“How’s Derek? Everything still blissfully amazing?” I needed the topic away from my own personal problems.
“It’s good. He got a promotion at work, so next week, we’re going to look at bigger apartments.” And there was her reason for jumping in the car and driving across the state, as well as her interest in Cash. “We have a few three-bedrooms on the list that are in our budget, but they’re all older buildings. Although, we did find some really nice two-bedrooms to check out. If you’re free, you should drive over and look with us.”
I didn’t even bother to face her. “Why would I do that?”
“Just in case living here isn’t what you thought it’d be, and you decide to come back.”
Waving toward the surf literally in front of us, I asked, “What’s not to love?”
“Yeah…so there’s this big body of water called the Atlantic Ocean, you might’ve heard of it. It’s on the other coast. You know…where I live. Where you used to live.” She turned her head to the left, then to the right, before leaning in close and whispering, “Plus, the water is prettier over there, too.”
I shoved her with my shoulder and shook my head, trying to hide the humor tugging at the corners of my lips—not from her words, but her actions. “Did you miss how it took us like ten steps to get here from the house? I’ve lived my whole life on the other coast, always within fifteen minutes of a beach. Ask me how many times I actually went. Not to mention…” I leaned closer and whispered, “The sand is nicer over here.”
Stevie’s soft giggles quieted, and the silence worried me. That always meant she had something serious to say—most of the time, something I wasn’t interested in hearing. “Doesn’t it worry you that he’s always gone? Like really, what kind of computer geek works out of the area, sometimes late into the night, five days a week? Not to mention…who just takes a kid out of the house without telling its mother? And then offers to help her with said kid after only being around the child for a day? Admit it, Jade. It’s a little odd. How much do you really know about him—aside from things he’s told you?”
I refused to tell her she was right about a lot of it, or that a few of those questions had crossed my mind, as well. That would only fuel her fire, and I didn’t need that right now. “First of all, he’s not some computer geek. He works on towers, so he travels. He could work late into the night—or heck, he might be avoiding me. Or maybe he’s on the other side of the country so he’s three hours behind, and by the time he gets back to the hotel and takes a shower, I’m already asleep.”
“It’d be nice if you stopped making excuses for him. The bottom line is this: you don’t know him. You’re assuming things to justify the actions. I can do the same. He’s married and spends the week with his real family, where he has a real job.”
“And he spends his weekends with me? Why?”
“Haven’t figured that part out yet. But I’m sure I can speculate on the spot if you’d like.”
I blew her off and went back to watching Aria play in the waves. “So far, he’s been nothing but nice and helpful. He’s letting me and my daughter live in his house, free of charge.”
“That’s another thing. Why would he do that? What’s his motive? What does he get out of it?” The thought of drowning her held a certain appeal right about now.
“I don’t know, Stevie. Maybe he’s a nice guy. He lives in a house with no mortgage, so maybe he saw an opportunity to help a single mother and took it. You gave me a place to stay when I left my mom’s and didn’t charge me a penny. You helped me with Aria when I needed it. What was your motivation? Huh? What did you get out of it?”
Her shoulders dropped with her long exhale, and if her eyes weren’t hidden behind the dark shades of her sunglasses, I would’ve seen them soften with pity. “Jade, babe.” Her voice lowered to a comforting hum, the same as she always did when trying to talk me off a ledge. “I’m not trying to upset you. I just want you to be aware of what’s going on around you. The last thing you need is to fall for this guy, only to find out he’s not who you thought he was.”
I had to look away from her, unable to handle the emotion in her tone.
“I love you and only want what’s best for you. I’m not saying everyone who offers their help has an ulterior motive. Derek and I only tried to get you out of a bad situation so you could stand on your own two feet. And…maybe that’s Cash’s MO, too. But we don’t know that. What we do know is next to nothing about him—other than he’s gone a lot and apparently has no family.”
I didn’t want to doubt Cash or think he had some sinister reason behind offering me his spare room. So far, he’d been good to me and Aria. He’d had several instances when he could’ve done something, yet he never did. Sure, we’d shared an alluring touch here and there, although they were probably innocent on his part—my desires not so much—and at least twice he’d been with Aria while I was asleep, yet he cared for her the way I’d dreamed a man would ever since the day she was born.
But then my mind started to drift into the endless pit of doubt, the place I always had a hard time pulling myself from. He’d come home Friday night with fractured ribs, looking like he’d been attacked. His explanation of falling on the job seemed plausible when he explained he worked on towers, but even then, the questions continued to plague me. Now, allowing myself to dissect it all, the uncertainty I naturally planted in every situation began to thrive. The more I fed it, the bigger and angrier it got. It grew louder until I’d made up an entire story in my head, one about Cash being a criminal who’d been nice to me so I would trust him, and once I did that, he’d show me his darkness.
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” I mumbled, half to myself and half to Stevie. I needed to face it head-on; my daughter lived in his house for crying out loud. I needed to figure him out before it was too late. But not here, not on the beach or in front of Stevie, because she wouldn’t stop until I had my bags packed and loaded in my trunk, following her back across the state.
We soaked up the sun, playing in the ocean a little while longer, then headed inside to wash off the sand and salt. Stevie agreed to stay for dinner, as long as I didn’t spend all afternoon cooking, and by six o’clock, she had her arms around me, saying goodbye.
“I’m always here for you, Jade.”
My heart melted at her sorrowful tone. “I know.”
“I have the best intentions when it comes to you. I miss you like crazy and love you like a sister. There’s nothing in this world I wouldn’t do for you and your little minion. Please promise me you’ll do more research. Not just a criminal background check. He’d only show up in that database if he’s been caught doing something. I don’t think I need to remind you of how easy it is for someone to get away with doing horrible things.”
I took a deep breath and nodded. “I promise.”