes so you’d have a clue how to act on campus. Until we took you under our wing, you had no game whatsoever.”
Michael shook his head. He couldn’t argue, so he didn’t even try. Fortunately, their server had perfect timing as she arrived with their platters.
All right, Vanessa. I’ll fall back until next weekend, but if I don’t hear from you then, it’s on.
Chapter 5
“Have you told that man when you’re comingdown yet?”
Vanessa shook her head as she listened to Janae’s very direct question.
“Good morning to you too, Janae.”
Her friend sucked her teeth, too eager for an answer to care about good manners. “Stop stalling. What’s going on?”
“If you must know, I plan to come down this weekend. The Monroe Hills Inn apparently doesn’t have any vacancy until then.”
“I’m still mad you’d insult me by coming to my town and booking a hotel.”
“Ahh, as far as I know, don’t you still have that cute cat you’re always sending me pictures of? I’m still allergic to pet dander, which means both your place and Cree’s are out of the question. We discussed this already.”
“We did. But we might be able to work around that.” Janae’s voice perked up. “Just how allergic are we talking?”
“Janae,” Vanessa reprimanded.
“What? Allergy symptoms can run from mild itchy eyes to anaphylaxis. Depending on how severe your symptoms are, you could pop a Zyrtec or Benadryl and you’d be fine.”
“I can’t believe they let you actually treat people in that hospital of yours,” Vanessa responded. “You need your nursing license revoked.”
Janae laughed, the sound so infectious it sparked laughter in Vanessa too. That’s what she loved about her friends. No matter her mood, they always gave her good reasons to laugh.
“Fine,” Janae began once she caught her breath from laughing. “Be that way and stay at the inn. It’s only about fifteen minutes from my development and about twenty from Cree’s house in the countryside. We can be there if you need us to be your backup.”
Vanessa smiled, basking in the warmth of her friend’s statement. This wasn’t just about Janae and Cree being nosy. Of course she knew they wanted the details of everything that would transpire once she arrived in Monroe Hills. More than that, however, these two wanted to make sure she was all right. You couldn’t buy that kind of support, in Vanessa’s experience.
“I’m sure I’ll be fine.” She took a moment to reassure Janae and herself. This situation had the potential to blow up in her face in more ways than one. Facing your abuser was never an easy thing. Yet she knew if she ever wanted true freedom from his tyranny, and not just survival, this was the next step in taking back her life.
“I’m glad you and Cree will be close if I need to reach out, though. So, tell me about your sheriff. You called him by his first name when I mentioned him. Do you know him personally?”
“Chile,” Janae began. “This is Monroe Hills. Everyone knows everyone. Michael, Cree, and I all grew up together in Monroe Hills. He left for college and became a police detective in Philadelphia. He was out there for a while and came back to stay when his parents died ten years ago. His sister was still a teenager, and he didn’t want to uproot her after suffering such a loss. He transferred to the sheriff’sdepartment as a deputy and then was appointed sheriff when his predecessor went into early retirement.”
Michael had given Vanessa a generic rundown of the same events when they’d met.
At least he was being truthful.That’s a good sign, right?
“You know way too much about that man’s business. I most definitely won’t be in town long enough for the townsfolk to get to know me so intimately.”
