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I was moulded in steel and wouldn’t break for anything. As soon as Fury was brought down, I knew I’d have to recoup because there was no plan for me afterwards. I had never even considered surviving past that. It was hard to admit I didn’t want to be alone for the rest of my life, and yet letting someone in, a man especially, was foreign to me.
If I let Slick in, I wouldn’t be doing him justice. Slick would probably be content but never happy. Summer was the one who could make him happy, and it was something I bitterly accepted. Nobody could ever say I was cut out to fulfil a man’s hopes and dreams.
So, I’d keep shoving these feelings deep inside me—and I’d bury them. It didn’t matter what I felt for Slick. At the end of the day, he’d be miserable with me.
Summer
It had been two weeks now since I’d last seen Slick, and the pain was just as bad. I’d retreated into myself, ignoring Mom and Marianne despite the nasty comments. They never stopped.The continuous insults and put-downs were aimed at keeping me low and making me forget what I’d said. But I hadn’t.
Uncle Brian had been released from hospital and was back at home. He had not asked about Slick, nor had I offered anything. Instead, I visited him and made sure he had everything he needed and was fed. In return, he sat with me and reminisced about the happy days with Dad.
I’d kept my word and seen a lawyer who’d gone through Dad’s will again and ensured me I could indeed throw the witches out. When I told Uncle Brian, he’d laughed and offered to help me evict them as he said they wouldn’t go quietly. In the end, the lawyer had told me to give them two months, as that was fair. I wanted them out tomorrow, but it wasn’t feasible. The lawyer pointed out they needed to find jobs and somewhere to live, so I had to be seen as being considerate in case they took me to court.
The letter had landed a week ago, and they had both gone crazy. For the next two nights, I’d stayed with Uncle Brian so I didn’t have to deal with their screeching. They’d blown my phone up, and each message grew nastier. Uncle Brian had said to keep them as they’d be able to be used as evidence of verbal assault in court.
Work was busy, and repairs had begun on the greenhouse that had been burned. Every so often, I heard bike pipes roaring past, but I refused to look. If it was Rage, I didn’t want to know, and if it was Slick, well, that would have broken me.
My phone ringing jolted me from my thoughts of Slick, and, seeing Uncle Brian’s name, I answered.
“Hey, baby girl, can I be a pest?”
“What do you want?” I teased.
“That Greek deli in town, could we get lunch from there?” Uncle Brian asked in a mock begging tone.
“What’s it worth?”
“My girl is bribing me? No, that never happens. But I might have some iced tea waiting to be drunk.”
“I’ll be there soon. Text me what you want,” I said, getting up from where I’d been kneeling on the floor.
“Use my card,” Uncle Brian demanded.
“Uh, huh.” I didn’t agree or disagree. We’d come to blows this week over who was paying for lunch. As Uncle Brian couldn’t get up and order lunch himself, I’d been paying. Two nights ago, he’d forced his card on me so he could pay, but I had not used it yet.
“I can afford to buy my favourite niece food,” Uncle Brian snapped.
Oh, I’d insulted his ego. Ouch.
“Okay, but I also want pastries, so you can pay for them, too,” I said.
“Done.” Uncle Brian hung up without another word.
I looked at my phone and laughed.
Slick
He was coming out of The Reading Nook, joking with Sin as he left, when he saw Irish sitting on her bike outside, waiting. Slick’s eyebrows rose, and he stood and stared. Irish removed her helmet and met his stare before jerking her chin for him to approach.
Slick folded his arms, planted his legs, and held her gaze.
“We need to talk,” Irish said when she realised he wasn’t going to move.
“What about?”
“I got some info.” Irish crossed her own arms.
Fine. Whatever information she had, Slick wanted. Especially if it protected his family or friends. He crossed the short distanceand stood by her bike. Slick hid a smirk as he studied her body language. Everything screamed not to touch her, but her eyes had given him the once over, lingering on his crotch. Yeah, she might give off back-away signals, but she was affected by him like he was her.
