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“I wish I didn’t have to be.”
Pity drifted across his face. He nodded to the hammock as he plunged his phone into his pocket. When I reached him, he opened the fabric of the hammock for me to sit. The handles of the hammock creaked and then the rings holding it into the porch squeaked lightly as I rocked myself.
Slater pulled up a chair. “I thought I’d come back and make sure everything was alright.”
“Didn’t Troy update you about the whole thing?”
“Yeah, but I had to see for myself.”
My heart skipped a beat. Just moments ago, I’d been thinking about a warm touch in the bath with his natural musk in mind. Had he heard my thoughts? It was spooky to find him out here minutes later.
“Yeah, well…” I sighed. “I guess I’m just not used to being treated like this.”
“I can imagine.”
I glared at him in the rusty yellow porch light. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Your granddad was a piece of work, that’s what that means, Ginny. He fucked over my granddad, my parents lost their investment, and then our whole pack fell apart.”
Shame crept over my skin like hot mud. “I know, Slater. You don’t have to remind me.”
“They were all idiots.”
My head snapped up. “What?”
“Idiots. They were all fucking idiots, Ginny. The Frostcrown pack shouldn’t have dropped all their eggs in one basket based on the foolish observation of a drunk.”
“Now, listen. You don’t have to go and—”
His laugh was sharp and abrupt. “You’re really going to defend that old traitor when he drained you of money too?”
I crossed my arms over my chest. Gods, there was so much he didn’t know about. “I get it. You don’t have to rub it in.”
“I’m just saying.”
Didn’t he get that he’d said enough? It was bad enough to be around a blast from the past. But noweverybodyknew about it. And I just wasn’t sure how I’d survive with everyone suddenly knowing my business.
Maybe it wasn’t too late to call Fred.He made those documents pretty quick. I closed my eyes while looking away.And I’m still paying them off. Do I really want to add more debt to my tab?
“Ginny?”
Soft eyes came into view, hardly the frigid blue they typically were—or could become. So many years had passed since Slater had looked at me like I was precious to him. But if that was the case, then why had he dragged the rotting corpses out into the light? They were dead and buried. They needed to stay that way.
Like everything else.
“Sorry, I just…” He shrugged while tousling his hair. “I guess I get in my head about it sometimes.”
“I understand.”
He hung his head. “I know you do.”
“I lost a pack that day too, Slater. I lost everything.” I hugged my shoulders. “Atlanta was the only place to go.”
His eyes hardened. “Your kid said something about the Silent Pride.”
Shit,no. I didn’t want to go there. I didn’t want to have to lay it all out for him, how I had toiled through labor—through two babies ripping through me—and then had to shack up with some asshole just to keep food on the table. All because my parents had sold me out. All tosurvive.
I looked away. “It’s ancient history now, Slater. Drop it.”
