“Ah, you’d prefer something more to the point, so to speak. I have a fact about elephant penises—”
“What’s going on?” she demanded.
“Nothing.”
“Pull your sleeves up.”
Audrey’s stomach sank, but she wasn’t going to get into this now. Better to go on the defensive. “You’re being ridiculous, and I am not a child. I have to get back to work—”
“Did he hit you?”
The question socked Audrey right in the chest. She knew what people thought of her father—that he was a drunk. That he was violent. That he hit his kids. Only part of that was true. Yes, her Dad had been in a lot of bar fights, and he was rough. And yeah, he drank too much. But he didn’t hit his children.
“No,” she said through gritted teeth.
Nicole bit down on her lip, her eyes shimmering with worry. “Please talk to me, Audrey. We’ve always promised we wouldn’t do secrets. Especially not when one of us was hurting.”
“I’m not hurting.” The words came automatically. Because people who let themselves hurt sometimes couldn’t get back up again, and Audrey always got back up after life dealt her a blow. “I’m fine.”
“What happened?”
An open question, dammit. Nicole was right—they had made a promise. A pact, in fact. They’d linked pinkie fingers and sworn they would protect each other. Them against the world.
“Big Red broke down after the game last night,” Audrey said with a sigh. “I ended up getting a lift home from my professor.”
Nicole raised an eyebrow but didn’t interrupt.
“He’s young enough that he doesn’t look like a professor, and Dad saw him out the window and thought I’d been on a date and that I’d used Deanna as cover.”
“What’s wrong with you being on a date, exactly?”
“I had stuff to do around the house, or I could have taken an extra shift instead.” She knew it didn’t sound reasonable. “My priority is to take care of my family, not go on dates.”
“Your words or his?” Nicole’s jaw ticked.
“Don’t.” She shook her head.
“So why the long sleeves?”
“I tried to walk away from him while he was still talking.” Yelling. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
“So what? He grabbed you?” Now her nostrils were flaring. That was not a good sign.
“I shouldn’t have walked away. It was disrespectful.” The line of red around her wrist wasn’t so bad. It would fade in a few days. “He doesn’t hit us.”
“I don’t know why you keep defending him, Audrey. I really don’t.” Nicole swallowed, and her eyes looked glossy, like she was holding back tears. “If you keep moving the line of what you’ll put up with, he’ll keep pushing until you’re accepting things you should not accept. I worry you’re already there.”
“I don’t expect anyone to understand.”
They didn’t remember her father like she did. They didn’t remember the man who slow danced with her mother in the kitchen of their trailer when it was just the three of them, before the other kids were born. They didn’t remember the man who turned up with flowers and a roguish smile, who left love notes taped to the refrigerator. They didn’t remember the man who cried when his last daughter was born, when he lost his wife.
Those broken howls would haunt Audrey forever.
That man still existed. He had to.
“I’m fine,” she said, placing a reassuring hand on Nicole’s arm. “It was a one-off incident, and I provoked him. I know he’s not perfect, but he doesn’t get physical with us.”
Usually.
She could tell her friend wasn’t appeased, but Audrey really did have to get back to work.
“You know you can always come and stay with me. You and the kids.” Nicole’s dark eyes bore into her. “All of you.”
“In your one-bedroom apartment?” Audrey shook her head. “And where are we going to sleep, huh?”
“I’ll have every one of you in my bed, and I’ll sleep on the floor if that’s what it takes to keep you safe.”
“Do you trust me?” Audrey asked. After a moment, Nicole nodded. “Then I’m telling you I’m fine. Everything will be okay; it was just a bad night. Now, I really have to get back.”
“Call me tonight.”
“I promise.”
Audrey headed back in the direction of Kisspresso Café, all her “normal girl” feelings well and truly dead. Knowing she’d have class with Ronan again next Wednesday was keeping her going, however.
Around him, she could be normal, if only for a moment.
Chapter Ten
By the time Wednesday rolled around, Ronan had found himself fully entrenched in life in Kissing Creek. He’d