Page 57 of A Very Un-Shakespeare Romance
“He…had this way of putting his hand on you—like he was blessing you with his presence. It made always me want to shift away. Anyway, long story short. Everyone treated him like a god. It was considered an honor to have sex with him. But he also believed it was his duty as a spiritual god on earth to initiate girls into womanhood, so when they had their first period, they were sent to him.”
Robbie’s blue eyes turned into glacier ice. “That motherfucker.”
“Yeah.” She cleared her throat, remembering her older friends coming back in shock, sometimes with their shirts inside out or their skirts on backward. “He was smart and told them never to talk about what happened. That it was their divine part to keep what had happened between them a secret. The parents knew, sanctioned it even, so they helped keep what he was doing secret. They didn’t see it as wrong.”
“I’ve arrested people like that, and I still can’t fathom allowing that kind of abuse,” he said tightly. “Keep going.”
Taking a breath, she continued. “Anyway, he made the mistake of buying and selling some pretty serious drugs and doing some human trafficking on the side, not to mention tax evasion. His community was raided by law enforcement officials. It happened two months before my first period.”
This time he shook his head. “Jesus, I don’t imagine it’s easy to see that as luck, but in my neighborhood, we’d say someone was looking out for you.”
Her mouth was dry, but she nodded. She didn’t mention how Brie had pulled her aside at one point and told her not to tell anyone if she got her period. “Iwaslucky, but other girls weren’t. I had to get over my guilt about that—along with a whole lot of anger that my mother couldn’t wait for me to get my period so I could be ‘blessed’ by the guru. She was so high and crazy by then, she made it easy for the court to place me with another family. They were nice people, but I didn’t really feel like I fit in. Anyway, that’s the story.”
“You’re talking about that cult in Marin, right? About twenty some years ago?”
“North of Petaluma, yes.” Her mouth parted as shock hit her. “Not too many people put that together. Although it did make national news.”
“I was planning on going into the police academy, so I started paying attention to those kinds of stories.” He extended his hand, which she took, liking the way his fingers curled around hers. “The cop in me has a million questions. But the man before you wants to say you’re a remarkable woman. No wonder you went into a profession where you could help kids.”
More shock. Her ex hadn’t understood. Of course, Robbie didn’t know what her real profession was. “You got that, huh? Well, enough story time. Do you want to take that walk on the beach?”
He didn’t let go of her hand as he stood. “Sure. How do you feel when you talk about it now?”
Her smile was easier as she rose from her chair. “Free, honestly. It was another life, one that planted the seeds for who I ended up becoming. My good friend and mentor always told me that you have to take the good from everything you face—even if you have to squeeze hard to find a single drop. That’s what I did.”
He brought her close against his body and cupped her face with his free hand, his touch soft. “Yeah, you sure did. And I admire the hell out of you for it.”
His eyes shone with tenderness and something she didn’t want to name. But the intimacy between them was undeniable. They had grown closer from her sharing. Fallen even harder for each other. Neither of them could deny it. She was pretty sure neither of them wanted to. “Don’t kiss me now. I’d rather we wait until there’s a little more romance. If that’s okay.”
The smile that broke over that sexy mouth of his had her muscles going lax and heat spreading through her belly. “I’ll rein myself in, but I think you know how badly I want to kiss you. Your story only made me want it more. Before you were just a girl I really liked that I met on vacation. Now, you’re someone I’m… Maybe we should start walking.”
Neither of them moved.
Was her breathing harsh to his ears suddenly? It was to hers, and all because he didn’t dare finish what he was saying. She hadn’t imagined it.
“Summer Sunshine,” he mused, tracing her cheek. “Now I understand your name.”
She wanted to lower her head and bang it against his chest. Just when they were growing closer, she’d been reminded of the reality of their situation. Of the fact that he didn’t know her name, and she wasn’t supposed to know he wasn’t the girls’ father.
Finally, she shook herself and tugged on his hand, starting toward the beach. “I’ll race you to the water,” she said, already unstrapping her heels one-handed before they reached the sand.
His hand only tightened more firmly around hers. “No way. Grandpa here just wants to take a stroll with the most amazing and beautiful woman in the world.”
Her heart rolled over in her chest as she let her shoes fall. “Robbie… You’re not so bad yourself. Since we’re talking personal, can I ask why you became a cop?” Because she knew so many details about him, but not the why underneath, and that was what made him who he was, the man she wanted to know everything about.
He leaned to the side and toed off his shoes, dispensing with his socks before pulling her forward with him. “Sure. I think you know we’re from Boston, but do you know about the neighborhood Southie?”
God, here she went. “Like fromThe Departed? Clarice loves that movie, but it’s a little violent for my taste.”
His sigh was long-suffering. “Yeah. That one. Don’t get Billie going about how that movie kicksGood Will Hunting’s butt. The stale narrative about Southie is that it’s rough, crime-ridden, and run by the mob. Mostly true. There is also a strong sense of community and people who live by a code. My parents were like that. Well, my dad still is. My mother passed.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, even though she’d already known.
“Anyway, I worked as a stock boy for a grocery store in the neighborhood. I’d known Mr. Kincaid since I was a kid. My mom shopped there, and when she wasn’t looking, he’d sneak me a lollipop or a piece of bubble gum. He was always smiling. Loved kids. It was one of the happiest days of my life when he asked if I’d help him at his store. I was twelve. And yes, I know I was too young according to child labor laws, but it wasn’t like that.”
She wondered if he’d bust the man now for that kind of an infraction, but she remained mute on that subject. “He sounds nice.”
The roar of the surf filled the silence. He looked off toward the ocean, the silver and blue twilight highlighting his chiseled features. “Yeah. The best. His family and my family went to the same church, school, baseball field. You name it. His wife got cancer, and the treatments were expensive since insurance never covers it all. He fell behind in his protection money, and that’s when my life changed for the second time.”
