Page 90 of Until Nalia
“What?” His brows dart together.
“She found Aaron on a dating app when he moved in with Kristy, then he disappeared off of it, but while she and Cat were outside right now, her friend messaged her the link to his profile, and he’s back on the app.”
“What the fuck?”
“She’s obviously worried about her mom but doesn’t know how to tell her what Aaron is doing.”
“Jesus.” He steps back from me and takes off his ballcap to scrub his fingers through his hair. “Does Coop know about this?”
“I don’t know.” I rub my lips together. “She never said anything about him knowing.”
“So, this is what changed,” he mutters like he’s talking to himself, then he meets my gaze. I probably look confused because I am. “I’ve been trying to figure out why the kids seemed cool with Aaron before he moved in, and what could have changed.”
“Billie finding out that Aaron was on a dating site would definitely change her opinion of him, and even if she didn’t say anything about it to Cooper, him feeling his sister’s vibe about him might do that.”
“Shit.”
“You have to tell Kristy about this,” I whisper, taking a step into his space, and resting my hands against his chest. “It sucks that this is going to fall on your shoulders, but there is no way Billie can tell her mom that her boyfriend is cheating or looking to cheat if he hasn’t already.”
“You’re right.” His chest expands on a deep breath under my palms while his eyes fall close. “Fuck.”
“I’m sorry.”
“This is going to break her.”
“It won't, men like him don’t break women like her. Will this information hurt? Yeah, but she’ll get up, brush herself off, and move on. And in a few months or a couple of years, she’ll look back and laugh about how she thought he was the one, and how wrong she was.”
“Namalama.” Zuri’s soft voice grabs our attention, and we both turn to see her coming into the barn with Cooper.
“Hey, what are you guys doing out here?” I ask walking to where they’re standing in the doorway.
“We didn’t know where you guys went.” She looks between Logan and me. “Is everything okay?”
“Oh yeah.” I glance around looking for a reason to say that we’re in here. With only a few bales of hay, some old paint cans and the four wheelers Logan and Cooper saw earlier when my dad showed them around, there isn’t one. “I was just showing Logan where I use to hide when I was a kid.” I point up to the rafters.
“I thought Grandma and Grandpa didn’t build this barn until a few years ago.”
God, it sucks that she never forgets anything.
“Yes, well the barn that was here before this the one was built was basically the same and I use to hide in it.”
“Oh.” She gives me a doubt-filled look.
“I’m hungry, can we eat?” Coop asks.
“Of course,” I quickly agree. Thank goodness for his bottomless pit of a stomach saving the day. “Come on.” I walk them outside and feel Logan’s hand rest against my back.
“I’m going to talk to Billie,” Logan tells me when we get back to the backyard.
“Sure, I’ll feed the kids.”
“Thanks, baby.” He kisses the side of my head, then makes his way across the grass to the pool, where Billie and Cat are now both lying on two loungers. I see Billie stiffen as he approaches, but whatever he says must put her at ease because she relaxes as he takes a seat on the end of her chair.
“Okay, what do you two want to eat?” I ask Zuri and Cooper.
“A burger,” Cooper says.
“A hot dog,” Zuri tells me.
