Unless I was working.
At my job I wasn’t the same person as I was when away from the office. I was doing what I loved. Something I wholeheartedly believed was a place where I could help others. Or would try my damnedest, that was for sure.
I knew firsthand that sometimes it only took one person to care about you to make all the difference in the world.
I’d also seen it where my kids were concerned. The day they’d come to live with me flashed in my mind and I was hit with a pang of sorrow over what Lennon and Breland had been through. But I gave them a safe place to land and while it wasn’t easy, I’d earned their trust.
That in itself was one of my greatest and most cherished achievements.
Coming back to the moment, I looked at my sister. “There is nothing dreamy about that man.” That was a lie I told myself and obviously others too, because nobody had flustered me the way he had. “He’s too, too...”
Lake raised her brows waiting for the rest of my answer as I struggled to spit it out, the other ladies hanging on my every word, but I didn’t get to finish because there was the man himself.
“I’m too what, sweetheart?”
Shit, he heard us.
Not only did he hear everything, but Bronson, who was right behind him, did as well. For the time being, I just had to make it through the day. Stepping forward, shoulders squared, I looked him straight in the eyes, holding his gaze with more confidence than I possessed.
“Too nosy for one thing. Didn’t anyone tell you it’s not nice to eavesdrop?”
The smirk on his face and laughter that danced in his deep green eyes had me faltering a bit, my fake bravado losing steam faster than a locomotive on a crash course stopping dead in its tracks.
Which is exactly what I did. I came to a halt mere inches from him.
I dropped my gaze to the floor and took a long breath in through my nose, trying to get my shit together. When I looked back up, preparing to put my big girl panties on and act like a gracious host, a lock of hair fell into my face.
Nothing could have prepared me for what came next.
Huntley’s hand slowly moved toward my face and I flinched back, eyes wide in fear like a feral animal cornered and ready for attack.
Old habits die hard.
So many things happened at once after that. And everything went to hell in a handbasket.
“Fuck,” I heard Bronson whisper as my sister took a swift intake of air from beside me, adding to the pounding in my ears. Huntley quickly dropped his palm to his side, but his gaze bored into mine and it was as if he could see straight into my soul.
I obviously wasn’t hiding anything from the group. Especiallyhim.
His eyes were no longer filled with laughter, but in its place was anger, pity, and concern. I couldn’t handle any of it.
My breathing picked up speed, my heart hammered in my chest, and tears swam in my eyes, threatening to fall. The past bombarded me and my face flushed with embarrassment. This wasexactlywhy I didn’t get close to other people. I may have made a load of progress when it came to what I’d been through, but there were only a few others than me that knew about it.
The woman, myangel, who saved me that night from ending it all, and my kids.
And those who had hurt me, but they didn’t give a damn.
About to run for the second time that day, I’d just taken a step when a menacing voice filled the room.
“Don’t you dare ever try and touch her again or… I. Will.End.You.”
My eyes darted to my son who stood behind Huntley, his body vibrating with rage as his chest heaved. Then they swept to Breland who stood quietly, clutching her dog Roxie in her arms as her eyes misted with tears like my own. Her body trembled, which I knew only fueled her brother’s fire.
Huntley, Bronson, and the ladies all swung around in shock.
They didn’t understand. How could they?
Lennon was a good boy, but I knew what the group must be thinking as they took in his anger and words.
