Meredith waited until we were outside, then she leaned toward me and dropped her voice. "That whore Luke's messing around with hasn't been helping. The girls pick on her for being fat, but look at her. She's a chunk."
"She's actually at a very healthy weight for her age," I explained, deciding I hated this woman as much as the man. "But we can go over that in detail tomorrow. Six. I wouldn't want to make either of you late." I forced a polite smile. "It was a pleasure to meet you both."
"Come on, Meredith," Brody snapped, grabbing her arm to haul her forward. As they were walking away, he dropped his voice, but it wasn't enough to keep me from hearing his next words. "You gotta be careful with those shrinks. They'll twist up anything you say. This is just Luke's way of ruining us so he can have that child all to himself, but I'm not gonna let him have her."
I just sighed and headed toward Luke's truck. He could catch up when Faith left. I needed a moment before I opened my mouth - or put a fist in Brody's.
Chapter Fifty-One
Cy was quiet on the ride back. Not silent, but I could tell something was bothering him. I asked if he hated the place and he said no, the service was pretty good. He even complimented a few of the points David had made. That only left me more confused. But the moment I parked in front of the barn, he turned to face me.
"I don't like Brody."
I let out a dry laugh. "Me either, man." Then I stepped out of the truck.
Cy took a second longer, but he stopped me before I could head to the house. "Luke, I'm serious. I don't like him. This isn't a case of the guy being a loser. He is, but I don't like him around Faith."
I just turned back and spread my arms. "And what the fuck am I supposed to do about it? In case you missed it, I don't have custody of her. I don't have the money to go back to court, never mind that it'd take how long before anything would happen? And I don't have a place for her to live. My house and job are tied together. Few years back, I hired an attorney. Cost me a grand and all he said was that I'd lose. Said it wasn't going to happen, and gave me a list of shit to fix. Shit Ican'tfuckin' fix, ok?"
"So let us help," Cy begged. "Look, I'm going over there tomorrow to talk to Meredith and Brody. A formal meeting of sorts. I want to see how she reacts to them in the house, but I have some serious concerns."
That made me stop completely. "What kind of concerns?" My heart had stalled out. The last time he said that he'd dropped a bombshell on me. "You think she's cutting again?"
"No." He came around the side of the truck and right up to me. "Luke, I don't like the way Brody looks at her."
"What?"
That made absolutely no sense. No matter how many times I played it back in my mind, I couldn't figure out what he was talking about. Brody was a shit little man, all pumped up on his own self-importance, but he was good to Faith. Wasn't he? Maybe a little strict, but I really wasn't. I didn't think she needed it. Or maybe that was the problem?
"You think he's beating her or something?" I asked.
"Worse."
What could be worse than beating her? "Cy, the man doesn't do drugs. He's tanked after a couple of beers. He's got one of those jobs where he has to piss in a cup."
Cy grabbed my arm. "Luke, stop. Just, answer me this. If you wanted to stop your daughter from swinging her legs, where would you put your hand?"
The skin on the back of my neck tingled. "I wouldn't care if she kicked her feet."
"Pretend that you do. Where on her leg would you press to make her stop if you couldn't talk?" He wasn't going to give up.
So I thought about it. "On her knee, I guess?"
"I watched him grab her here." And Cy gripped his own leg right beside his balls. High. Too high. "If it was once, I'd say I was wrong, but the second time, he slid his hand from the middle of her thigh up there. Faith was scooted as far away from him as possible."
"It's just where he was sitting," I said, trying to make myself believe it. "Had to be. She's not even thirteen!"
Cy just nodded. "That's what I'm worried about. How close is he with Meredith?"
"What?" I couldn't keep up with him. "I dunno. Faith says they fight all the time, but it's not really any of my business."
"What do they fight about?" Cy pressed.
"I don't fuckingknow." I huffed and turned away, only to stop and turn back. "What are you getting at, Cy?"
"Does Brody do a lot of activities with kids?" he asked, ignoring my question. "Little league, um, youth group, things like that?"
"Meredith does youth group," I admitted. "I think that's actually where they met."
