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“If guys aren’t nice to you, you should tell them to fuck off.”
Her answering smile is tight. “Easier said than done.”
She glances down at her wrist. There’s a faint bruise there I hadn’t noticed, and anger has me seeing red. “Did someone hurt you, Larkin?”
She ducks her head and gets up into my truck, hiding her face from me. “It’s nothing, and it’s been handled.”
I’m about to open my mouth and tell her any kind of bruise isn’t nothing, but she grabs the door and slams it shut.
I don’t know Larkin. We have zero relationship, but my mother made it a point to tell us often and forcefully that hurting a girl, even accidentally, was never acceptable—a too-firm grab, not listening if they said no for any reason at any moment, taking advantage when a girl was drunk and not of clear mind. Chelsea Bower has five sons, all of us tall and strong, and she drilled it into us that we have a responsibility to keep women safe and always treat them with respect. Or to step in if we see a girl in trouble.
To this day, the idea of a man hurting any woman has always infuriated me. How cruel and insecure does an asshole have to be to stoop that low?
And Larkin has a fucking bruise on her wrist.
By the time I’m in my front seat, my teeth hurt from clenching my jaw. Larkin is staring out her window. I shouldn’t say anything more. She’s not mine to look after or defend. Unfortunately, my mother did too good a job of baking in my protective gene.
“When you say the issue has been dealt with, what do you mean?”
“This isn’t your concern, Jake.”
“I’m making it my concern.”
“So damn bossy,” she mumbles, hunching farther away from me.
I stare out my windshield, debating my options. None of which arelet this go. Larkin has no reason to trust me, unless I give her one.
“I broke into my father’s office last week.”
She glances at me sharply. “Why?”
“There’s something about him lately I don’t trust. I mean, we’ve never been close, but he’s been acting odd this year. More distant than usual. Traveling for work, when accountants like him don’t normally leave their offices.”
I have to support a client who’s being audited, he told Mom.
I no longer live at home, but I’m there for family dinners. Mom didn’t flinch when explaining why he wasn’t around much lately, but I sure as hell took notice. I’d recently caught him in a lie. I’d called him at home to discuss a time-sensitive birthday gift for Mom—concert tickets to Kenny Chesney that needed to be purchased the next morning. Mom said Dad was working late. I called him at his office and he didn’t answer, so I went by. He wasn’t there.
Assuming he’d stepped out for something to eat, I waited for a while, but he never showed. The next day, when I asked how late he worked the night prior, he said he was at his office all evening.
At which point, I got really fucking mad.
Mom’s lectures to watch out for women may have been meant for younger girls we met and dated. As far as I’m concerned, I would also protect my mother with my last breath.
“I think he’s having an affair,” I tell Larkin—pissed-off words I’ve never spoken aloud. “I didn’t find anything in his office, but I can’t shake this feeling that he’s going to break my mother’s heart.”
“Have you talked to your brothers about it? Are they also suspicious?”
“I haven’t told them. We’re all pretty protective of Mom. If I’m off base, I don’t want to rile them up.”
“And what does Jolene think?”
“Haven’t told her either.” Which feels odd at the moment. I’ve debated discussing my concerns with Jo. I just…never do. “You’re the only person I’ve told.”
She huffs out an incredulous breath. “Well, that’s weird.”
“Is it, though?” I’m angry about her bruise and my suspicions about my father, but I force gentleness into my tone. “Feels easier sharing this thing that scares me with a virtual stranger. Someone who won’t judge me or my family. Someone who isn’t emotionally involved. Honestly, saying it out loud felt pretty damn good.”
Her eyes roam over my face, more emotion softening her features. Then she scoffs. “Save your psychobabble for someone with a lower IQ. I see what you’re doing, sharing bullshit so I’ll do the same. So fucking lame.”
