Page 7 of Peach

He blew out a breath, not wanting to think about it. But then another thought hit. They would never come home again. “Fuck. I can’t believe they are gone. It sucks.”

“Yeah. It does suck. I know your mom was looking forward to having a baby in the house. She told me she never thought you would settle down.”

The words hurt. But they were true. He didn't plan on settling down. Even though all the guys seemed so happy, it wasn't for him. No one had ever really cared about him. They wanted to sleep with him and thought he was a pretty face, but they didn't care about him.

"She was probably right. I don't want to be tied down. I don't see any reason to be with only one woman for the rest of my life." He didn't mention the pain he'd sufferedfrom the one person he had grown close to. Thank goodness his parents didn't really know about her. His mom would have loved her and then asked him about her. But she was a snake in sheep's clothing, and nothing could ever make him want that again.

“Really? You don’t want to get married?”

He shrugged. “I’ve never met anyone I’ve wanted to live with. I don’t like people in my space, and I certainly don't want someone asking me where I’m going or what I’m doing. I don’t know where I’m headed all the time. I like to drive, and then I figure it out as I go. Having to answer to someone, anyone, would be annoying."

She shrugged. “I didn’t do well picking a guy either.”

“Did he leave you once he found out you were pregnant?”

Her face went blank, and a dark look crossed over her features. He wanted to ask what that was about, but it really wasn't any of his business. She didn’t have to tell him anything. He would leave in a few days and never see her again.

Her being pregnant explained why his mom had brought her into their house. He just didn’t understand why they didn’t tell him they had someone living with them. Then again, he’d not really talked to them that much lately. He couldn’t remember the last time they’d had a good conversation. He’d been out of the country for a few weeks on a mission, and then when he returned, he hadn’t called.

There were times when his parents seemed very distant. They supported his decision to join the military, but his dad thought he would join the Army so he could be stationed close by. The only naval base close by was a submarine base, and he didn’t like the idea of living on a submarine, so he never would have been stationed there.He'd gone into the Navy knowing he wanted to be a SEAL.

Maybe he just didn’t know his parents as well as he thought he did. Something seemed off, though. There was more to this than he knew. He wanted answers, but they seemed out of his reach.

Chapter 4

Haisley didn’t wantto tell Robert what had happened. The day she’d shown up at the church to confront the pastor, Ellen had been there. The man had threatened to call the sheriff and have her arrested. Ellen had believed her and taken her in. She’d learned the hard way that the men of this town were disgusting. She would have to leave now that her protection was gone.

Maybe she could find a shelter that would take her in. The only problem was she didn’t want to have her baby while she was living in a shelter, but she had little choice.

“You don’t have a car, do you?” Robert asked.

Haisley squeezed her fists. Will had taken everything and ruined it. She had no proof that Will had popped her car into neutral and pushed it down the hill, sending it into a deep ravine, but she never would have put the vehicle into neutral and jumped out. Also, there was no way possible she could have gotten out of the vehicle if she'd left it in neutral. She usually sat in her car and checked social media even when she arrived home late at night orin bad weather. She liked the peace of her car and not dealing with household chores.

When Will had emptied her bank account, opened credit cards in her name, stolen all her jewelry, and taken everything, even her dignity, it had crushed her. She hadn’t recovered even after moving in here because Will had made sure she’d been fired from her job.

She shook her head. “No.”

“How are you getting food?”

“Walking.”

Robert pressed his lips together, looking disappointed. She wondered how long it would be before he kicked her out. Ellen talked highly of her son, but most mothers did. Even when there were glaring problems, mothers didn’t give up on the fantasy that their sons could do no wrong.

“Let's go to the store now. I need more food for dinner, and you can pick up what you need. I was thinking of making burgers. Would you eat that?"

She shook her head. “You don’t have to cook for me. I’m fine.”

“I’m going to be making burgers, anyway. Would you eat one?”

She nodded, feeling weird that this guy she didn’t really know was cooking for her. Even when she’d miscarried and been curled up in bed for days, Will hadn’t made her any food.

"Go get your shoes, and we'll go," Robert said.

“It’s kind of late.”

"It's barely afternoon."

Haisley didn't leave the house during the day. It would be too dangerous because she might run into someone. But explaining that to this guy would be hard. "I can just stay here."

---