AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Uh, we were… She’s an old friend of mine.”
Iris didn’t buy it. “Mom has pictures of you in her treasure box, and you look like alotmore than just a friend.”
How old is this kid?
“We dated for a while.” I offered up the correction, and the kid took it.
“How come you didn’t marry her? I thought when people were in love they get married and stuff.”
“I, uh, I would’ve married your mom in a heartbeat if things had been different. It just wasn’t in the cards for us, and now a lot of years have passed… And I don’t know.”
“Do you still love her?” Iris asked, tilting her head at me.
I felt like I was sitting in fucking therapy. “Why don’t we hang your pictures up in your room now?”
“Ooh, you’re avoiding the question. Mom always says that people avoid answering questions when they don’t want to admit to how they’re feeling.”
“You’re a really smart kid.” I eyed her as I picked up the 8x10 photo of the two of them at Disneyland. “Where do you want this one?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged, her eyes watching me carefully as I scanned the room, pointing to a spot to the left of the closet. “Right there?”
She nodded. “Okay.”
“So… I have a question for you, Iris,” I said carefully, as I dug through the tool bag sitting on the floor.
“What is it?” She looked at me with a cute curiosity.
“Has your mom ever talked about—”
“What’re you doing in here?” Hallie’s voice cut me off, her tone sharp.
I whipped my head around to see her standing in the doorway, her arms folded across her chest and her blue eyes shooting me daggers. “Uh, your kid asked me to help her with some stuff.”
“Iris, go help Granny downstairs in the kitchen.” Hallie’s eyes flickered to the pictures laid across the bed, and for a split second, her face expressed concern.
“She was just telling me about the treasure boxes that the two of you have. It was just a friendly conversation,” I said quickly, unsure of why Hallie was so freaked out over me being in here with Iris, unless…
Unless it was because of the murder charges.
Hallie ignored me, squeezing past me and going straight for the bed, picking everything up and shoving it into the box. “Iris will talk to anyone about anything—even things that she shouldn’t.”
“She didn’t say anything—”
“You’re astranger.” Hallie’s words cut like a fucking knife. “And here she is, just pouring everything out to you about her life.”
“Well, no, not exactly.”
She spun around to look at me. “What did she tell you?”
“Why are you so angry about her talking to me?” I leveled with her, shaking my head. “All the kid did was show me pictures of you and tell me where to hang shit on the walls. She’s a nice kid. I like her. I don’t see that as a problem. If I’m going to be around some, isn’t it better that I’m not some mysterious fucking figure?”
Hallie was silent, taking a deep breath as she closed the little box. “Yeah, I’m just… I just have never let any men around her—at all.”
Especially not a convicted felon.
“I get that,” I said flatly, already feeling like I had overstayed my welcome. “I’ll get out of your hair. I bet the guys have finished unloading everything anyway.” I turned to go, but she grabbed my hand, stopping me.
“Actually, Iris is staying with my mom one more night so I can finish setting up the house, and I thought maybe…”
