sprouting and snaking through him like a vine, he had to be sure of her honesty beyond any shadow of a doubt.
Mi stared out the window of Lucas’s truck, trying to remember what it had been like to feel safe. Had it only been that morning she’d made plans with Lucy to go to the antique swap meet, hoping she’d find just the right picture for her dining room? And now she was fleeing her home, her landing place when things with her mother got too crazy.
She tried not to think about all of the things she’d sacrificed to build it. The years of working two and three jobs before she’d gotten lucky and landed the co-hosting job at Pleasure at Home . Eating at home instead of going out and counting her pennies until payday, hoping she had enough for gas and groceries. The personal relationships she hadn’t had the time or energy for. Having to buy used cars instead of new. The vacations spent with her mother instead of baking on a warm sandy beach with friends. She’d never even been more than a hundred miles from Dallas in her whole life.
“Mi, look at me,” Lucas whispered, his tone gentle and coxing.
She had a right to be mad at him for listening in on her conversation with Jason, but with everything else going on in her life she just didn’t have any room inside her for another useless emotion. She gave up the wishing and hoping that this was all a bad dream or a joke and turned away from the house that didn’t feel like hers anymore, turning toward Lucas.
“I’m going to need you to be honest with me, Mi. We’re partners in this, but if I don’t know all of the players I can’t do my job. Can you do that?”
She nodded, unable to pull off more than that.
He looked out over the hood of the truck, then back at her. The thin light coming into the truck reflected in his dark eyes, like two lighthouses on a distant shore. She had the feeling he was weighing his next words carefully and that her response would be important to him.
“I saw the baby pictures and bed in the spare bedroom. And the child car seat in your car—”
She answered the question before he could ask it. She’d been expecting it. It wasn’t the first time she’d been asked and it wouldn’t be the last. “I don’t have a baby. I like to go to swap meets and garage sales.”
“You buy baby things?” He had that look men get when the words baby and marriage are mentioned.
“Lucy’s having a baby.”
“Oh. Right.” He searched her face in that probing way he had, as if he could read her thoughts. He must have come to some kind of conclusion about her because he nodded, giving her one of his rare smiles, this one was meant to be reassuring. “Sorry. Had to ask. A baby would complicate things.”
Mi let out a relieved breath and turned back toward the window, resting her chin on her fist. “Don’t worry about it.”
He flipped the headlights on, shifted the truck into gear, and pulled away from her house. “It’s going to be all right, you know. You’re going to be all right. Do you trust me?”
She glanced at his profile so hard yet noble. Did she trust him? Did she have any other choice? “Where are we going?”
“My place. I have a spare bedroom.” He shot her a quick glance when she didn’t respond right away. “It’s the safest place I could think of.”
“Okay.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him check on her again, gauging her level of consent. “Unless you have somewhere else you’d rather go.”
“Your place is fine, I’m sure. I’m just very tired.”
While Lucas took the return call of the detective in charge of her case, Mi sat back in the plush leather seat and replayed her conversation with Lucas, hoping her answers had been enough to assuage his curiosity. She doubted it. Panic clawed at her and she bit down hard on her lip, pushing the fear and dread down. She’d had to structure her life around the terrible decision she’d been forced to make when she was only fifteen. And
Mi stared out the window of Lucas’s truck, trying to remember what it had been like to feel safe. Had it only been that morning she’d made plans with Lucy to go to the antique swap meet, hoping she’d find just the right picture for her dining room? And now she was fleeing her home, her landing place when things with her mother got too crazy.
She tried not to think about all of the things she’d sacrificed to build it. The years of working two and three jobs before she’d gotten lucky and landed the co-hosting job at Pleasure at Home . Eating at home instead of going out and counting her pennies until payday, hoping she had enough for gas and groceries. The personal relationships she hadn’t had the time or energy for. Having to buy used cars instead of new. The vacations spent with her mother instead of baking on a warm sandy beach with friends. She’d never even been more than a hundred miles from Dallas in her whole life.
“Mi, look at me,” Lucas whispered, his tone gentle and coxing.
She had a right to be mad at him for listening in on her conversation with Jason, but with everything else going on in her life she just didn’t have any room inside her for another useless emotion. She gave up the wishing and hoping that this was all a bad dream or a joke and turned away from the house that didn’t feel like hers anymore, turning toward Lucas.
“I’m going to need you to be honest with me, Mi. We’re partners in this, but if I don’t know all of the players I can’t do my job. Can you do that?”
She nodded, unable to pull off more than that.
He looked out over the hood of the truck, then back at her. The thin light coming into the truck reflected in his dark eyes, like two lighthouses on a distant shore. She had the feeling he was weighing his next words carefully and that her response would be important to him.
“I saw the baby pictures and bed in the spare bedroom. And the child car seat in your car—”
She answered the question before he could ask it. She’d been expecting it. It wasn’t the first time she’d been asked and it wouldn’t be the last. “I don’t have a baby. I like to go to swap meets and garage sales.”
“You buy baby things?” He had that look men get when the words baby and marriage are mentioned.
“Lucy’s having a baby.”
“Oh. Right.” He searched her face in that probing way he had, as if he could read her thoughts. He must have come to some kind of conclusion about her because he nodded, giving her one of his rare smiles, this one was meant to be reassuring. “Sorry. Had to ask. A baby would complicate things.”
Mi let out a relieved breath and turned back toward the window, resting her chin on her fist. “Don’t worry about it.”
He flipped the headlights on, shifted the truck into gear, and pulled away from her house. “It’s going to be all right, you know. You’re going to be all right. Do you trust me?”
She glanced at his profile so hard yet noble. Did she trust him? Did she have any other choice? “Where are we going?”
“My place. I have a spare bedroom.” He shot her a quick glance when she didn’t respond right away. “It’s the safest place I could think of.”
“Okay.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him check on her again, gauging her level of consent. “Unless you have somewhere else you’d rather go.”
“Your place is fine, I’m sure. I’m just very tired.”
While Lucas took the return call of the detective in charge of her case, Mi sat back in the plush leather seat and replayed her conversation with Lucas, hoping her answers had been enough to assuage his curiosity. She doubted it. Panic clawed at her and she bit down hard on her lip, pushing the fear and dread down. She’d had to structure her life around the terrible decision she’d been forced to make when she was only fifteen. And
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