“No, it doesn’t. But she—and the hot guy—probably did you a favor, ending it sooner before it was dragged out.”
“He wasn’t that hot,” I said again, more indignantly this time.
The clap of heels interrupted our attention as Delilah returned. “Hey, Delly?” I said, using the nickname only her friends used with her. “Got a spare ski mask I can use so I can mug Navy without her recognizing me? Oh, maybe Alicia’s got it still. I’ll borrow it from her.”
“Asshole,” she huffed as she flew through the doors.
“Why do you tease her so much? One might think you like her.”
“I mean, don’t get me wrong. Delilah is hot. But she also hates me, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“Oh, I’ve noticed. Is that the only thing stopping you?”
“I mean, that and the fact that she’s obsessed with her ex.”
“Oh.”
I might not have noticed if Navy’s tone hadn’t quieted, but since it had, I looked at her more closely. We never talked about my love—if you could call it that—life. “What’s up, Navy?”
“Let me finish closing up, okay? You caught me early.”
It wasn’t a total dismissal, but I recognized it as her asking for some space. Yeah, I’d shown up early. But to get a gauge on her. Navy never sent texts like the last one she sent me. “I’ll wait outside for you. Maybe I’ll find a good hiding spot to surprise you. Make sure the bag of money is in easy reach, okay?”
That earned me a small smile. “You got it. But don’t be too rough. Be gentle with me, k?”
It sat like lead between us. Be gentle with me. It had a second meaning—that much was clear from the look in her eyes.
Be gentle with me.
“Always,” I told her; one hand braced on the door handle.
After exiting the store, Navy locked the doors and turned to me. Cocking her head to the side, she said, “You’re not even a clever robber. You’re supposed to hide.”
I patted the dark gray of her aunt’s car and motioned to my sweats. “I’m blending in, like a chameleon. You can’t see me.”
She laughed, approaching me. God, it was so good to see her laugh after the heaviness and weirdness from the last few days. “Except this,” she said as she ruffled my hair. “You’ve got so much blonde in it right now.”
“From working outside the last few weeks.” Her smile dropped as if she was realizing that now we couldn’t avoid whatever it was that haunted her eyes and her mouth.
Navy was known to volunteer at a women’s shelter nearby, where she undoubtedly had seen a lot of shit. Sometimes, it wore on her like a heavy blanket. But this was different. This was heartbreak—but not from a guy. “What’s going on, Navy?”
“Violet’s back in town.”
I frowned. “Isn’t that a good thing?” I knew she’d missed her sister, had felt nervous about Violet being so far away.
“It is, but it’s more complicated than that.” Even though it was only eight at night, this area of town was already dead. But Navy looked around anyway, as if she was worried someone would overhear us. “Her boyfriend—ex—in California, he abused her.”
My tongue was a brick in my mouth. “Wha—”
“She looks like she lost at least thirty pounds and she was already so thin when I last saw her.” She motioned to her body. “And she’s got these really horrible bruises and marks all over her body—” she pressed the back of her hand to her mouth and it was then that I could see her shake, see the turmoil pour from her eyes in a rapid stream of tears. Her arms seemed as if they were operated by someone else, she kept alternating between wrapping them around herself and waving them around. “She looks so sad, Keane. Like her heart was ripped in half.”
Before she could keep breaking down, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close, my chin resting on top of her head. I understood then that it wasn’t just her hands that shook, but her entire body.
Fucking asshole. I didn’t know him, but if I did, I’d kick Violet’s ex so hard in the face that he’d be constipated on his own teeth for weeks. “What do you need?”
Navy pulled away and pressed her hands to her forehead. “I don’t even know where to start. I took her to the store this morning, got her some clothes. But that’s only good for a little while. She needs a job, a place to live. She can’t live with me—her ex could find her under our last name. If he’s stupid enough to look for her.”
“Unfortunately, he must be a fucking idiot. I mean, he hurt someone with a big family and lots of connections.”
“I haven’t even told you the rest of it.” She swallowed, took a deep breath in. “She’s pregnant.”
I went completely cold. “This motherfucker was hurting her while she was pregnant?”
She nodded solemnly. “It’s a miracle she didn’t miscarry, after everything her body has been through. So she doesn’t just need a job and a place to live, but she needs medical care and things for the baby.”
“So, she’s keeping the baby. No adoption?”
“She’s adamant that she’s raising the baby.” When I didn’t reply, she said more curtly, “If you’d grown up with parents like ours, then you could maybe understand her desire to raise her baby.”
I held my hands up in surrender. Her tone was so angry, like she’d already prepared to say that to anyone who dared to question her sister’s choice. “I’m not judging at all.” I wasn’t. It wasn’t my place. “I’m just processing this. Sorry. I’m sure you are still, too. And Violet…” I rubbed my jaw. “I’m guessing you haven’t told your aunt?”
Navy mock laughed. “She’ll have a coronary when she finds out. If I told her now, she’d book the first flight home.”
“She’s going to be pissed when she does get home and realizes you didn’t tell her.”
“Yup.” Navy sighed loudly and leaned back against her car. “What am I going to do, Keane? She can only stay at my aunt’s for so long before the twins realize she’s there.”
“You’re not going to tell them Violet’s in town?”
She shook her head. “No. They’ll want to see her, but… I don’t know. They post everything on social media. And I can’t risk Aunt Isabel finding out from a neighbor or the girls accidentally telling someone. I love my aunt, but I have no idea how she’s going to react to this. And I can’t put this on her—not after everything she’s done for us. But I won’t abandon Violet. She just can’t be in Amber Lake, where she’ll be recognized. If it gets back to her ex…”
“She can stay at the cabin.”
She was quiet for a long moment. “The cabin?”
“Think about it,” I said, even though I’d only just thought of the idea myself. “Her ex doesn’t know me, but even if he could connect the dots, it’s not even listed publicly in my name—it’s listed under my grandparents’ still, or their trust at the very least. It’s quiet. And, most significantly, it’s free. She can stay there, have the baby, and then figure out what she’s going to do. Free rent.”