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“I’m from this town, ma’am. I’m not sure where you came from, but there isn’t a person in this room who gives a damn. They know my history. They know what I’ve done. No judgment, like you said when I first walked in. That’s all anyone has done since I’ve been back.”
“I care.” Haize patted her chest. “I don’t know what you’ve done, and I don’t know your history, but I care, Michael.”
“Wait until you hear my story. If I ever feel like telling it, you’ll flee from me like a burning building.” He headed toward the door, head ducked as he moved past a few people.
“I hope to see you soon, Michael Brennan.”
He didn’t respond, but Haize could tell he heard her. His shoulders tightened and he glanced at her over his shoulder before he made his exit and disappeared into the night.
There was a mystery about him – a hard shell she was going to crack. She always went after the hard cases, and he was one she wanted to see succeed. He had mentioned a year on parole. If he’d stick with it and not get sent back to prison, she had a year to help him see how much potential he had.
“Challenge accepted,” she said out loud before cleaning up the dessert table and calling it a night.
Chapter Six
Michael looked over his parole stipulations. There were so many things he had to do, he feared he was losing track and would let something fall through the cracks. Standing at the kitchen counter, he closed his eyes to try and block out the loud thumping music coming from his brother’s room. He also heard a woman laughing, followed by sounds he surely didn’t want to hear.
Going to his room, he shut the door and skimmed the letter from the parole board. Everything had been taken care of or was in progress except for going to counseling. The town was so small – were there counseling services available? AA was one thing, but this? He had no idea where to begin.
His parole officer had given him a packet with resources in it. There were a few free counseling services provided through telemedicine, but he didn’t have a computer or a decent enough phone to do it. Maybe that girl at the AA meetings would have some information for him. She was rough around the edges but there was kindness beneath her walls. He couldn’t blame her for being so forward about his intentions. It was almost a mockery of her work – people just showing up because they had to and not trusting the process. He felt guilty, but at least he had shown up to two meetings in a day when that many weren’t required. Maybe that had made a good impression on her.
She mentioned a sponsor. Who on earth would he be able to find? Mitch certainly wouldn’t be a good choice – he was currently in the other room, getting drunk and banging some chick. Even though his door was closed, he could hear them, and it made him sick to his stomach. He needed his own place. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t happen any time soon. He was barely making just over minimum wage at the shop. Tomorrow was his first day and he wasn’t sure when he’d get his first paycheck.
Slow and steady – he was warned by inmates and others to take his time. Don’t burst out of the gate and try to get it all done at once. It’d burn him out fast and he’d resort to his old lifestyle. He sort of already resorted to his old lifestyle when he let Marilyn in. When he let his guard down and had sex with her, he despised himself for it.
He studied himself in the mirror over the dresser. His green eyes were tired – his dark hair disheveled from all the walking around town he had to do. It was great exercise, but a car on top of all his other needs would be helpful. He didn’t look like himself – he hardly recognized the reflection staring back at him.
A knock on the front door pulled him from his trance and he figured it was someone else for Mitch. But then he heard her voice, he knew it was Marilyn yelling for him to open the door. He almost ignored her. Had the accusation of him being a father not been hovering over him, he’d never consider opening the door up to her again and cutting all ties with her.
Opening the front door, he stepped over the threshold and closed it behind him, leaning on a loose railing of the porch. “Your fucking married, Marilyn?”
“Well, hello to you, too.”
Damn it, why did she have to look so good? Her shorts exposed her long legs, all the way up to her ass. Tank top revealing her tight body. She wasn’t wearing a bra, and his mouth watered at the site of her dark nipples contrasted against the stretched white fabric. No! She was married! She was a trainwreck. She was the mother of his baby? No, he couldn’t believe that yet, either. She was going to get him in tons of trouble if he couldn’t control himself.
“Does your husband know you cheated on him?”
“Of course not. I got lost in the moment. You’re so hot. And far better in bed than he is. And let’s face it… well endowed.” She reached for him, but he backed away, bumping into the door.
“No. Stop it. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”
“Who cares? He’ll never find out. Even if you did tell him, he’d never believe a nasty ass convict over me.”
“Two things you failed to mention to me. A child and your marriage.” Anger seared through him, and he balled his fists, pushing past her and out into the yard. “I want a DNA test.”
“I know. You’ve said that.” She giggled and walked down the steps, breasts bouncing as she moved. “My husband might think it’s cool. Might be into a threesome.”
“You haven’t changed. You’re still the same, immature Marilyn.” He worried if Jace really was his. What kind of home was he growing up in? What was Marilyn exposing him to? “Who’s the guy?”
“You don’t know him,” she replied, leaning against her car. “And I have changed. I’ll always love sex. I’ll always love you between my thighs, whether it’s your face or your…” she glanced down between his legs. “Nothing will ever change how good the sex is between us.”
“It has changed because I’ll never have sex with you again. Get the DNA test arranged. I need to know for sure.” He was ready for her to leave. He was exhausted, and he started his first day on the job in the morning. Early. And the more she leaned on the car and allowed the shorts to hug her curves, the weaker he felt. His desire was replaced with the anger he felt – married and a child – all the lies and hiding things. She wasn’t worth it.
“How does one go about that?”
“Hell, I don’t know. A doctor’s appointment? If you don’t do it, I will. You’ll need to get Jace there. But we need to get it done. I wanna be in his life if he’s mine. I wanna be his father.”
Marilyn shook her head. “My husband wants to adopt him. We want you to sign your rights away.”
