Page 9 of Love At Peace

“Hmmm. Don’t shock me none, hunny. I could tell from the get-go he was a lousy one.”

Too bad I couldn’t tell from the get-go that I should avoid him.

But I couldn’t have. David met me when I’d needed help, when I needed a rescue from a good Samaritan, and he’d used that to his advantage so expertly that I was trapped before I could realize what had happened.

“Not everything is as it seems,” he advised.

“You can say that again,” I replied dryly, thinking of David and how he’d stared his control over me.

“I’m talkin’ ’bout Roarke. He’s a good man. You don’t have to worry if he’s gonna turn out like that bastard from the city. I’ve known Roarke since he came here, and you got my word he’s a good man. I’ve been alive on this earth too long to be wrong about him like that. I can tell the difference between the good ones and the bad ones, hunny, and he’s a good man.”

“I think so too,” I said, “but I think his intentions might be conflicted.”

He frowned. “How so?”

“It’s not a matter of Roarke wanting to be a good man toward me. It’s not a matter of knowing I could count on him to stand up to my ex with me. It’s a matter of him being related to her. His connection to his niece.”

Todd dismissed me with a wave. “Eh. He’d never stand by and let that girl hurt ya none.”

What if he already has? I simply couldn’t trust her hooking up with David. I had to be cautious about who I let into my life as I tried to get my grounding again. If she was allying with my enemy, I had to be careful with him, too.

“He’ll always feel guilty about her. He’ll help family because he thinks he has to,” I explained.

That bond by blood would always be stronger than anything he could claim he wanted to have with me.

I won’t risk it.

I couldn’t.

Chapter 4

Roarke

Iwalked to the other cabin, so mad and frustrated that I felt like every step I took was harder than it needed to be. A run would’ve been better. Finding a punching bag and letting loose. Something physical to release this anger. It was bottled up and festering inside me, pushing me to want to roar at the world.

Heather didn’t ask for help. And that was the whole problem. She was so stuck in her ways, so damned independent and stubborn that she couldn’t even realize it when she needed help.

“I never asked for your help.”

I’d never forget her shouting that at me so fiercely.

“Fuck this,” I muttered to myself.

I couldn’t let this be the end of this. It killed me to leave and walk away when she was crying, but there was not a single damn thing I could do about that. She’d yell if I dared to knock on her door. She’d lash out if I opened my mouth to say anything at all, deaf to any comforting words I could offer her.

I wouldn’t get anywhere if I tried to talk to her now. But I’d be damned if I gave up.

If Nevaeh got onto her laptop—for any reason—then I’d make sure she was disciplined and caught.

If Nevaeh was causing any strife in Heather’s life, I’d step in and make her stop.

This bullshit had gone on too damn long. I was sick of not having answers. Of being in the dark. When Veronica cheated on me and tried to manipulate the situation she’d caused, I felt like it was one bombshell being dropped on me after the other. That feeling of being the only clueless one sucked, and I wouldn’t let myself be so easily conned again.

I didn’t think that Heather was conning me. I couldn’t make the same connections as she was. I didn’t see why it had to be such a deal-breaker if Nevaeh was shacking up with David. Again...because she wouldn’t talk to me. She wouldn’t tell me just why things with David were so scary still. I wasn’t dumb. I could guess and speculate that he’d abused her to some extent. But she had to explain.

Nevaeh did too. I wouldn’t assume she was innocent. I could see how Heather was likely pissed that I was trying to defend my niece. It wasn’t that, though. I had to be sure she wasn’t reaching for any old clue and jumping to conclusions.

Facts. I wanted some damn facts and answers—from someone. It was far past time to get some. As I strode toward my cabin, I shook my head at the odds that I’d be facing woman trouble times two. Both of the women in my life were too secretive for my liking.