“It’s okay, Becks. Just talk to me. Tell me what happened .”
I exhaled. I trusted Kaylie. And I needed to talk about everything, anyway .
“Mae? Can you put Eliza down for me ?”
Mae came in quickly and took the baby away .
“I’ll rock her a bit and see if she dozes off. You girls have a nice talk. Here, I made sweet tea .”
I noticed that Becky hadn’t moved an inch. She looked petrified .
“Sweetie, don’t be scared. It’s not my place to tell him. But I think you need to. Unless there’s something else… did he hurt you ?”
“No. Nothing like that .”
Her answer was so quick that I sighed in relief. Not that I thought Whiskey would ever do such a thing, but I had to ask .
“I didn’t think so. But why did you run then ?”
“I saw him. There were girls on his lap .”
I stared at her. Whiskey never messed around with the club girls, as far as I knew. But I was never there late at night when things got really wild. I wondered if I could ask one of the guys without Whiskey catching wind …
Maybe Jack. More than anyone, he knew how to keep a secret. He wasn’t as quiet as he used to be, but he still wasn’t chatty by any stretch of the imagination .
He was deep. Kind. Loving and strong. And one of my best friends in the whole world .
“ Go on .”
“I know it was just a fling for him but I was so in love with him, Kaylie. He was my first, though I doubt that meant anything to him in retrospect. I haven’t been with anyone else since. I… I think I fell for him the first time I laid eyes on him at Mae’s .”
I nodded. Whiskey was a big handsome man and held in the highest regard at the club. But he had a sweetness about him too, a loyalty that shone through in everything he did. I loved him like a brother, truth be told .
Just like I loved Jack and Donnie. We were one big extended family. I knew we were beyond lucky to have each other .
“I went to the club that night. I’d gotten out of work early. I knew he was coming to pick me up so I thought I’d save him the trip .”
“And he was messing around ?”
She nodded, looking heartbroken. Even a year later. I shut my eyes, squeezing her hand in sympathy .
I could only imagine how she felt. If I saw Dev with another girl, I knew I would split in two. Thankfully, I trusted my man with my whole heart .
“That really doesn’t sound like Whiskey to me. Are you sure it was him ?”
“He had two girls on his lap, posing for a picture. They were all over him, Kaylie .”
She swallowed .
“They weren’t wearing… a lot of clothes .”
I nodded. I knew that the girls who hung at the club were likely to be there looking for sex. The girls and I called them grease groupies .
I wasn’t overly fond of the free-for-all atmosphere that happened at the club late at night after the wives left, but the girls themselves weren’t all bad. It was a free country and I didn’t judge women who were into having casual sex. As long as they didn’t drape themselves all over my man, I didn’t see the harm in it .
Some of them were scary aggressive though, and didn’t care if the guy was attached. Jack had always been a favorite target, probably because he ignored them so completely. Donahue was too. And Devlin most of all .
Dev was gorgeous. They all were. And being in charge of the club made them even more irresistible .
Of course, Dev didn’t hang at the club late night anymore. He was home for dinner every single night, and he was crystal clear that he’d rather be home with me than anywhere else. Especially the club. He didn’t like to leave me alone for more than a few hours if he could help it .
I blushed, my cheeks warming at the thought of exactly how attentive he’d been .
I wasn’t so sure I believed that Becky had gotten the whole picture though. It just did not make sense. Why would Whiskey be drinking himself into a stupor if he was just moving on with other girls? Why had the light gone out of his eyes after she left ?
He’d been deeply in love with Becky, I had no doubt .
“Becks… there is a chance it was more innocent than it looked at first glance. Was he touching them? Kissing them ?”
She titled her head to the side, clearly trying to remember .
“I’m not sure… I don’t think so ?”