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The two exchanged a knowing look before Grayson turned back to me. “How do you feel about white wine? My girl is a bit of a hoarder of the shit and has it strategically stashed around the property.” His lips tilted up in a slow, happy smile at the mention of Anne. Loneliness pulled at my heart seeing his clear love and obsession for her. “Something about always being prepared.”
I released a slow breath. “That sounds perfect.”
* * *
The cool,crisp wine slipped down my throat, the flavors exploding on my tongue. This was my first drink in weeks, but even though I tried, I couldn’t relax enough to fully enjoy it.
“She’s in excellent hands with Anne,” Grayson said at my back.
Turning from the window, the one that faced the barn, I offered him a shy smile.
Shade just nodded, arms folded across his chest from where he leaned against the marble island in the large kitchen.
“It’s crazy. I used to let her roam the streets of New York City, let her go on vacations with her best friend for weeks during the summer, and now… now I don’t know who to trust. I freak out if she’s out of sight for more than a few minutes. Which is driving her insane.” I stared at the white wine like it held all the answers. “It’s crazy what betrayal does to your entire foundation of trust. It shatters it completely, devastating you to the core until you question everything and everyone.”
“Only if you let it,” Shade said, full attention on me.
“It’s only been three weeks, so I guess I should cut myself some slack.”
“It’ll take a while to accept your new life, to figure out who you are now that you’ve left that shit behind.” I blinked at Grayson, who shrugged a single shoulder. “What? Did you think I grew up here? Look at me. I’m a transplant, just like you.”
Just like me.
Does he mean…?
“Grayson came to us a couple months back,” Shade said, side-eyeing the tatted man. “Via Max.”
My jaw slacked as my gaze volleyed between them. “You’re in the witness protection program?” I whispered.
“Not anymore. My situation… resolved itself.” Shade snorted and flicked his gaze to the ceiling. Grayson rolled his eyes and continued. “But I know how it is to have shit in your head that you can’t talk to anyone about. It makes you go a little more crazy every day.”
I nodded, completely agreeing. I just wanted one person to spill my guts to, to hold me while I cried over a life that I didn’t really like anyway.
Grayson tilted his head toward Shade. “They know to keep their mouths shut, and so do I if you need to talk. And you can trust them with your life.”
“You say that like you’ve needed to,” I mused.
“I have.”
I waited for him to explain, but he didn’t.
A heavy silence filled the kitchen that pressed on me until I couldn’t keep the words in any longer.
“I don’t know when it’ll all end,” I admitted. “I think that’s the hardest part right now. That and she hates me, but I don’t want to tell her the truth about why we ran. Everything is happening too fast. Her entire world turned upside down. I don’t want to add the fact that her father—” I stopped and shook my head. “And now he’s fighting the feds at every turn. What I thought would be a clean break for Gracie and me to start over somewhere fresh isn’t happening.”
I gulped half the wine, choking it down to keep the building frustrated tears at bay.
“He sounds like a fuckstick,” Grayson stated.
I chuckled and raised my glass to him. “I’ll cheers to that.”
“Shade mentioned you’re his new neighbor,” he said, changing the subject. I nodded, though I wasn’t sure when that was discussed. “You’re lucky to have them next door. They’re the only two in town.”
My eyes widened. Wow. How rude of this jerk to point out that Trap and Shade were the only two gay men in town.
“Well, we have that part-time guy too,” Shade added.
“What?” I whispered in horror.How can someone be part-time gay? Did he mean bi?Maybe I wasn’t as up to date on the lingo as I thought.
