Page 127 of All I Ask
It’s why I think I see the future with him.
There’s a knock at the back door that leads down to the store, which means it can either be my mother, Derek is locked out, or it’s Nina. I pray for any but the first.
When I open the door, I thank God for once being kind to me with this. “Hey!”
“Hey,” Nina says a little quieter than her normal boisterous self.
“Everything okay?”
“I really need to talk and it can’t wait.”
I push open the door and invite her in. “What’s wrong?” She starts to pace, and my nerves grow. Nina is always so easygoing. When things are in crisis, she’s the calm one. Seeing her like this is out of character. “Nina?”
“I’m not sure if what I heard is a lie or not, but the rumor is going around and I don’t want you to hear it anywhere else.”
“Okay…”
This town and their fucking rumors. I’m so tired of it and once again, I’m going to be the center of it. God forbid they get a life and leave mine alone.
“So, Keith was here and apparently, the rumor is that you sent Chastity to get information on Keith.”
Well, now I’ve heard it all. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”
“You mean she didn’t go to the funeral home?”
“Of course she didn’t go! She didn’t even know when it was. This is so insane. I’m so tired of this crap. I want nothing to do with that asshole. I’ve worked so hard to keep Chastity away from him and the poison that is his life and for what?”
“Tea,” she says softly. “I saw her.”
“You saw who?”
“Chastity.”
My heart sputters. “You saw her where?”
Nina releases a heavy sigh through her nose and then shakes her head. “I saw her leaving the funeral home.”
This makes no sense.
“She couldn’t. She was with Derek.”
Nina looks away, she chews on her thumb and then turns back to me. “I know.”
“You…he was with her? No, that’s crazy.”
“All I know is I saw her and then I saw him. I don’t know, Tea. I don’t know what the story is. Derek didn’t tell you?”
No, he most definitely didn’t. In fact, he didn’t say a word.
“I was going to tell you.” Derek’s voice fills the room. “I was waiting for the right time.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Teagan
Present
I stand, looking at the man I love, wondering what the hell he was thinking. “You took her to the funeral home?” I ask, praying he answers differently.
