His First Choice

“The swimming,” he said aloud. “You told Lacey and Kacey a story about you learning to swim,” he continued, hoping to hell his voice was filled with loving interest—not accusation.

Levi nodded and then said, “Yes.”

“Did Mommy get mad then, too?”

He nodded, eyes wide again.

“How come?”

“She telled me do this...” He moved his arms in a crawling motion. “But I jumped under and drownded.”

He’d scared the shit out of Tressa. He’d had that part of the story already, almost to a T.

“Then what happened?”

“She held me.” He put his hands on his sides at his rib cage. “And made me stay under and bringed me up.”

“How many times?”

“A hundreds.” Levi’s word for more than he could count.

“What happened next?”

“I sneezed a lot.”

He’d had water up his nose.

“Then Mommy buyed the basketball and we played and it was fun.”

All’s well that ends well.

Except that, if Lacey’s source was correct, his son had worn bruises all over his torso as an aftermath to that event. Tressa gripping him out of anger, not fear? Or both?

Which led him to another question. Who’d called Lacey? Because she’d known about those bruises.

And Tressa hadn’t had any reason to take Levi to the hospital. Nor had he had a doctor’s appointment during the time Jem had been gone. Even if Tressa hadn’t told him about a visit, he’d have seen it come through on his insurance...

He leaned down. “Man-to-man, son, why didn’t you tell me these things?”

Levi’s head dropped.

“You have my word you are not going to have to go away,” he said.

If you do, Jem, I’ll...

“Did your mom tell you that you’d have to go away if you told me what had happened?” To save her own ass. At the expense of her son’s.

The little boy’s eyes filled with tears again as he nodded.

And Jem wanted to wring that little bitch’s neck.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

LACEY WASN’T SURPRISED when she got a call from Jem later Sunday night. She was in her room, sitting in bed trying to read, but had really just been reliving delicious moments from the night before. Over and over again.

And so, when she saw his contact come up on her phone, she answered with “I’ve been lying here thinking about you.”

“Hold that thought.” He didn’t sound sexy at all. “Seriously. I want it. Just...”