But what went down that morning was not and he wasn’t thinking about his again jumping to conclusions but Beau whoever-the-fuck acting like a psycho.
“Do I need to be worried about this?” he asked quietly and, with regret, watched the humor die from her eyes.
“I wanna say no,” she answered just as quietly. “But, it kills me, this shit this morning, he called yesterday and asked if I wanted him to come up to be with me…I’m not getting a good feeling.”
Mike wasn’t either.
She got up on her elbows and gave him her entire focus which included her openness.
“We were together a while, two and a half years. Part of that, he was moved in with me. It went bad a while ago. I’m not getting any younger, I want kids and in the beginning, it was good. I fought for it. Beau’s clueless and he didn’t. I kicked him out four months ago. That woke his shit up but it was too late. It was just over and I was moving on. I wasn’t going back. I’m not going back. He’s not getting that. He can be stubborn and I know he cares about me so, at first, it was just a nuisance. Now, it’s getting a little crazy.” Her gaze drifted to her phone. “And this morning, whacked.” Her eyes came back to him. “He really told you I was his woman?”
“Pissed I answered the phone. Didn’t hide it. Told me he was your man and you were his woman. So yeah, he made it clear in a thirty second conversation and he did it three times.”
Her eyes went unfocused and she whispered, “Damn.”
Mike’s hand pressed lightly into her stomach and her eyes refocused.
“He called three times,” he explained. “Three times in less than ten minutes. I wouldn’t have answered, honey, but I was worried it was an emergency.”
Her eyes held his but they went soft and unbelievably fucking sweet when she said something that felt unbelievably good to hear.
“I get that you think I care you answered my phone, babe, but I don’t. Got nothing to hide. Just sorry he fed you that bullshit.”
“You don’t have to apologize,” he told her and her fast grin came back.
“Did it all the same,” she replied.
Mike moved his hand to the side of her neck as he leaned into her, giving her some of his weight and taking her off her elbows. The instant his weight settled on her, her arms wrapped around him.
“Don’t know it all but this doesn’t seem like healthy behavior,” Mike warned carefully.
“I’m thinking I agree but I’ll be okay,” she assured but Mike didn’t feel assured.
She was confident, that was clear. She was honest and had no problem speaking her mind, even in a confrontation. That was clear too. But she was also a single, five foot six woman. She was not skinny. She had a great ass, great tits and they were abundant in a good way. What they weren’t was packed with power.
So he started, “Dusty –”
He stopped when her arms gave him a squeeze.
“I’m tight with a local cop, Mike,” she told him softly and grinned again. “He’s an anomaly. Married to one of my girls, a good guy who got himself a decent woman. He knows Beau. I get home, I’ll go to their house, have a chat. Give him a heads up. Knowing Hunter, he’ll take some time, find Beau, have a quiet word.” Her arms gave him another squeeze. “That doesn’t work, again, knowing Hunter, he’ll round up a few of his buddies and have another one that’ll be harder to ignore. It’s okay, honey. I’m good.”
Listening to her calm, warm sincerity, speaking about her friends, Mike was pleased and displeased.
He was pleased she had someone she trusted to take her back. He was pleased she had friends she clearly cared about. Just like last night he was pleased to hear her talk about what she did, how much she loved it. She was easy to read. She had a good life she enjoyed living.
But he was displeased she had friends she cared about she trusted to take her back and a good life she enjoyed living.
Because all this was in a small town outside San Antonio.
Twice, he’d assumed wrongly about Dusty. Twice, she proved she was just who she was.
With what happened with Audrey and Vi, he kept reading it wrong and Dusty kept proving she was just who she appeared to be.
It was very early. He was cautious. But that didn’t mean he didn’t like this.
He did. He liked it. What they had. The easiness of it.
What he didn’t like was that they had this morning and then she was gone. Which meant the future of it was up in the air in all new ways.
He had two kids to raise and put through college. Still, he could swing a trip to Texas once, maybe twice a year. He’d been working for The ‘Burg’s Police Department since he graduated the Academy the year after he graduated from Purdue. This meant he’d earned a shitload of vacation. So he had the time, time that wouldn’t cut into his vacations with No and Reesee.