Seriously?
I loved her but she had to clue in.
“He isn’t your Creed and I know this because the true Creeds of this world are out doing things like my Creed is doing, taking your kids for lunch and ice cream and to a park so you have time to get yourself sorted. They do not take off, shirk their responsibilities, come home after over two months and not even ask to see their kids. He isn’t your Creed, babe. Maybe there’s one out there for you. It just isn’t Dan.”
I heard her stuttering breath before her head moved on the pillow indicating she was nodding.
“I’ll stay until your shit’s –” I started but stopped when she turned in my arm and wrapped hers around me.
“You won’t. When you’re ready to go, you’ll go. I’ll be okay. You be happy.”
“Helping you out makes me happy,” I informed her.
“Not as much as being with Creed.”
That was the truth.
“Charlene, girl –”
She shook my body with her arm. “You aren’t going tomorrow, right?”
I grinned at her through the dark and confirmed, “Right.”
“When my eyes don’t feel puffy and my stomach doesn’t feel funny and my heart doesn’t hurt so damned much, we’ll talk. We’ll plan. We’ll figure it out. I’ll find my way and I know you’ll help me. It doesn’t feel fine now but it will be. It always is.”
“Yeah,” I agreed softly. “It always is.”
“I hope my fine doesn’t take sixteen years, though,” she told me and I grinned again.
“I hope so, too.”
She nodded and didn’t grin back. She dipped her chin and stared at my chest.
I lifted a hand and pulled her hair away from her face and neck. Then I wrapped my arm around her again and held tight.
Once I did that, I said quietly, “Love you to bits, Charlene.”
“I know, Sylvie,” she replied quietly back without looking at me. “Love you, too.”
I held her close and listened to her take another staggering breath.
And I held her close until she fell asleep in my arms.
And I held her close for a while after.
Then I got up, left her sleeping, closed her door and, as quietly as I could, I cleaned her house.
* * * * *
“Got a firm on retainer. I’ll call them. They have a divorce lawyer who’s a f**kin’ piranha. This ass**le left her with three kids, one Down’s, that guy’ll nail his balls to the wall.”
I was sitting on Knight’s couch in Knight’s office with my cowboy booted feet up on his coffee table.
Knight was standing at his window, looking down at his heaving club.
It was late. Charlene’s kids were home, fed, pajama’d and put to bed. Creed was outside in his truck waiting for me to chat with Knight. I was upstairs doing that, having asked him if he could help Charlene out in some way and also telling him that I would soon be moving to Phoenix to be with Creed.
As suspected, Knight stepped up for Charlene. It wasn’t just hookers he looked after. He wasn’t big on any woman getting screwed over in any way that could happen.