Page 90 of Sweet Little Thing

The words meant nothing to me. She meant nothing to me. She was my mother’s sister. She’d given life to my sister. But she was an empty, heartless being. I wanted nothing to do with her. The help she’d given me was out of guilt. It hadn’t meant she had a heart. She’d been covering a lie. One that had come out. One she still hid from her world.

“He’ll contact you soon. Then you’ll know.” Her warning was the last thing I would hear from the woman. I was getting away from her.

I climbed into my car and closed the door, leaving her there. It didn’t appear as if Jasper had cut her off financially. She’d been desperate enough to come here to see me. He must be doing something to make her life difficult. I felt better about that. I didn’t want to be disappointed in Jasper. He might not be as morally sound as Stone or as strong, but he was stronger than his mother. He was better than her too.

As I pulled out of the gate, I glanced in my rearview mirror to see Portia getting back into her car. I’d have to tell Stone about this. He wouldn’t like it. I didn’t want to upset him, but I wasn’t going to keep any secrets from him.

My phone buzzed with a new text message. I was driving and didn’t take it from my purse to check. Whatever it was could wait. Hopefully, it wasn’t Stone, and I wasn’t late.

Heading into the traffic, I fought against thinking about everything Portia said. Trying to understand them was ridiculous. She was a crazed alcoholic who wasn’t getting what she wanted. Good for Jasper. It was time he stood up to her.

My phone began to ring, and I ignored it again. I would check it when I was stopped in Geraldine’s driveway.

Two more messages later, I pulled through the gate and stopped to check my phone. I had never received that many messages.

Three texts from Jasper and a missed call.

The text messages started with,We need to talk.

Then,Please answer my call.

And last,Beulah, I’ll come back to see you if you don’t answer me.

I read all three texts twice before putting my phone in my purse. I continued up the driveway until I was parked in front of the house.

My stomach turned. Dread weighed heavily on my chest.

Lies. So many lies. I didn’t want to hear them. I wanted to close that door and move on with the happiness I’d found with Stone. My brief time with Jasper was in my past.

Another text came through.This is important. You are and will always be the most important person in my life.

No. Jasper was the most important person in his life. I silenced my phone and got out of the car to head inside. I had work to do. I had Stone’s arms to feel safe in. I would fight for this. My world I’d found through so much pain. It had led me to more than I imagined.

Chapter

Fifty-Four

Stone

Beulah’s eyes were so damn expressive. I knew the moment I walked into Gerry’s house that something was wrong. Even when she smiled sweetly at me. The haunted look was there. She was hiding something.

I waited until Gerry went upstairs to take a nap from her early morning outing. I wasn’t leaving without talking to Beulah. She had something to tell me. When Gerry was gone, Beulah made herself busy cleaning the kitchen and didn’t make eye contact with me. I studied her, waiting to see if she’d tell me what was wrong or if she’d continue to clean nervously.

The cleaning continued. After a few minutes, she glanced up at me. “Can I make you some lunch?”

“No,” I replied.

She was nervous. Anxious even. But she wasn’t talking. I was going to have to push harder. “Beulah,” I said.

She tensed. Preparing herself.

“What is it?” I asked.

She bit her bottom lip as her eyes stayed on me. “Portia came to the apartment this morning.”

Portia? What the fuck did she want? “Why?” I asked.

She shrugged. “I didn’t give her time to really explain, but what I did hear was she wanted me to talk to Jasper. From what I gathered, he’s making her life difficult.”

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