Frayed Silk(59)

“Shower time, kiddos!” I hear him holler to them from upstairs as he turns the water on.

Okay, I guess he’s not mad then.





Driving into the city to the women’s shelter the next morning, I can’t help but feel a little guilty. Maybe I should’ve told Leo what my plan was after all. But I know he would’ve stopped me, and I need to do this. He knows I plan on taking some time away, and he’s happy about that, but he doesn’t know that I haven’t told them yet or that I’m going there today to do that.

And to see a certain green-eyed male with a devious smile.

Parking my car, I jump out and grab my purse. Flicking my sunglasses down onto my nose, I lock it and walk down the street to the front entrance of the shelter. Jared’s not out the front and I’m glad that he’s not waiting for me. But as I walk inside, I start to worry that he might not show up.

“Dahlia, good morning.” Glenda smiles as I approach the staff room.

“Hey, how’s everything going?” I take my sunglasses off, sign in, and put my purse away.

She snorts. “Caught someone trying to steal old bread out of the back dumpster on my way in, so I told them we’d make a meal for them for free. They ran off.”

I wince, hating when that happens. Unfortunately, some people aren’t too proud to ask for help. No, they’re simply too scared.

“But good other than that. Lord, it just breaks my heart when all they have to do is ask. I’d thought about putting a sign on the door, just in case they come back.”

“Yeah, but we both know it could be some time until they come back this way.”

She sighs. “Yep.”

“I need to talk to you actually.” I take a step back, feeling kind of nervous. “I’m going to have to take some time away. Just for a month or two.”

“Oh?” She quirks a brow at me. “This wouldn’t have something to do with a tall, dark-haired male with bright green eyes, now would it?”

Shit. My cheeks heat as I struggle to meet her gaze. “Yeah. It does.”

She nods, smiling sadly at me. “I figured as much, but don’t worry. No one else assumes a thing; the boy is a terrible flirt.” She shakes her head. “None of my business. But are you okay?”

I lean against the wall. “I will be. Things have been hard at home with Leo for a while now, but it’s looking up. I think we’re going to be okay. So it’s best to make sure I respect his wishes regarding …”

She pats my arm. “Got it, sweetheart. Don’t worry.” Sighing, she says, “We’ll miss you, though. Don’t be gone too long.”

“Thank you. Just let me know when he’s finished,” I find the guts to say.

“Will do. You just take care of you and yours.” She pats my arm again and toddles off to the storeroom.

Feeling relieved as well as sad, I head to the kitchen to wash my hands, put my apron and hair net on, and then some gloves. Closing the fridge after grabbing the sausages, I see Jared walking out of the pantry with a pencil tucked behind his ear and his eyes on what I’m guessing is the grocery checklist.

“Hey.” I place the sausages down on the counter.

He glances up, his eyes studying my face before his lips curve into a small smile. “Hey, Blondie.” He puts the checklist down and walks over to me. “You doing okay?”

“I feel like I should be asking you that.” I eye the yellow bruising still evident underneath his eye and along the side of his jaw. My fingers twist together, causing the latex gloves to squeak. “Can we have coffee after?”

He frowns, his beautiful eyes hardening a little.

“Looks worse than it feels and yeah, sure,” he finally says. “I’ll meet you out front.” He grabs his checklist and disappears again.

My shoulders slump. Why does the idea of maybe hurting him get to me so much? I busy myself with preparing lunch with Tilly before finally hanging up my apron then taking my hairnet and gloves off.

Walking out of the bathroom, I fluff my hair and grab my purse. After saying goodbye to Glenda, I walk outside into the bright autumn sunshine. The cool wind has me tugging my gray knit cardigan over my chest as I look around for Jared.

“Boo,” he says from behind me, causing me to shriek and a few onlookers to give us wary glances. I spin on my heel, grinning up into his face before taking a step back when I realize how close we are.

“I might be older than you are, but I’m still too young to die, trouble,” I grumble jokingly to him as we start walking down the street to the cafe on the corner.

He chuckles, opening the door for me when we reach it. I walk over to an empty booth, watching as he sits on the other side. It almost feels like Deja vu, sitting exactly where we are, a month after that first time I let him take me out for coffee.

“I’m so sorry, leaving the way I did last week.” I cringe. “I had no idea that would happen. You know that, right?”

“It’s all good.” He grins. “Besides, nothing ruins a hard-on quite like an angry husband storming into the room.”

I snort, my laughter halted by the waitress who stops by our table to take our order.

“So on with it then.” He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes.

“On with what?” I ask even though I know exactly what he means.