“Ooh, now I need my hair put up in a bun.” She eyed me curiously. “Can you do my hair?”
“I sure as hell can.”
She eyed me with surprise. I’m sure she couldn’t belief a man like me could do hair. But I was going to surprise her.
Digging in her bag, she produced a hair brush for me and then something to hold her hair. “Sit down,” I instructed, motioning to the bench in front of me. She quickly obeyed. The moment I ran the brush through her hair, I became assaulted by a barrage of memories.
“You know, the only reason why I sort of know how to do this?” I questioned, my voice choking off with emotion.
“Uh-uh,” Willow replied.
“I used to brush and braid your mother’s hair.”
“You did?”
“Yeah, I did.”
I could almost hear Lacey’s sultry voice begging me to brush her hair. Although it often rendered her catatonic from relaxation, it also tended to get her fired up to fuck me.Something about the tender touch of my hands on her hair turned a switch inside her.
After a moment of silence, Willow softly asked, “Did you really love my mommy?”
“I told you I did.”
“I know. But were you telling the truth.”
My hand froze, stilling the sweeping motion of the brush. Jesus, this kid was perceptive. I mean, I knew she was smart, but the whole being able to see through my bullshit was eerie. “
As I thought of the feelings I’d once had for Lacey, an ache burned through my chest. “Yeah, kid, I really did.”
“Did she love you?”
“Yeah, I think she did at one time.”
“You think when I grow up, I’ll be prettier than her?”
“Listen to you being vain,” I chuckled.
“What’s that?”
“When you think really highly about yourself.”
With a glance over her shoulder, she countered, “Like you?”
I barked out a laugh. “You are a sassy one, aren’t you?”
“So will I be prettier than Mommy?”
I nodded. “Let’s face it. You look just like me, and I’m pretty damn handsome.” When Willow didn’t acknowledge my comment, I said, “Do you want to be the prettiest?”
She shrugged her tiny shoulders. “Maybe. But I don’t want it to hurt people.”
“What do you mean?”
“Mommy let bad men hurt her…and me.” A shudder echoed through her. “But most of the time, Mommy hurted me.”
Her words caused a volatile mixture of rage and pain to course through me. Hearing Willow talk about how much her mother hurt her made me wish that Lacey was still alive so I could kill her with my own bare hands. I knew firsthand what it was like to be abused as a kid, and I didn’t want anyoneelse to have to deal with that pain, especially my own flesh and blood. Even though I knew she was fucked up on drugs, I couldn’t imagine how Lacey could hurt Willow. Of course, when I’d started fucking Lacey, I hadn’t actually been looking for someone maternal. She was no Mama Liz, that’s for damn sure. And even though I didn’t know her that well, I knew Alex would be ten times the mother that Lacey ever tried to be. Wait, why the fuck was I bringing Alex into all this?
Placing one of my hands on Willow’s shoulder, I said, “I know I’ve said it a lot before, but maybe I need to again so you’ll believe me. No one willeverhurt you again.”
