After Hours (InterMix)(96)

“Just a tee shirt is fine.” Oh crap, I was sleeping over and we weren’t banging, and I’d be wearing his shirt. That sounded suspiciously boyfriend-girfriendish. And I liked it.

“Want a nightcap?” he asked, rounding the counter.

“No, thanks. Do you have any tea?”

Kelly poked around a cupboard. “I’ve got something for colds. Lemon eucalyptus,” he read off a box.

“As long as it’s not caffeinated, I’ll have that.”

He filled his kettle and I took a seat on a stool, watching as he poured himself a generous shot of bourbon.

Kelly put a tea bag in a mug and leaned his elbows the other side of the counter. “Any updates about your sister and her situation?”

“No, not really. She’s annoyed with me, so that probably means they’re united for the moment. But I’m not worried for her safety or anything.”

“That’s what I was getting at.”

“He’s never laid a hand on her,” I added, then realized it was a lie—he’d shaken her, if not hit her. I decided not to open that can of worms with Kelly, lest he head over there this minute to demand reparations. I didn’t want reparations. I wanted to fall asleep next to Kelly and forget all that. “Not that I’m defending him.”

“Hasn’t laid a hand on her yet.”

“No. Not yet.” Another lie. Plus I hated saying that, admitting to myself it could one day happen. Again. He’d shoved me, after all—completely sober, as far as I could tell. I’d provoked him, but that was no excuse. And no one provoked like Amber. It was practically her craft. He could do the same to her. Or Jack.

Kelly filled my mug when the water boiled and slid it across the countertop, taking a seat on the stool at the end, so we sat kitty-corner.

“It sucks that you had to grow up with that,” I added quietly. “All that stuff with your stepdad.”

He shrugged. “Not like it’s an exclusive club.”

“No, I guess not.” I bobbed my tea bag.

“What about you?” Kelly asked. “Your mom ever get physical with you? Or any boyfriends of hers or anybody?”

Lee Paleckas’s face popped into my head. Poor kid, getting terrorized in – and outside his own brain. I’d gotten off easier than him, and a lot of girls who’d grown up in that kind of disarray couldn’t say the same.

I shook my head. “My mom hated confrontation. If anything she needed to be pushier with us. With Amber, anyhow. And she hardly ever brought men around. She didn’t like for guys to see her as a mom. Made her feel old, I think.”

“Maybe it was for the best. Doesn’t do kids much good to meet every boyfriend or girlfriend their single parent takes up with.”

“No, probably not.” I blew on my tea, thinking. “Were you ever mad at your mom, after you found out about your biological dad? I’m assuming she never told you about him.”

Kelly spun his glass around on the counter. “No, she didn’t. For some reason, on my birthdays, I’d think, maybe this is when she’ll sit me down and tell me. When I turned fifteen, sixteen, eighteen—maybe this’ll be the birthday that makes her think I’m old enough to hear it. But she never did. Looking back now, she must’ve figured I didn’t need another reason to reject my stepdad. Like if I’d found out he wasn’t my real father, things would get even nastier between us. And when he died, when I was in my early thirties, I wondered if maybe she’d finally tell me then, but nope. Never did.”

“Huh.”

“Maybe she’s saving it up for some deathbed confession. Better pretend to be surprised so I don’t wreck her moment.” He shot me a dry smile, warm despite the sarcasm, then stared down into his whiskey.

“Maybe . . .” I held in the thought, not wanting to seem too nosy. But these heart-to-hearts with Kelly were rare, and I wanted to go deeper. Know him better, for as long he kept that window cracked. “I’m not sure how loyal she could expect you to feel about some guy who’d never even met you. And . . . you know. Did whatever he did. To get sent away.” My voice had gone odd, way too casual—condemningly so. Might as well spill it. “I know,” I added quietly.

“Know?”

“What he did. That he beat your mom up bad enough to get sent to prison.”

Kelly’s head jerked up and those eyes bore into mine, sharp and cold. “How the f*ck d’you know that?”