“The last one was official,” Toni sniffed.
I glanced her way, thinking I really should have reconnectedwith Ally and/or Indy for this operation.First, because they wouldn’t go onthe record telling me something I already knew: this was a fool idea.They’d beall for it.Second, they’d probably be able to form a better plan as to how togo about doing what I intended to do, considering they had a lot of experiencewith implementing fool ideas.
But I couldn’t reconnect with Ally and Indy.
It had been years, for one.
I’d taken off without a word of explanation, for another.
The explanation I had I couldn’t tell them, not yet, sincethe person who most should know still didn’t (yet), for another.
Too much was at stake, for the last.
I turned into the parking lot of the bar, and even nothaving entered it, I could see this place was somewhere I didn’t want to be.
Nope.
Somewhere Ishouldn’tbe.
One could stretch this further and say I should never havemoved us from living in the apartment over the stables at my aunt and uncle’splace in Fort Collins back to Denver.
Sure, on occasion, you could smell horse manure.
But it was quiet, a lot bigger than my current apartment,safe, and it had a funky vibe I liked.
That said, it wasn’t home.
It wasn’t Denver.
I was a young mother.I’d gotten my training to be a courtreporter and scored a job.I was taking courses to become a paralegal, whichwas a step down from what my plans had been before I’d gotten pregnant and mybaby’s father’s dad had been murdered, sending him so far off the rails, Ididn’t recognize him anymore.But it didn’t matter I didn’t, he’d cut me out ofhis life.
I’d wanted to be a lawyer.
But life was tough with a curious two-year-old, even if mymom and dad and sister and all the aunties and uncles and cousins pitched in tohelp me out.
I needed to keep my nose clean.
And I needed to stay away from Darius Tucker.
Everyone told me he’d turned to the dark side.
However, I thought it was time.It was time he shook himselfout of this garbage.
It was time he learned he had a child and had to step up.
It was time three years ago, but I’d been young and scaredand hurt, so I’d made an emotional decision and my parents had stepped in tosupport and protect me.
Off I went to Fort Collins.
Now I was back.
So, yeah.
It was time.
While I was thinking these things, Toni was doing somethingelse.I knew this when I turned to her and saw her tying the silk scarf underher chin.It covered her hair and the sides of her face.She complemented thisby sliding on a massive pair of black-framed glasses.
“What are you doing?”I asked.
