“I know you got every single little bit of information on her.”
“I watched her at the diner. She walked everywhere.” He smiled, thinking about that small jacket wrapped around her.
“Dude, you sound like you’re in love.”
Beast stared at his brother. “It’s when the little things, like age, don’t matter. When you’re together, and you crave her smile, or find yourself charmed by something that really annoys you in everyone else, you know that it doesn’t matter.”
“What does she do?” he asked.
“When she giggles … everyone else annoys me, but with Hope, I find myself constantly making her giggle. Trying to give her a reason to hear that one blissful sound. Her giggles don’t make me want to kill her. I just want to take care of her.”
Silence fell between them.
“You’re not going to let her go to college,” Caleb said.
He didn’t say a word, staring at his brother, who ran fingers through his hair.
“She’s not a toy.”
“I never said she was, and I don’t intend to keep her on a shelf so that I can bring her out to play.”
Caleb stared at him. “I thought you and I agreed that no woman would ever make us bring them part of this world. Our lives … it’s not for them.”
“I run a tight ship, Caleb. It’s never been safer than it is right now.”
“She wants this.”
Sitting forward, he glared at his brother. “From the moment she’s been in my life, you’ve been trying to draw a wedge between us. I don’t like it, and it ends now.”
“I’ve never seen you so taken with a woman, Beast. I know you’ve used Sarah. You can’t stand the bitch, and I get it. She’s got many men rutting away in her pussy. She’s never going to miss you when you’re gone. Hope, she’s different, and she makes you different. The thing is, I don’t see her not wanting to leave. She’s still looking for the right college. She’s still wanting a future away from here. You can’t keep her locked up in your little cage, no matter how much freedom you think you give her. You’re heading for a fall. Be careful, brother.”
Beast watched his brother get up and leave his office. Sitting back at his desk, he stared at the computer. There was a copy of the college’s application form that she’d sent. There wasn’t anything that Hope did that he didn’t know about. He was aware she still wanted to go to college, and that she wanted out of town. He also knew that every Sunday she spent an hour tending her mother’s grave while her father’s went unnoticed.
Some nights she’d wake up screaming, holding her side where she’d been shot. There were a lot of secrets between them, mostly from him, but each time he intended to tell her the truth, something would happen, and he’d bide his time.
That time was running out. He didn’t need his fucking younger brother to make him aware of it.
****
Staring at the window display of watches and tie pins, Hope nibbled her lip, unsure what to get Beast. She’d already picked gifts for Caleb and Dwayne, along with some of the men who’d taken her to and from school.
She didn’t have to, but at Christmas it just meant something. It was a time for giving, and she liked the thought of having gifts ready for them. Beast had caved on a tree. It wasn’t a live one. He didn’t want the mess, so he’d purchased a plain, fake pine one that looked great once she had it all decorated. Caleb, Dwayne, and Beast had watched her decorate it, and of course she couldn’t have them staring. She’d made each of them help her, and afterward they shared a hot chocolate and a sugar cookie.
They behaved at times like they didn’t know or understand Christmas, and she was determined to make it a day to remember.
Entering the shop, she found the watch that she’d been eyeing, and asked the attendant if she could have a look. It was just a nice-looking watch that reminded her so much of Beast.
She got it gift wrapped and left the shop. Passing a coffee shop, she paused as she was overcome with a wave of nausea. It took her so completely by surprise that she gripped the wall and took several deep breaths.
That very morning she’d woken up and been sick. It wasn’t just that day though. No, she’d been sick for the past couple of days, and she didn’t want to think what that meant.
You can’t bury your head in the sand for much longer.
She’d not made it to the doctor, and they’d had a great deal of unprotected sex. Tears filled her eyes, and she forced herself to go into the pharmacy. For the longest time, she simply stood outside, staring at the shop, wondering if she could wait until after Christmas.