“Where are you staying?” I call out as his fingers meet his escape.
His head falls, shoulders shrugging under that black sweatshirt. “I don’t have anywhere to go.”
CUPCAKES AND DEAD BODIES
JOSEPHINE
The drive homeis awkward to say the least. My eyes keep darting to my rearview to check on Haley, then out my peripheral to the kid I still don’t have a name for.
“Uhm, I probably should have asked this about thirty minutes ago. What’s your name?”
I catch his body turn toward me, but I keep my gaze on the road. The more I look at him, the easier it is to notice the similarities. I’m sure he got some features from his mother, but he looks so much like Vik, I don’t know how I didn’t clock it the moment he dropped his hood.
“Trenton.”
I’m over this fucking rollercoaster ride, causing my stomach to bottom out every time I open my mouth and ask another fucking question.
She gave him his name.
What if we’d had a son instead of Haley and done the same? How idiotic would it look to have two kids with the same goddamn name?
Two kids. My husband has two kids, to my one. The shockof it all hasn’t eased a bit. If anything, it just keeps getting worse.
“I’m Haley.” The little voice chirps from the back, garnering our attention.
My sweet, beautiful baby girl. So unaware of what the hell is going on. Maybe I should have called Lexi to see if she could sleep over. But the turn for home is just ahead, and I don’t have it in me right now to explain the situation without breaking down completely.
“And you?” he asks with a tinge of unease.
“I’m Josphine, but you can call me Josie.”
The nod is subtle, but I catch it right before we pull up to the house. It’s not much to look at, but it’s home all the same.
“Wow! This is where you live?” The disbelief is clear as day.
Perspective, Josie. Perspective.
Vik’s given me a life so different from the one I grew up with. The single wide trailer with a mom who worked as much as she drank wasn’t exactly rainbows and unicorns. A place like this would have looked like the Ritz to me, too, fifteen years ago.
I throw the SUV in park and unbuckle, hopping out. “Well, come on then. You can’t stay out here all night.” I let the sarcasm drip from my tone so he doesn’t think I’m being a bitch and unbuckle Haley.
Bear immediately stands at attention from his post on the front porch, eyeing the stranger with us.
“Bear, sit.” He listens, but his stance isn’t relaxed or calm in the slightest.
“He won’t bite. But I wouldn’t pet him until he gets used to you.”
Trenton gives the big floof a wide berth and walks up to the door on the opposite side.
“Are… are you sure it’s okay I’m here? I can just go back?—”
“You got somewhere to go back to?” I turn, eyebrow quirked, while pushing the door open wide for Haley to rush through.
It doesn’t matter how blindsided his appearance has made me or how hard the conversation I’ve yet to have with my husband will be. This poor kid needs help, and I’m not about to turn him away, back onto the street. Heaven forbid Haley ever end up in a similar situation. I’d want someone looking out for her.
“No, ma’am.”
“That’s what I thought. Come in. It’s late, and dinner needs cookin’. Hope you like breakfast.”
