One to Leave (One to Hold 5)
Page 69
She leaned forward and gave me a big sniff. “Mmm.... Stuart Knight smells sexy.”
My chest clenched, and I finally said the words that had been tearing at my insides. “It’s my fault. I was impulsive and reckless and I moved everything way too fast. Stuart doesn’t do fast. I knew he doesn’t do fast going in.”
“What other choice did you have?” A tear slid down my cheek. Her arms went around me, and she gave me a tight squeeze. “What about the dreams?”
“They stopped.”
“That’s significant, right?”
“I don’t know.” My voice was a whimper. “I don’t know about any of this anymore.”
She sighed, thinking. “Well, I know I love you. Lane? Do you love Aunt Mare-Mare?”
“Yes!” A little blond head popped up at the foot of my bed. He looked so much like Patrick, which in turn meant he looked a lot like...
“Hop on Aunt Mare-Mare!”
His little body plowed up the mattress and in another blink the three of us were in a ball of hugs. We stayed that way a few seconds, until Kenny pulled him up.
“Get dressed, and we’ll drive you to the gym.”
She wasn’t backing down. I’d have to go with her and start the process whether I wanted to or not. With a sigh, I pushed the covers down and staggered to my bathroom. It was going to be a horrible day.
* * *
Stuart
Derek had driven Bill’s Ford out to the cabin, so Patrick rode back on Ranger. I wasn’t in a particular hurry to collect the few things I’d carried out here with me. Besides another fifth of Jack, I only had one change of clothes.
“Traveling light these days?” He watched from the kitchen as I shoved everything into a small duffel.
“Just the essentials.”
“Jack Daniels?”
I shrugged and carried the empty bottle to the trash in the kitchen. He picked up his phone. “Patrick said Elaine brought a friend with her. Said you two spent some time together.”
“She wasn’t Elaine’s friend.” I scooped up my duffel.
“Patrick said they were friends.”
“More like... partners in crime.”
Derek went out, and I pulled the door shut then we both climbed into the Ford. The wind was now blowing cold, and I wished I’d remembered my canvass jacket. It took a few minutes before the truck was warm enough to be comfortable.
“What crime did they commit?”
I exhaled through clenched lips. “I don’t know. It wasn’t a real crime. They just sucker punched me.”
We rode for a ways in silence. “Mariska was the girl from the gym. She told us you were out here.”
“She works with Kenny.”
“Right. She’s pretty.”
A knot twisted in my throat. She was more than pretty. “She was just something to fill the craving left over by the drugs. If I’d been stronger...” I wasn’t sure of my next words.
Derek rode for a minute, turning over what I’d said. “What if you’ve got it backwards? What if the craving you tried to fill with drugs was for Mariska?”