Page 21 of Protecting Her Secrets

“Not sure I like it.”

I hold back from telling her that if she were in my bed, she’d see just how bossy I can be. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I don’t know about your life, so why don’t you tell me.”

My apology throws her off, and slowly, her arms unwind and lower to her lap. “What do you want to know?”

“Everything, but let’s start with where you work.”

“I work at a preschool.” She smiles softly. “I know it’s not finding missing hikers and rescuing them, but I love it.”

“That’s great. Being a good role model for impressionable youth is just as important.”

She absently strokes Sprocket’s back. The second she sat down, he was right next to her, resting his head in her lap. “I guess, but that’s not why I do it. Four-year-olds are the best. They’re old enough to have their own personalities, and they’re not jaded by life yet. Just optimistic and hopeful. Even on my worst days, the second I walk into the classroom, I can’t help but be in a good mood because fifteen little happy people are excited to see me. The only bad part is I only get them for a year, then they’re off to elementary school, but that’s not even so bad because I know fifteen more kids are coming in.”

“I’m glad you found something you love. Hell, I’m just glad your dad finally let you work.”

Her smile falls, and I regret my words. “I’ll be quitting once I get married.”

“What? Why?”

“Because I’m marrying a club member.”

“Who?”

“It’s not important.” Her evasion tells me exactly who it is.

I sneer. “Who?”

She steels her spine and looks me dead in the eye. “Klutch.”

“Are you joking? Skylar, he’s like twice your age. Not to mention, he’s a total asshole.”

Tears well in her eyes. “It’s just how it is, okay?”

“Be so fucking for real right now, especially after everything you’ve told me about him.” I never met the guy, but Skylar mentioned multiple times that he scared her, that the way he watched her made her uncomfortable.

“My dad has a way of getting what he wants.”

“Fuck your dad. Fuck him twice if he’s marrying you off to that asshole as if you’re his possession.” I’ve always hated how her dad never saw Skylar as a person and never took into consideration what she wanted for her life.

“You shouldn’t speak ill of the dead.”

“He died?” I ask, and she nods. Maybe it makes me an asshole, but that’s the best news she has given me so far. “Then why does it matter what he’d want?”

She rests an elbow on the arm of the couch and pinches the bridge of her nose. “Can we not do this, please? I’m tired.”

“It’s only fair since I told you about me.”

“It’s different. We’re different. Your story has a happy ending. Mine doesn’t. It’s harder to talk about.”

I want to tell her that, yes, I’ve had happy moments, but I haven’t been truly happy since we were together. It’s as if there’s a missing piece of my puzzle I can’t get back. I won’t admit all that, though. Not right now. Not until she tells me the rest of her story.

“I just need to know you’re okay.”

“I’m okay,” she says without any conviction. “Just leave it alone. Please? I’ll tell you everything, I promise. Just not right now.”

Wanting to know more but also knowing if I force it, I’ll just push her away more, I drop it. “Sure, sweetheart. We can drop it for now, but I want to know the rest before I sign those papers. I’m not giving you a divorce unless I know my wife is in a better place than the one I can give her.”

She stiffens. “Walker?—”

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