Would you like me to make you something fresh or are you good with cold eggs?”
“Cold eggs,” she mumbled.
“Gonna come to you now,” I warned and did just that.
Once I had her in my arms, I kissed her forehead, then I told her the last thing she needed to know.
“I will never hurt you. Swear it on my life, Adalynn. I can’t promise I won’t be an ass, do shit that pisses you off, but I vow to you, I will never hurt you. Not physically, not emotionally. And I’m gonna prove that to you.”
Addy said not a word.
But the full-body shiver told me everything I needed to know.
She didn’t believe me.
And my gut told me Keith was to blame.
Motherfucker.
15
“You’re quiet,” Trey noted as the big, metal guard gate slowly swung open.
However I wasn’t watching the gate. I was quiet because my mind was back in Trey’s kitchen. He’d been cool about me calling him Keith. He’d even been cool not pressing me for an explanation. And it was especially cool because it went against his nature.
My whole life, I’d been surrounded by men like him—men who pushed, demanded, and refused to take no for an answer. They were men like my dad, uncles, cousins, and brother, who had honor and held the women in their lives in high regard so their brand of bossy, assertive, and overbearing—while annoying—came from a place of deep love.
Then there were men like Jake who pretended to have honor, showed you only what they wanted you to see, and didn’t care enough to be bossy, assertive, or overbearing in a way that protected you.
The third kind of man was like Keith.
He hadn’t pretended to have honor because he’d had none. I just didn’t know it at the time. He hadn’t shown me what he wanted me to see, he’d flat-out lied about who he was. And he didn’t hold women in high regard, therefore, every word, every touch, every demand, every accusation was done with cruelty. His intent—to cause maximum damage. But I hadn’t known any of that until it was too late, until he’d inflicted his pain both in word and deed.
And I never told a soul.
Keith Richardson was my biggest regret and my darkest secret.
My deepest shame.
“Do you have siblings?” I asked after he’d pulled through the gate.
“Yeah. A brother, CJ,” Trey answered.
“Older or younger?”
“Younger.”
“I’m the youngest by three minutes.”
Why I imparted that factoid I had no clue other than I was nervous, and with every revolution of Trey’s tires, we were getting closer to Triple Canopy—a place I didn’t want to go. I didn’t want to face my cousins, and my big brother would likely be there, and maybe even my dad if Brady or Trey had called him.
“Did you already talk to my dad?”
“Yeah, texted him this morning and asked if he had time to come in.”
Son of a motherless goat.
He’d have time.
My dad always had time for the people he cared about, so I didn’t bother to inquire if he’d received a reply, I knew he had.
“Did you tell him what it was about?”
“No. Just said I needed a word.”
Maybe there was hope.
“Listen, I really don’t think we need to involve my dad. I mean, I’m staying with you. You live in a gated community and I noted the security guard last night. I’m sure I’m perfectly safe there, and really, Jake acted like a jerk but I know him. He was blowing smoke to save face.”
“He was unhinged,” Trey returned with steel in his tone.
Darn.
“I think unhinged is overstating his state of mind.”
“You don’t gauge a man’s sanity by the words he says or threats he makes. People lie. They try to hide shit they don’t want you to see. And he was trying to mask the fact he was off his leash, he just wasn’t very good at it.”
Boy did I know people lied.
“And just to point out a few things,” he continued. “Lenny, the security guard is a great guy, but he’s sixty-eight and retired from the force about twenty years ago and he did that because his eyesight is shit. Which means the unsuspecting residents are lucky he is unarmed. The man admits he can’t hit the broadside of a barn and never was a good shot. And that big gate you see is for appearances. It’s not meant to keep people out as much as it is to deter unsolicited visitors. Not to mention, that gate is it. The rest of the property is