When the Heart Lies - By Christina North Page 0,49

motel, spent. Days went by with more of the same routine. Wayde would be an ass, and Kinsley would ignore him, especially if Max was around. Some days, he wanted to bust through the door and carry her out of there. But he didn’t want to be her knight in shining armor. He wanted her to stand up for herself and get the hell out of there on her own two feet. And until he was sure she was unable to do that, he had to sit tight. He didn’t need to listen every minute, but often he couldn’t pull himself away. He listened for the one bit of information that would give him a clue to why Kinsley remained with Wayde.

~ ~ ~

This morning, weeks after returning from Lakeside, Kinsley stood in the kitchen doorway watching Wayde as he sat hunched over in his chair, smoking and eating his daily waffles with peanut butter.

When she’d first returned, Wayde had put locks on the doors that opened with a key from both sides and started taking the phone cord, so she couldn’t make calls. He told her not to bother making a fuss about it to anyone if she wanted Max safe. So, she kept her mouth shut. In the morning, she’d play with Max, and later, she’d fix lunch. It’d be a big one. That’s how he told her they did it in the country, and they called it dinner. After dinner, she and Max would nap for a couple of hours to keep away from him. When they got up from their nap, she and Wayde would drop Max off at Veda’s, and Wayde would take her to the café. She was thankful for every day she’d make it to the café. She’d go crazy if it weren’t for the writing. The writing helped. Everything from her mind would empty onto the page instead coming out of her mouth. If it didn’t stay on the page, who knows what would happen. It was no longer about getting enough money to get them home. It was just about getting out, but she was losing hope she’d get an opportunity to call Nick. Wayde watched her so closely. Savannah was right. Before Kinsley had gone to Lakeside, he’d been coddling her. Savannah had told her so when she complained about his behavior in the beginning.

Things at Wayde’s were ten times worse than before, and she was ten times more intimidated. For the most part, he’d been leaving her alone at night. She cried when he touched her. He’d get pissed off and turn away. She didn’t want him to see her weakness, but the crying worked, and he left her alone. So, that’s what she’d do. Every night. Her only reason for getting up anymore was Max. Every morning, they would wait for Wayde to get on the tractor and go into the grove until lunchtime.

Without Wayde ever realizing she’d been standing there, she turned and went back to the bathroom to shower before waking Max and heading back to the kitchen to make him breakfast.

When she and Max entered the kitchen, Wayde grumbled and said, “It’s about time you got up. I’ve been up two hours already.”

“I get up when Max gets up, and I don’t get what you’re worried about. It’s only seven o’clock. Come on Max, sit up here, and I’ll get you some breakfast.”

Max wobbled on the chair as he climbed into it, nearly falling. She instinctively reached out to stabilize him scooted the chair under the table and then gave him a pat on the head. “Be more careful, or you’ll get hurt.”

“The kid’s gonna become a mama’s boy if you don’t stop babying him like you do.”

You don’t have to worry about what he becomes. “I need you to take me down to the café after we get up from our nap this afternoon.” She figured she’d have to listen to him complain. Every day he’d complain. Thank God he usually took her, anyway. If the owner, Jim, wasn’t working, she didn’t go. Those days she couldn’t go to the café were difficult, because she could think and write there, knowing Max was safe with Veda. She attempted to reach out to Nick once, but Jim didn’t want to get between a man and his woman, and he shyly told her so when she’d asked to make a phone call. Wayde was always sure to remind her. If Jim called him, he’d get to