Текст книги "Hold on tight"

Автор книги: Abbi Glines

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to this.

I saw the moment when it finally dawned on him that I had no clue what he was talking about. He

pressed his lips together, then shook his head. “You might want to stop by. Say hello,” he said.

“Sienna is back.”

I should have known. Each day that passed without my mother calling to yell at me for not telling

her that the new neighbor was Sienna, I breathed a sigh of relief. But it was only a matter of time

before people in town saw her. And what the hell was she doing at Hillary’s salon? That place was

expensive, and from the look of Sienna’s car, she didn’t need to be paying high prices for her damn

hair. What about the kid?

“She have her kid with her?” I asked, trying to make the disgust in my voice not too obvious.

“Kid? What? Fuck! She’s got a kid? She married?”

She didn’t have her kid with her. Fan-fuckin’-tastic. She’d left the little boy at home alone. What

the hell kind of a mother was she?

“And you knew she was back? With a kid? Why haven’t you said anything?”

“She moved into her parents’ house. I met her kid when I went over there to check out the

neighbors for my parents. Didn’t think it was important that she was back. She was a part of Dustin’s

life, not mine,” I replied, then jerked open the truck door.

“Liar. Fucking full-of-shit liar. You watched over that girl for years. Hell, when she was a

freshman, you acted like her damn guard dog. When she was sent away, it fucked with your head. You

were grieving Dustin, and then she was gone and you grieved for her too. I would have thought you’d

care that she was back. Unless she’s married and that’s why you’re pissed.”

Pretending like I hadn’t been super invested in Sienna and her happiness back then was pointless.

My friends knew the truth, even if my brother hadn’t noticed. “She’s not married,” I replied, and

climbed into the truck. “But the girl I cared about is gone. A cold bitch is in her place. And if she’s

getting her hair done at Hillary’s, then she’s a selfish bitch. The piece-of-shit car she drives isn’t safe

for her boy to ride in.”

I started to close the door, but Preston grabbed it. “Whoa, man, what’s your deal? She’s got you

acting like an ass, and you’re not an ass. Sienna is working at Hillary’s, not getting her hair done.”

Maybe I was an ass.

“Oh,” I replied, wishing I hadn’t snapped in front of Preston.

“Yeah, oh. Sienna didn’t seem like a bitch at all. She seemed nice. . . . She was Sienna.”

No, she wasn’t. She was a mother, and she was fucking hiding something.

And if she was working, where the hell was Micah?

“I’m tired. I need a beer and then my bed. I’ll see you later,” I told him.

“Live Bay tomorrow night?” he asked.

Live Bay was the club in town were we all used to drink and pick up women. Now it was just me

picking up women. The rest of those assholes were hitched or as good as hitched. “Yeah. I’ll see you

there,” I told him as I closed the door. Then I headed to my parents’.

I could tell myself I was going to visit my momma, but the truth was, I was going to make sure

Micah wasn’t at home alone. Something about the way Sienna had sent him away from me and gotten

defensive bothered me. I wasn’t convinced the woman was mentally stable.

* * *

Once I got to my parents’, I parked beside my dad’s truck and made my way across the street before

he realized I was here. I didn’t want a fucking audience, nor did I want his commentary.

Sienna’s car was gone, so she wasn’t home yet. That kid had better not be here. I walked up the

steps and knocked on the door. I waited a full minute, and nothing. So I knocked again. Why I was

fucking convinced she’d left her kid at home I wasn’t sure. I didn’t know Sienna. I didn’t actually

have proof she was crazy.

“Micah, you in there? It’s Dewayne. I thought I’d stop by and check on you,” I called out, but there

was only silence.

He wasn’t in there. I was overreacting. Why? I didn’t have a fucking clue. I turned and headed back

down the stairs just in time for the beat-up Honda to pull into the driveway. Great. Now I had to

explain myself.

Her car door opened and she stepped out. The sunglasses perched on her nose covered up those eyes

of hers, so I had no idea what she was thinking. She bent down and then stood back up. I could see the

small head scrambling out of the backseat and then heard his feet hit the pavement.

“Dewayne!” he called as he ran around the front of the car with an excited grin. But then he

stopped. His smile vanished, and he stiffened and glanced back at his mother.

Sienna closed the car door and walked toward Micah. She rested her hand on his shoulder, bent

down to whisper in his ear, then handed him the keys.

He nodded. “Okay,” he said glumly, then headed toward the house, not looking up at me again.

When he got to the door, he unlocked it and went inside.

“What are you doing here?” she asked in her very unwelcoming tone. Apparently, the friendly

smile she’d had for Preston was not happening for me.

Now, I could either lie to her or tell her the truth. I wasn’t a liar. “Heard you were working. I was

concerned the kid was home alone.”

The expression on her face went from shocked to downright pissed. “Alone? You . . . you think that

I would leave my son alone?” she asked in a horrified voice. “I’m not an idiot. And if you haven’t

noticed, I’m the only family he has. I’m the only one who wanted him and loved him. So don’t”—she

pointed her finger at me, her voice rising as fury simmered in her eyes—“act like you give a shit about

him now. You DO NOT have the right. Get away from here. Go back over to that house. Forget about

what your brother would have wanted. Pretend that abandoning me and his son when we needed

SOMEONE was okay.” She was breathing so hard her chest was heaving, and tears had filled her eyes.

Then she was running past me, and I couldn’t stop her. I couldn’t fucking move.

Hell . . . I couldn’t fucking breathe.

“Momma?” Micah’s voice called, and I moved then. I spun around and looked at him. Sienna

wiped at her face with her arm and bent down to press a kiss to his head and whisper something to

him. He wrapped his little arms around her, and then he turned his head and glared at me. He actually

glared at me. My chest exploded into a million pieces as I stood there and stared into the eyes of my

brother’s son. How had I not seen it? His eyes were just like Dustin’s.

“Don’t come back here. You made my momma cry!” he yelled at me.

Sienna leaned back and grabbed his little arms gently and started talking to him again. He nodded

and turned to go back inside. She stood up and glanced back at me.

The pain in her eyes confused me. Her words confused me. Why did she think we knew about this?

Why was she blaming us for not being a part of his life? We didn’t know. She’d left and never come

back.

“He’s Dustin’s,” I said as the reality of this finally sank in.

She frowned, and then she slowly nodded.

I dropped my head into my hands and took several deep breaths. Holy fuck, I had to get control of

myself. One emotion after another slammed into my chest, taking my breath away. Pain, guilt, anger,

disbelief—but more than anything, pure joy. It trumped all the other emotions. For six years I had

mourned my brother. It had changed the way I lived my life. There had been only the memories and

the mind-numbing guilt that I hadn’t been paying attention to his bad choices. . I had picked a fucking

fight with him, and he’d run off behind the wheel drunk. If I had just paid attention to him, he could be

alive right now. It was a solid weight on my chest keeping me from finding any joy in life. But now . .

.

I dropped my hands and stared back up at Sienna.

Her little boy was a part of Dustin. My brother wasn’t completely gone anymore. He’d left behind

something . . . someone.

This didn’t bring him back, but for the first time in six years my heart felt lighter. Not just for me,

but for my family.

Chapter Four

SIENNA

He hadn’t known about Micah.

He didn’t have to tell me that. It was all over his face. Only once in my life had I seen this

intimidating man look on the verge of crumbling, and that had been at Dustin’s funeral. How had he

not known? Had his mother not told him?

“Momma? You coming inside?” Micah asked, sounding worried. I had to get inside with him. This

was not the place for this. Micah was my first concern, always.

“I can’t do this here,” I told Dewayne. “He doesn’t need to hear it.”

Dewayne’s eyes shifted to the door, but Micah was back inside. Dewayne couldn’t see him. I

watched as he swallowed hard and the hint of his Adam’s apple moved. Then he nodded and looked

back at me. “Okay, but I have questions. He’s . . . he’s . . . I want to know him, Sienna.”

That one statement meant more to me than Dewayne could ever possibly know. “Then you will,” I

replied. “But not now. This isn’t the way to handle it.”

Dewayne tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and let out a heavy sigh. I couldn’t imagine what he

was thinking. All along I’d thought he’d known about Micah. This had to be a major shock for him.

When he looked back at me, I saw moisture in his eyes, and that alone won this man a place in my

heart. For so long I had wanted someone to love Micah and want Micah as fiercely as I did.

“When can we talk?” he asked.

“I only work half days on Saturdays. I could leave Micah at day care a little longer, though I really

hate the thought of that. Maybe it would be best to wait until he goes to bed tomorrow night.”

Dewayne frowned. “Day care?”

“Yes,” I replied defensively, not liking the tone of his voice. What did he expect me to do, take him

to work with me?

“Can I watch him? I won’t say anything. I swear. I just . . . I want to keep him while you work. We

can talk after you get home. Maybe send him outside to play, and we can sit on the porch.”

My instinct to protect wanted to refuse his request. I wasn’t sure how much I trusted Dewayne not

to say something to Micah about Dustin. But Dewayne wanted to be a part of his life. And I knew

Micah wanted more family. He didn’t ask anymore, but he wanted it. Lately he’d been talking about

his dad a lot. He craved a male in his life.

“I need to leave at eight tomorrow,” I told him before I could change my mind.

A relieved smile touched his lips. “I’ll be here,” he replied. Then he turned and walked back across

the street. I didn’t wait to see if he was going into his parents’ home. I stepped quickly inside and

closed the door behind me.

“You’re gonna let him keep me tomorrow?” Micah asked, wide eyed.

Sighing, I took his hand. We walked over to the sofa and sat down. My legs were too tired from

standing all day to squat. When I was at eye level with him, I held both his hands and looked him

directly in the eyes. “I know I’ve acted weird around Dewayne. It’s frightened you, and I understand

that. But the truth is, I’ve known Dewayne since I was a kid. He’s a good guy. There are things in our

past that make me sad, but Dewayne never did anything wrong. I wouldn’t leave you with someone I

didn’t trust. I think . . . I think you’re gonna like Dewayne. Spending time with him will be fun. Much

better than being stuck in day care on a Saturday.”

Micah chewed on his bottom lip as his eyebrows drew together. This was his thinking face. I let

him take in what I’d said. It always took him a minute to make a decision about things. Finally he

shrugged and smiled. “Okay. If you trust him, then I think it might be fun to have another man to hang

out with.”

I tried hard not to smile. Micah considered himself a man already. He had been the man of the

house for a while now.

He glanced over at the kitchen. “Think I could have some mac ’n’ cheese?”

I pulled him into my arms and kissed him on the cheek. “I love you. You’re my world,” I told him.

I’d been telling him that since I held him in my arms for the first time. It was the truth, and I never

wanted him to forget it.

“Love you, too, Momma,” he grunted in my tight embrace. “But you’re squishing me.”

Laughing, I let go of him, and he pointed to the kitchen. “I’d love some mac ’n’ cheese,” he

reminded me.

I stood up and saluted him, making him giggle.

“Mac ’ n’ cheese, coming right up,” I replied.

* * *

Micah was singing “Eye of the Tiger” loudly and off-key while he stood on a chair and fixed his Pop-

Tart. I poured my coffee into a travel mug and tried to ignore the nervous knot in my stomach. I

hadn’t lied to Micah—I did trust Dewayne. I just wasn’t sure that leaving him with an uncle he didn’t

know he had was such a good idea. Not until I was ready to talk to Micah about Dewayne and who the

Falcos were to him. Upsetting Micah’s world wasn’t something I wanted to do.

He had been rolling with the punches since he was old enough to realize our life was always

changing. We never knew where we would be next. Now that we had a house, I wanted him to have

some security. Admitting to him that he had a family he didn’t know about was something I was going

to want to handle delicately.

“Think I should make Dewayne a Pop-Tart?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder at me.

“Hmm . . . Maybe you should wait and make sure he eats Pop-Tarts,” I replied as I sipped my

coffee and watched the cat clock on the wall. My mother loved cats. I wasn’t a fan, really, but taking

that clock down wasn’t something I was ready to do. It reminded me of happier times.

A knock on the door threw those thoughts aside, and my nervous knot was back. I started for the

door, but Micah jumped down from the chair and took off running. I let him go. Soon he’d be calling

Dewayne “uncle” . . . maybe. If that was something Dewayne wanted. I knew I wanted it for Micah.

Learning to share him, however, wasn’t exactly going to be easy.

Micah threw open the door, and Dewayne was there filling the space in all his tattooed and pierced

glory. Even at seven forty-five a.m. the man was breathtaking. His navy blue T-shirt that said FALCO

CONSTRUCTION on the front hugged his body tightly. The size of his arms made a woman fantasize

about wrapping her hands around them and jumping up into them. No! Dang it, what was I doing? I

tore my gaze off Dewayne’s body and didn’t even let myself check out his legs in those jeans. And

why were those leather bracelets on his arm sexy? The man could make anything sexy.

“I made a Pop-Tart,” Micah announced. “You want one?”

Dewayne smiled brightly, and if I had been expected to speak, I wouldn’t have been able to. I

hadn’t seen that smile in years. The devastating effect it had on me was still just as powerful.

“Never turn down a Pop-Tart,” Dewayne replied, and Micah grabbed his hand.

“Then come on into the kitchen. I’ll fix you one,” he said, tugging Dewayne behind him.

Dewayne’s expression of amazement as he looked at Micah made my heart squeeze. His dark

brown eyes lifted to meet my gaze, and I managed to smile at him. But I didn’t get emotional and

weepy at the sight of him with Micah. I controlled myself. “You’re better than on time. You’re early,”

I said, trying to lighten the mood.

This was a big moment for Dewayne. Micah, too—he just didn’t know it yet. After today I had no

doubt that Dewayne would adore Micah.

“Didn’t want to run you late. I’m trying to win the Saturday sitter gig,” he said with a crooked grin.

The idea that Dewayne wanted to watch Micah every Saturday made me almost choke on my

coffee. I hadn’t expected that.

“Don’t you work for your dad?” I asked, looking down at his shirt, then back up at him. Maybe I

was assuming too much from the shirt. For all I knew he could be a lawyer. I highly doubted it with

his dreadlocks, tattoos, and piercings, but I didn’t know much about Dewayne. Not anymore.

“No, I run the company now. It’s mine. Dad had to step down,” he replied. “I don’t work

Saturdays.”

Nodding, I held the coffee mug to my lips to give me a barrier. Not that it was much of one, but I

didn’t know what to think of Dewayne.

“You can have this Pop-Tart that I just made. I’ll make another for me,” Micah told him as he

stood on the chair, holding out a paper plate with one Pop-Tart on it. “Milk’s in the fridge. The good

kind. Momma don’t buy that watered-down stuff.”

Grinning, I reached for my purse, then walked over to kiss Micah good-bye. “I’ll see you after

lunch. Be good for Dewayne, okay? I love you,” I told him.

“Wait!” he called out, turning around on the chair and holding up his fist for me to bump. His big

grin warmed everything inside me. I set my mug on the counter and tapped his fist with mine.

“Dynamic Duo,” we said in unison.

“Love you, Momma,” he said, then turned back to the toaster.

“Love you more,” I replied.

I picked up my mug, then glanced back at Dewayne. He was watching me intently. I wasn’t sure

what he was thinking, but he was thinking about it hard.

“I need to go. You two have fun. I’ve left my work and cell number on the fridge if you need me,” I

told him, then headed for the door.

It wasn’t easy to walk away, but I knew Micah needed this. And so did Dewayne.

DEWAYNE

Last night I stayed up most of the night letting one fear after another keep me awake. My biggest fear

was for Micah’s happiness. After watching Sienna with him this morning, I realized that what I’d

thought was her being mental had actually been her being an overprotective mother. She loved that

kid. And he loved her. That much was obvious.

But it still didn’t explain why she hadn’t told me about Micah. Why she hadn’t contacted my

parents. That was another thing—I hadn’t told my parents yet. They were gonna see my truck over

here today, and either my momma was gonna come knocking at the door, or I was gonna need to take

Micah over there. Problem was, I was afraid my momma was gonna see what I’d missed the first time

I looked at him.

Dustin had been her baby, so it would be easier for to make the connection when she saw his eyes

and smile on Micah. She’d know. Immediately, she’d know. If I told her this was Sienna’s boy, she

would know. But I also knew she wouldn’t say anything to Micah. She’d rail my ass later for not

telling her as soon as I figured it out. But she wouldn’t upset the kid.

It was probably best that I go ahead and deal with my mother before she came over here.

“Momma normally makes cinnamon rolls on Saturdays, but she gots to work on Saturdays now.

She used to not have to work on Saturdays when we lived in Fort Worth. But our apartment there was

so small. I like it better here. Just wish she didn’t have to work,” Micah said as he jumped down from

the chair and pulled it behind him back to the table. I had a feeling I was going to find out a lot about

his life today without even prying or asking questions. The kid just shared whatever was on his mind.

No filter at all.

“She just has to work half the day. That’s not too bad,” I said, taking the seat across the table from

him after pouring two glasses of whole milk. That must have been what the kid meant by “the good

stuff.” Dustin had always called whole milk “the good stuff.” He complained that everything else was

watered down. I liked that Sienna had passed that down to his son.

Unable to stop myself, I turned the conversation to his dad. I was curious as to what he knew about

Dustin. “So, your dad was a good basketball player, huh?”

Micah swallowed his bite of Pop-Tart, and his eyes got big as he sat up on his knees in the chair.

“He was the world’s best,” he said in all seriousness. “No one could beat him. I bet even LeBron

James couldn’t have beat my dad. Momma said he was a star.” He stopped and took a drink of his

milk, and then his eyes looked back up at me. “I think that’s why God wanted him. Momma said God

took him because he was such a good guy and he wanted him close to him. I think he wanted to make

him a real star. You know, the ones in the sky. There’s this really big one that I used to could see from

my aunt Cathy’s house in Fort Worth. I think that’s my dad.”

Damn. I couldn’t take a deep breath. My chest constricted so hard it was painful. I didn’t talk about

Dustin. I had put his memory in a box and only touched it when I was too drunk to keep it hidden.

Then I always let the anger take over.

But this kid . . . he kept Dustin’s memory alive. I hadn’t known I needed to hear someone talk about

my brother like this, but listening to Micah eased the pain that never went away. The pain Dustin’s

death had left behind.

“You’ll have to show me that star one night,” I told him. If there was a God, then I was pretty damn

sure that after hearing this little boy’s words he’d make sure my brother was a star.

Micah nodded and dusted off his hands. He’d managed to finish his Pop-Tart in just a few bites. “I

will. Come over at night and we’ll go in my backyard and look for it. Momma said she’d help me find

him, but we haven’t had a chance this week. Been busy getting settled in,” he explained. The kid

talked like he was forty. It was pretty damn cute.

“Want to go over and meet my parents?” I asked him.

He jumped up and nodded enthusiastically.

It was better to go into this prepared than for my mother to walk over here and realize who Micah

was on her own.

I stood up and held my hand out for Micah to take. “Let’s go,” I told him.

He slipped his little hand in mine. I was one hundred percent sure Sienna would not be okay with

this, but I had been so damn anxious to spend time with Micah that I hadn’t thought through the fact

that my folks would see my truck over here. When I’d pulled in this morning, I knew I had a problem.

Pointing it out to Sienna would have meant her canceling our plans, and she would have taken Micah

to day care. So I’d kept my mouth shut.

I knocked and decided to let Dad open it instead of just walking inside with Micah. Dad would help

me handle Momma if she didn’t react as calmly as I thought she would.

Dad opened the door and started to say something snide to me, but his gaze dropped to Micah.

Recognition didn’t dawn on his face. At least it wasn’t just me who missed how much the kid looked

like Dustin.

“This the drug lord?” Dad asked with a smirk.

Shit. The man had no boundaries. That wasn’t funny.

“What’s a drug lord?” Micah asked, looking up at me.

“Nothing you need to be concerned with. Ignore the old man. He thinks he’s funny. He’s not.”

Micah nodded, then turned his gaze back to my dad. “I’m Micah. I live over there,” he said,

pointing to the house across the street.

Dad grinned down at him. “Is that so? Well, it’s about time you got over here and introduced

yourself.”

“He and his momma, Sienna Roy, are living over there now. I’m watching him while Sienna works

this morning, and I thought I’d bring him over to meet y’all. Think you can handle that . . . ? Can

Momma handle that?” I informed him, hoping he understood what I was trying to say.

Dad’s eyes swung back down to take in Micah, and I watched him as the realization slowly began

to seep in. His hand tightened on the doorknob, and he stood there silently, unable to speak or stop

looking at Micah. I cleared my throat.

“Can we come in now?” I asked, hoping he caught the warning in my tone.

It took him a moment, but then he stepped back and let us in. His eyes never left Micah. Maybe this

had been a bad idea after all. Hell, I’d almost collapsed on my knees in Sienna’s front yard when she’d

told me. Was this good for my dad’s heart? Shit.

“Who’s here?” Momma called out just before she stepped around the corner and into the foyer. Her

smile lit up her face when she saw it was me. “I didn’t expect to see you today,” she said. Then Micah

moved beside me and her gaze dropped to him. “And you brought company.” Her smile wavered then.

Just like I had guessed. Momma saw her baby in Micah’s little face.

“Momma, this is Micah. He lives next door.” I couldn’t bring myself to tell her who he was just

yet. Even if she saw the resemblance, I knew she wouldn’t guess correctly unless she knew his

mother’s name.

She didn’t take her eyes off Micah as she walked into the room. A range of emotions danced across

her face, the last one being complete awe. Stopping in front of him, she held out her hand, and her

smile was brighter than I had seen it in a long time. “Hello, Micah. I’m Tabby Falco, but you can call

me Mama T, like the rest of the boys around here do.”

Micah held up his little hand and slipped it in hers. “I like the name Mama T. And where are the

other boys?”

My mother seemed to be soaking up everything he said and did. “Well, those boys are all big now,

just like my boy is,” she said, nodding at me. “So they are all over the place.”

Micah glanced back at me. “Oh well, that’s okay. I like Dewayne. Except when he made my

momma cry. I didn’t like him then, but Momma said that it was a misunderstanding and that I

shouldn’t be mad at him. So I ain’t.”

Shit! The kid just said whatever the hell . . .

“Dewayne? You made his mother cry?” Momma asked me, her eyebrows raised. She had a very

concerned look on her face.

“Like he said, it was a misunderstanding,” I assured her, hoping the kid didn’t say anything else

about his momma.

I glanced over at Dad, who was watching Micah with the same look of wonder that I had felt when

I’d realized who he was. Momma didn’t know yet, and I decided that if Dad didn’t tell her, then

maybe I should wait until later, when Micah wasn’t around.

“I have chocolate chip cookies and apple pie in my kitchen, fresh outta the oven. You want some?”

she asked Micah, squeezing his hand in hers.

He nodded vigorously. “Yes, ma’am, I do. I love both those things.”

Momma didn’t even look at Dad or me. Micah had her undivided attention. “Well, it’s a good thing

you moved in across the street, then. Because I need someone to eat all these sweets I bake.”

Micah walked away, still holding her hand. “I like sweets. I’ll eat ’em,” he assured her.

I waited until they were in the kitchen and I heard Micah rattling on about superheroes needing lots

of cookies before looking at Dad.

He shook his head and let out a heavy sigh. “Wow. He looks just like him. Just like him,” he said,

before turning his gaze toward me. I saw the hope there. The feeling that there was something of

Dustin’s to hold on to. I understood because I was feeling it too.

“I wasn’t sure telling Momma in front of him was a good idea once I got over here. Changed my

mind.”

Dad nodded. “Yeah. She sees Dustin in him. She just doesn’t realize exactly how much of Dustin

she’s seeing. She thinks it’s just a coincidental resemblance, and she’s already in love with the kid.

He’s gonna be good for her. I just”—he paused and glanced back at the house across the street—“I

can’t figure out why she kept him from us. We loved that girl. She was like our own. Why would she

not let us be a part of his life?”

I wasn’t sure, exactly, but I knew she thought we didn’t want him and didn’t care to know him.

That was something I was going to figure out today. “I’m talking with her later. She thought I knew

who Micah was and thought I’d chosen not to be a part of his life. Not sure how that works, since I

didn’t know where the fuck she was all these years. No one did.”

Dad rubbed his stubbled jaw and shook his head. “Your momma is gonna want answers. So let’s

wait until you got them before we tell her.”

I nodded. I was in complete agreement.

Chapter Five

SIENNA

My morning went fast. Three cut-and-styles, one highlight, and one root touch-up. All of them were

last-minute walk-ins who couldn’t get an appointment with their regular stylist. Right now that was

what I had to work with, and I was okay with that. Hillary was even telling people we accepted walkins,

for my benefit.

The only employee other than Hillary who was working today was Gretchen. This was my second

time working with her, and she was very loud and chatty. She laughed a lot too. And she had a ton of

male clients. The tight leather pants she was so fond of seemed to be popular with the men.

“I heard you talking to your son earlier on the phone. You mentioned Dewayne,” Hillary said as she

sauntered back into the room in spiked heels. How that woman wore those heels and stood on her feet

all day was beyond me.

I nodded, not sure why she was bringing up the short conversation I’d had with Micah an hour ago

to make sure everything was okay. He’d been outside throwing the football around with Dewayne and

had been ready to get off the phone with me and go back to having fun.

“Was it Falco you were talking about? Seeing as how you knew Amanda Hardy when she came in,

and then I heard Dewayne’s name, and since he’s one of Preston’s friends I thought maybe you knew

Dewayne, too.”

Still wasn’t sure why this mattered. “Yeah, it was Dewayne Falco. He’s watching Micah for me

today.”

Hillary studied me a moment, and then a small grin tugged on her lips. “You’re not messing around

with Dewayne, are you? He ain’t a sticking-around kind of guy. He’s more of a several-girls-a-week

kind of guy.”

I already knew this. Dewayne had always been a player. However, I wasn’t interested in Dewayne

for any reason other than to be a part of Micah’s life. Micah needed a man in his life, and his uncle

would be his only chance to have that.

“You seeing Dewayne Falco?” Gretchen asked, swinging her head around and sending her dark

curls bouncing. “That boy can . . . do it well. You know what I mean. Damn near ruined me for anyone

else. I had to work him out of my system.”

Hillary gave me a pointed look as if to say, See what I mean?

I was trying to push all thoughts of Dewayne and Gretchen doing it well out of my head. Not a

mental image I needed, even though I was sure Dewayne’s naked ass was a lovely sight to behold.

“I swear, if he came sniffing around again, I’d give him a go and deal with the withdrawal later.

He’s just that good.”

Okay, I’d had enough of Gretchen’s sexfest with Dewayne. “He’s an old friend. He was my high

school boyfriend’s older brother. Nothing more. He’s just helping me out by watching Micah.” I

finished cleaning up my station as I talked. I didn’t want either of their prying eyes on me, but I could

feel them burning a hole in my head.

“You dated his younger brother? The one who was in the accident?”