Page 83 of Simon Says

“I didn’t tell them right away. I wanted to leave, but I didn’t have my own car, and wasn’t sure when Marvin might come back. I didn’t really have any friends or anyplace to go. I’d alienated my mother, and put myself in that situation, and I was so…embarrassed and ashamed of myself.”

Simon wanted to crush her close, but given their topic and the guarded look in her eyes, he didn’t dare.

“After I stopped feeling sorry for myself, I cleaned up the cuts and realized they weren’t life threatening or anything. They stopped bleeding and didn’t even hurt that much.”

More appalled than he could ever remember being, Simon stared at her.

“Marvin stayed gone all night, and that next morning a PI found me. He told me that my mother had been hurt in a bad accident. She was in a coma and not expected to live.” Dakota covered her mouth with a shaking hand. “I forgot about me and went home to see my mom.”

Simon swallowed down his rage. It was so much for a young woman to have to deal with. Though he somehow already knew the answer, he said, “She didn’t recover, did she?”

“No.” A new sadness seemed to weigh Dakota down. “The last time I’d talked to Mom was in that big argument before I ran away with Marvin. We both said awful things, but hers were warranted.” She shook her head. “Mine weren’t.”

Simon wanted to pull her into his lap. He wanted to comfort her somehow. But he knew Dakota wouldn’t appreciate that. She’d see it as a weakness on her part.

“I stayed with her until she passed away, but she never regained consciousness so she never heard how sorry I was.”

“Did you ever see Marvin again?”

“Yeah, I saw him.” That fatalistic sadness evaporated. Determination took its place. “Even before Mom passed away, he came to the house and wanted to see me. He tried being apologetic, but I was so numb I didn’t care about him or what he said or thought. Then he got threatening. For a month, he hounded me. He kept coming to the house and calling me.”

“He scared you.”

“Yeah, he did. After Mom’s funeral, I talked to the police. I told them about Marvin’s attack, but I hadn’t yet filed for divorce and so much time had passed, they didn’t think much would come of it. They said everyone would want to know why I was still married to him if he was so bad and why I hadn’t come to the police right away if he’d really attacked me.”

“They didn’t do their job.”

“They were honest with me, that’s all. They said they’d try, but truthfully, I didn’t have it in me to push the issue.”

“What about your father?”

She dismissed that with a shake of her head. “Dad died when I was eight. He was out of town on business, had a car wreck, and…” She shrugged. “I remember that my mom cried for weeks.”

“So after your divorce and your mother’s death, you were all alone?”

Her shoulders lifted in a shrug.

She hadn’t had anyone to help her deal with Marvin, to share her grief or her pain. “That must have been difficult at your age.”

“In some ways. I hadn’t yet gotten my GED so finding work was almost impossible. But things really improved when I met Barber and he let me perform with him a few times.”

Grateful that she’d had someone, Simon tamped down on the surge of renewed jealousy. “Perform?”

“He’d run an ad for a singer to round out the band. I’d never really thought about singing professionally before, but I’d enjoyed it in school and I needed money so I figured, why not? The moment I met Barber, it seemed like he knew me and my situation. He went out of his way to make things easier for me.” She smiled. “I guess he’s the closest thing I have to a big brother.”

If Barber had his way, Simon thought, he’d be more than that; he’d made that clear. “I’m glad he was there for you.”

“Singing got me through the rougher times. I love it. And when I can, I volunteer to help find missing teens. I’ve recovered a few.” Her smile flickered. “It’s great, really great, to see a family reunited.”

And now she wanted to reunite him with his father? Somehow, Simon didn’t think so. So what motivated her the most? He’d have to figure that one out another time.

Simon trailed his fingers through her hair, lifting it away from her face and examining her black eye. “You haven’t had sex since your husband?”

The question took her by surprise. “God, no. I haven’t had any interest, either.” Trying to act cavalier, she patted his cheek. “Till you, that is.”

Odd, Simon thought, that he’d be the one. Not that he was overly modest; he knew women found him attractive. It was a running joke in the SBC that women threw themselves at him. It was because of the female fans that he’d been dubbed “Sublime” instead of a more appropriate kick-ass name.

Before Dakota, he’d never really cared or paid that much attention to it. “I’m flattered.”

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