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“No, I don’t, Shug. I’ve been crystal clear since day one. You’re mine. I’m claiming you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and the boys. Ben and Sean are mine, too. Hell, I was the first person to hold Sean when he was born. I’m the only dad he’s ever known. And Benny likes me. I won’t rush you, but I’m not giving up, either.”
God, he could be the most stubborn person when he wanted to be. He would not stop until he got what he wanted. He was right, though. He had been crystal clear from the beginning. My best friend was in love with me and wanted a future with me. Maybe if things were different, I could see a way for us to be together, but living in Rosewood, knowing how most of the residents thought, what they could do, I knew it was impossible.
“Shug, look at me.”
Giving him my attention, he took my hand and spoke, “Whatever you are thinking, please stop. This town doesn’t care who you date, who you love, or who you want to spend your time with. All this town knows is that you are a hard-working single mom, raising two boys all by yourself. You run a successful business and are an active member in this community. Yes, you had a horrible marriage, but that’s over now. Trust me, Shug. Trust that whatever comes your way, that I will stand beside you, and we will get through it together. I love you, Shug.”
I wanted to believe him. God help me, I really did, but Eugene’s reputation was untarnished. He could walk down the street with his head held high and no one would bat an eye at him. He didn’t have people whispering behind his back, calling him horrible names, or have someone threatening to destroy him. I wanted to believe that with him by my side, we could traverse whatever this town threw at us, but I refused to let this town do to him what they did to me.
I wouldn’t be able to bear it.
Opening the driver’s side door, Eugene smiled. “Come on, Shug. Today is supposed to be a happy day. A celebration. Let’s get whatever you need, then let’s head back up to the clubhouse and have some fun.”
Nodding, I slid out of the truck and looked around when my eyes landed on the one person I prayed would just leave me alone. The bane of my existence, Mrs. Cohen smirked when she leaned toward Violet Peterson, Benny’s school teacher, and whispered something. I didn’t need to hear to know what Mrs. Cohen was spewing because when she finished spilling her filth, Violet frowned, then stared at me.
Great. Another resident who was going to hate me.
“Hi, Violet,” Eugene happily greeted, coming to stand beside me. “Mrs. Cohen. How are you ladies doing today?”
“Hello, Enigma.” Violet smiled warmly, before greeting me as well. “Sugar. How is Benny enjoying his school break?”
“He’s having fun. My parents took him and Sean to Louisiana.”
“In my day, we didn’t pawn our children off on someone else to care for,” Mrs. Cohen clipped, narrowing her eyes at me.
“No,” Eugene replied. “In your day, you just let kids run around like hoodlums getting into all kinds of trouble. Hell, I remember the time Henry and his friends spray painted the side of the municipal building. Remind me again how long his community service was?”
“My Henry wasn’t involved in that. That was never proven.”
Eugene chuckled. “Yeah, just like the time Henry and his friends broke into Judge Tomlinson’s barn and got drunk, damn near setting the place on fire. Face it, Mrs. Cohen, you let your Henry have free rein when he was younger and look where it got him.”
“Well, at least my son isn’t in a gang!” Mrs. Cohen huffed angrily before storming off in a snit.
Shit. I wished Eugene hadn’t done that.
Now that bitch was going to retaliate.
“God, that woman is a piece of work,” Violet muttered, shaking her head.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“Why are you sorry, Sugar?” Violet questioned. “You had nothing to do with that. That woman is mean as hell. I would have avoided her myself, but she cornered me when I walked out of Morgan’s massage parlor. So much for my day of relaxation. Besides, everyone knows Mrs. Cohen isn’t happy unless she is causing someone pain. She’s just a bitter old woman. No one pays much attention to her.”
Wrapping an arm around my waist, Eugene pulled me close, kissing the top of my head. “See, Shug. No one cares.”
Yeah. I wasn’t so sure about that.
Chapter Fourteen
Enigma
That bitch ruined my mojo.
For the last three weeks, I’d been slowly tearing down Shug’s walls, and because of one spiteful old woman, I was back at square one.
Fuck me, I wanted to throttle that old woman.
“What happened?” Banks asked, standing next to me as I watched Sugar with the other women. While the girls were chirping a mile a minute about babies, I could clearly see Sugar felt uncomfortable and had disengaged herself from the conversation.
