I was watching Max who’d taken down some mugs and just spied the new sugar bowl. He was grinning at it as he slid it toward him on the counter.
I was seeing this and I wasn’t seeing it. This was because something had locked inside me, something unpleasant and ugly.
“I struck him,” I whispered and Max’s head came up and twisted toward me when he heard my tone.
“Sorry?” Mom asked in my ear but my eyes connected with Max’s.
“I hit him,” I said more to Max than to Mom.
“You hit Lawrence?” Mom asked but I was staring at Max who took two strides across the room to me as I dropped the hand with my phone from my ear.
“I hit him, Max,” I whispered as his hands came to my h*ps then slid around and he pulled my body into his.
“Honey,” he whispered back.
“I’m not like this,” I said. “I don’t… I’ve never –”
“It was an extreme situation,” Max broke in gently.
“That doesn’t excuse –”
One of his arms stayed around me but the other hand came to the side of my neck. “Duchess, hate to say this, but your Dad’s a dick.”
“But –”
“I was havin’ trouble not layin’ a hand on him.”
“But –”
“He was in my house actin’ like that, never met me, didn’t show you an ounce of respect.”
“But that doesn’t mean –”
“Then he brought your brother into it.”
“I know, still –”
His arm gave me a squeeze as did his hand, he bent his head toward me and said, “You didn’t hurt him, baby and, honest to God, he got what he deserved.”
“You don’t think I’m –” I started but I got another squeeze in two places.
“No, I don’t think you’re anything but what you are and most of that’s good.”
I felt the pressure release in my insides, the warmth seeping through but my eyes still narrowed when I asked, “Most of it?”
“Duchess, remind me never to get you that riled. You’re a handful when you’re angry but you’re hell on wheels when you’re seriously pissed.”
I was beginning to get slightly “pissed” when I heard faraway laughter coming from my phone. Then my eyes got wide and I jerked the phone to my ear.
“Mom, God, I’m so sorry, I forgot –”
She was still laughing when she cut me off by asking, “He calls you Duchess?”
Max was watching me talk and suddenly I was self-conscious. “He calls me that because he thinks I have an accent.”
“Sweetie, that’s because you do.”
“I don’t have an accent!” I snapped at Mom, Max threw his head back and laughed and he did it loud.