Page 13 of Secrets

“I don’t think I’d know how to be those things.”

“You already know how to be a friend,” he said, watching her. “You’re a good friend and a good partner to fish with or run in the rain with.” She gave him a grin and nodded.

“But I don’t know what a good partner or wife looks like. I don’t know what a good mother looks like.”

“I think you do. If you asked yourself what you would want, I bet you’d figure it out. Besides, there are a hundred women on that property who are amazing partners, wives,friends, mothers, and grandmothers. Any one of them would be happy to help you.”

Millicent stood and placed her hand over his, slowing the speed of the boat so that they were nearly still.

“Wh-what if I can’t do that? What if I can’t be what you want me to be?”

Trevon swallowed and stopped the boat fully, allowing it to drift beneath the canopy of cypress. He pulled her to the bench and sat beside her.

“Millicent, I haven’t wanted to be with a woman in a very long time. When I saw you, I knew that you were something special, but you’re also young. I’m much older than you are. I won’t rush you, and I won’t push you, but I know that you are a good, kind person, and I’d like very much to see where our relationship might go.”

“Wow,” she whispered. “I thought you might have feelings for me, but I didn’t want to hope.”

“Hope? So, you have feelings for me?” he asked, smiling.

“Yes! Yes, of course I do. I mean, you’re handsome and strong and funny, and you love my cooking!”

“I do,” he laughed. “I definitely love your cooking.”

“I’m not a virgin,” she said warily. He stared at her with a look she recognized. “It wasn’t my brothers or father. They never touched me like that. It was one of the FBI agents assigned to guard me. He was in his late twenties, and we spent a lot of time together. When Agent Fowler found out about it, he was angry. He thought that he’d taken advantage of my naiveté, and maybe he did. I don’t know. But he didn’t force me into anything. He was a companion and a friend, something I needed at the time.”

“So, you never saw one another again?”

“I didn’t know it at the time, but he had two little girls and a fiancée at home. They weren’t married yet, but it was still wrong of him and of me.”

“It wasn’t your fault if you didn’t know,” said Trevon.

“I know. It doesn’t make me feel any better, but I know. Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I’m not inexperienced. I mean, I guess I am compared to most women my age, but not totally.”

“If you decide that pursuing a relationship with me is something that might make you happy, we’ll do it slowly, at your pace.” Trevon looked away from her and then turned back, a blush on his beautiful caramel skin. “Millicent, I’m a big man. All over. Do you understand?”

“I know what you’re saying,” she said, nodding. “As I said, I’m not completely naïve. I don’t care about any of that, Trevon. I care that you’re a good man, a kind man, who would never hurt me. I know that now.

“It’s taken me weeks to realize that no one here on the property will hurt me. I was scared of everyone initially. I worked fifteen-hour days because I thought I might lose my job. I’m in a much better place now. I have no idea what my future looks like. All I know is that as long as Jay is still alive, my safety is in jeopardy.”

“No. No, it’s not. As long as I’m alive, his safety is in jeopardy.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

The team was thrilled to have a fish fry for dinner. All kinds of fish were fried up with hush puppies, French fries, cole slaw, potato salad, and much more. Mama Irene and the rest of the team had made dozens of pies and were ready to top them off with homemade ice cream.

“Y’all did a good job,” smiled Alec. “I love having catfish for dinner. Pops and me used to fish all the time. Maybe we should set aside a day a month to do that again.”

“It was a lot of fun,” smiled Millicent. Alec grinned at her. “I’ve never been fishing before, and it was easier than I thought. Of course, Trevon did most of the actual fishing.”

“It looks like the fresh air did you good.” He smiled at the young woman, nodding at Trevon.

“Yes, sir. It did.” She set the plate of food in front of Alec and then turned to leave but stopped.

“Something you want to ask me, Millicent?” smirked Alec.

“Yes, sir. You’ve all said it dozens of times about me being safe here, but am I really? I mean, worst case scenario, if Jay broke out of prison, is there any way at all that he could get here, break onto the property, and get to me or, worse, get to one of you?”

“Millicent, take a seat,” said Miller, seated with his brother. Tailor was at one of the nearby tables, Trak, Luc, Antoine, Nash, Kane, and Akin. She sat at the end of the table, looking at the massive men seated around her.

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