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“I was thinking I would head your way after picking up Rosavelt.”
“I’ll come to you, give me your location.”
“I’ll call my dad.”
“I’m closer. Please allow me.” Vex willed the stubborn woman to cooperate and the miracle happened.
“Fine. I’m at the Carencro exit near the Mc Donalds off of I-10.”
“I know exactly where you are. Lock your doors and stay put, please. We will tend to Rosavelt after I pick you up.”
“I’ll need to see about my car.”
“I’ll have my Verthur handle it.”
“Yourwhat?”
“My aid. It’s a Norse term.”
“Okay, I’ll call her and let her know we’re coming. She’ll be thrilled.”
The utter defeat in her tone was one for studying. In fact, everything she’d said to him was. She’d surprised him with the depth of her own personal struggles and the strength such a maturity required. Guess it was officially a one stroke, two gained opportunity.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Joe rested her head on the steering wheel after hanging up with a screeching Rosavelt over the unfortunate news that their car was broken but her favorite person she only just met five minutes ago was going to pick her up. Him and hisVerthur.Who the heck was this guy? She wanted to distrust him like he insisted she should but always ran into all the logical reasons why that was stupid. Mr. Big Words needed to cool his jets with Rosavelt. He acted like her brain would fall out if she didn’t yank her out of school tomorrow. And that huuuuugepropereducationsermon. Obsessed much? He now thought she had zero regard for great education and teaching methods. Wrong. She hadplentyof regard. And waiting till summer would be an exercise of patience, also a quality a child her age needed to learn. You can’t always just quit something because you don’t like it, sometimes life required you to stay and do the work regardless. And you did it because it wasright.You even excelled because youloveddoing what was right more than you loved doing athing. That’s what he was pushing,a thing.They didn’t needa thingin their life, well, Rosavelt could stand acouplethings since she was still learning but waiting till summer wasn’t parental criminal neglect, it was real world parenting. You stay because you started. You finish it. When you’re finished, then move to the next opportunity. Wonder what Mr. Vex would have to say about that?
He was nodoubtused to having women fall at his feet. She made it her pride and joy to never show a male interest and he was especially no exception. But her mother and daughter hadsuremade it hard. They went on and on about hisshockingblue eyes and hisendlessmuscles andamazingtattoos and oh my were thosebraidsin his beard? Gasp, did you see theinkwork on his neck and scalp?
Yes mother, I was standing right there. I’m not blind, I do look, I just don’t alwayssee.Because there is no point in seeing and looking at things you have no interest in.
A fancy dark SUV pulled up behind her, scattering her pulse. Holy crap, was this dude rich? She was suddenly painfully aware of her outfit. A dress. Sheneverwore a dress but her daughterandmother guilted her into it. That was before she had time to change her mind about the school start date and wanted to look like…whatever she looked like. She’d forgotten she had it but apparently Rosavelt remembered and even knew exactly where it was. Her favorite dress of course. Pure entrapment. She eyed herself in the mirror feeling like she was pretending to be a woman!
Boy she was truly losing touch.
She opened her door and got out, pasting a pleasant smile. The passenger door opened and out he climbed, decked out in a black suit. Where the heck was he headed? The White House? Thoseshockingblue eyes found hers and never let go till he was standing before her. “Are you okay?”
For some reason, the question or possibly the way he asked it hit her brain in the most bizarre way.
“You sounded upset on the phone,” he said, adding clarity.
Upset? “Of course, my car broke down and it’s the only one I have. Yes, I was upset. Is…that okay?” His confusion hit her guilt button. “Sorry, I’m…” She took a deep breath, feeling way out of place and lost in her own skin. “That was rude. Thank you so much for coming.” She looked at her car and images of their wrecked half built home added itself to the vision. Then the camper she’d wasted their savings on and found wrapped around a tree followed. “It’s just a car,” she said, covering her mouth as she realized it wasn’t just a car. “It was our first car.”
“I’ll have it repaired, I assure you, Ms Skelton. No charge.”
His kindness clawed at her walls and she covered her face with both hands. “I’m not an emotional person,” she said behind them. “Or a bum.”
“We all have our limits,” he said gently.
“But I can’taffordto have a limit,” she said as a stupid sob escaped. “I do not cry!” she assured.
“Crying is human,” he said. “And even healthy.”
She turned away from him as more sobs came. The harder she tried to hold them back the more they came. “I’m fine,” she kept saying.
His arm went around her shoulder and his exotic cologne around her womb. “Come into the car, Ms. Skelton,” he said, his gruff voice not so very gruff. “You’re okay.”
“I’m okay,” she whispered, fighting to catch her breath with a nod. “I’m okay.”
