Dream Keeper (Dream Team 4)

“You look out for your mom.”

I nodded. “And if the timing isn’t right, and Reverend Clyde takes off before…”

I swallowed.

Auggie gave me the time I needed.

I took it and kept going, “…whatever is going to happen with Mom, then that’s just really bad luck.”

“Babe—” he began.

But I shook my head and leaned to him to touch my mouth to his.

When I pulled away, I said, “Honestly, this is a relief. A relief and a release. It’s validation that I knew something was not right with where they’d put their faith. It’s the universe confirming what I knew. That I’d made the right decision getting out of there. It exonerates me from the duty of getting too deeply involved in a situation I know won’t be healthy for me, which eventually will mean it’s not healthy for my daughter. And every line bottoms with Juno. They’re adults. They lost a son and daughter, a brother and sister, to that church, picking it above their family. We all have to own our decisions. Including them.”

“If you change your mind…” He let that trail.

“I’ll let you know,” I assured.

“You know that offer’s open, but I gotta tell you that I think you’ve made the right decision about this and your brother. You did what you could do, sweetheart. You did more than many people who were pushed into your place would do. And now, it’s not on you.”

“I’m glad you agree.”

“I don’t have to agree.”

“I’m still glad that you do.”

That hit Auggie in a way that meant something, I saw the hit land.

Then he gave me a movie-star smile and I got him leaning to me and touching his lips to mine.

Obviously, my appetite returned, so I turned to my bowl and said, “Enough about me. How was your day, honey?”

He didn’t answer me, so, after I shoved my own spinach, rice, chicken and yummy dressing in my mouth, I looked at him.

To see him grinning at me.

“It was great,” he said. “It ended with you.”

I swallowed and cried, “Oh my God! Stop being awesome!”

And Auggie started laughing.

* * *

So yeah, it sucked that we didn’t have time for a snog session after that. I had to get to work. He told me he was wiped, and he needed to get some shut-eye.

But we did the whole me-texting-when-I-got-home, him-texting-a-good-morning thing.

And now it was ten.

Auggie said he had our day planned, but it was a surprise what we were going to do.

Though, he’d also said we were going to end it at his house, “And bring a toothbrush.”

Which sounded insanely promising.

It was my first of two days off. Tomorrow my baby would be back to me.

In other words, it was going to be two days of goodness.

And I was ready to roll.

What I was not ready for was to shoot from my desk to open the door after I watched Aug drive up, park and walk up my front walk, and have Auggie, who had not even made it up the steps, bite out, “Grab your purse. We gotta hit it.”

“What?” I asked.

“Lottie, Ryn and Hattie are right now at services at the Tabernacle of the True Light. And if we don’t get to them before Mo, Boone and Axl, shit is gonna get real.”

Holy.

Hell.

Chapter Fifteen

Bastard of the Church

Pepper

I was pretty displeased I had to race up the stairs to change out of my fabulous sweater, distressed skinny jeans, and sexy, high-heeled booties and into my pullover, slouchy, oversized sweater dress that had a turtleneck and was a heathered tawny shade.

I was displeased because the dress was slouchy and oversized, but it still managed to be sexy (because that was the way of sweater dresses, it was mystical, magical and you didn’t question it).

It was especially sexy when I paired it with my chocolate-suede, thigh-high boots (which I had no choice but to do, even if the heel was high and thin and not within the dress code for females at the Tabernacle of the True Light—still, I had to do something to cover up the skin from mid-thigh down, which, hint, considering the dress had a high hem, was part of why it was sexy).

That said, the dress was not casual, ready-for-anything-day-with-Auggie, and although it would be a lot easier for him to take it off (eventually and hopefully), I’d pored over my apparel selections that day and a slouchy sweater dress was not the “I’m ready for anything!” as well as “Take me I’m yours!” look I was going for.

Alas, I had to save the girls because they didn’t know what they were doing.

And Reverend Clyde was hinky and convoluted, and if he was alerted to the fact that the cat was out of the bag as to his very long con, he might clean them out and take off faster than he’d planned.