“Only met him once or twice. He came to the ranch to meet with Z.”
“Quint’s daddy?”
Decker nodded. “I think they were friends, although I’m pretty sure he was better friends with Wasp.”
“Wasp King. That’s a name I haven’t heard for a long time.”
“I never met him.”
I hadn’t either, but I remembered hearing stories about him.
“You didn’t answer me,” said Decker, sliding his fingers from my hand to my knee. “About Judd.”
“We lost touch.”
“I wondered, when you said you paid your granddaddy’s debts. I’m surprised Judd didn’t step in and take care of it.”
Decker didn’t know the half of how accurate his statement wa
s. Judd Knight took care of himself. No one else.
“Not everybody’s cut out to be a parent,” I murmured.
12
Decker
Didn’t I know it. Neither of mine were, that was for damn sure. I was in single digits when they split up, and unlike Mila’s, my mama didn’t stick around to take care of me, and neither did my daddy.
Child Protective Services did, though. Not that they did much protecting. Up until the time I met Quint Alexander, I’d been bounced from one abusive situation to another.
When I was thirteen, Z approached me. I guessed he’d caught glimpses of the bruises that dotted my body.
“Would you like to live here with us?” Z had asked.
I hadn’t known what to say. “Can I?” I remember asking. After that day, I didn’t go back to the house I’d been living in, not even to get my belongings, which were meager.
I looked over at Mila, who was as lost in thought as I was. “The place I’m taking you is on the outskirts of town. You okay with that?”
Mila sighed. “The truth is, Decker, I’ve really got no place to be except here with you.”
I squeezed her hand. Damn if I didn’t like the sound of that more than I should. As soon as I was able to figure out who killed her sister, Mila Knight would be on the first plane back to Boston, and probably into the arms of the asshole. I was more attracted to her than I remember being to any other woman, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t keep myself in check.
It wasn’t long before we came to the turnoff that would take us to the cabin that sat on the edge of Bluebell Creek. It had belonged to members of the King family up until recently when Quint approached them about buying it and they’d agreed.
I knew damn well why the cabin meant so much to my best friend; it held some pretty special memories for him and the woman who was now Quint’s wife.
“It’s so beautiful,” Mila said when I drove up to the log structure. “Like out of a book.”
The whole place was surrounded by wildflowers, and the sun shining through the trees lit the place up like a photograph.
I walked up to the front door, reached above it, and felt for the key. I blew the dust from it and slid it into the lock.
The cabin smelled as musty as I expected it to. However, with all the windows covered, it was cool inside. When I turned around, Mila had a handful of flowers and was filling a pitcher that she’d found near the sink with water.
“Pretty,” I said, looking at her rather than the flowers.
“You’re good for my ego,” she said, setting the flowers on the table.